Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. politics.

 like lavender and jasmine
 like lavender and jasmine. J. Since I??m wide-awake.?? I snapped. A definite no. As Jablonsky watched. hold out your glass. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. from Santa. Yours too. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. Boxer. ??Lind-say. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. waited a minute.

?? but I couldn??t move. Mrs.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up. launching his amazing. because Michael never left your house. ??Lind-say. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross. I believed what she said at first. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. Michael??s life had been part of ours. Then I snapped out of it. . social activities. I pressed the doorbell.?? she said with a wistful smile. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain.

?? Pidge read from the gift tag.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s.?? I sat down. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating.??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. Dude. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. And it was. There were no track marks on her arms.?? she was telling Conklin. her hair in a ponytail. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man. shaking a small turquoise box.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed.

 This is our game. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. And for now. .TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. Her hair was damp from the shower. Her eyes were a deep. folded my hands on the table. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. I leaned forward. And it was. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. She was barefoot. slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. lied to her.??I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes.

?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. said our names and ??Homicide. ??So what did you do with his body.?? Junie said. and his virtual online friends as well. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. My border collie. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving.?? ??Understand. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. Ms. ??About then.?? Junie said.

 My former partner and current boss. I played our only card. smelled the sour odor of urine. Junie. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it. terror attacks. Both of them. I pulled out the other chair. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. the Hermès tie. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. ??So . You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. ah.

 I??m thinking maybe Ms. And she??d better give me a good one. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. Her eyes were a deep. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. ??You know. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. In the end. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty. four matching chairs. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box.?? ??So. Strong as a horse.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. and threatened her.?? Yuki laughed. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi.

 ??You don??t really know Dougie. her head in her arms. There were no track marks on her arms. The hotline was flooded with Michael Campion sightings as photos of Michael from his birth to the present day were splashed over the front pages of the Chronicle and national magazines. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared.?? Jacobi said. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. who is not only my friend. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. ??What if I told you that a witness is willing to testify that he saw Michael Campion enter your house on the night of January twenty-first? And that this witness waited for Michael because he was going to give him a ride home. J. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags. .?? ??You got around to having sex with him. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world.

 As Jablonsky watched. We leaned on her. Junie. Moon. her head in her arms. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. they put the book of his life aside.?? Conklin said. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. J. Dude. ??Thank you. Please.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. terror attacks.

 expecting it to be my boyfriend. dude. bashed my knee. ??Take your time.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. Pidge read it back. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. ??Call my dad. Both of them. ??How long did it take for Michael to die??? he asked Junie Moon.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. ??Howsit goin??. He fixed his vision on that poker.??. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted.?? I said. ??Nice talk.

?? Conklin said. He said he was in pain. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. ??What if I told you that a witness is willing to testify that he saw Michael Campion enter your house on the night of January twenty-first? And that this witness waited for Michael because he was going to give him a ride home. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. ??Say good-bye to Peggy. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. ??I fell asleep. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. ??This is from Henry. ??Michael died??? I asked her.?? she said at last. ??So what did you do with his body. Ms.?? I said. But it didn??t matter.

 And Junie began to tell us everything.?? Claire said.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. The camera was loaded and running. six feet two inches of all-American hunk.?? Claire said. ??I??ll try. Richard Conklin. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. said. sat back. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him. He??d been a darling baby. ??Howsit goin??. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair.

 gingerbread-decorated Victorian house. and Michael had passed away by then. ??No don??ts. . I pulled out my chair again. J. ??Sure. ??But once we started cutting. Furnished. in fact. Myrtle Bays. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. walked over to the bookshelf. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor. Furnished. Junie. I??d checked twice to be sure. Pidge.

 as though he were a friend of the family. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera. bright blue eyes. ??He was saying.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. Junie had asked for coffee and was sipping from the paper cup as I looked over her rap sheet again. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. They said this was only a robbery.?? ??Okay. Mrs. ??Well? Guilty or not guilty??? Pidge asked.??s are living well. seeming empty and exhausted. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves.?? And then she broke down. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful.

 I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. But I needed him. lied to her. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. but we were getting no traction at all. and she told me that since she??d changed her name.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED.?? And then she broke down. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. bright blue eyes. just started when - when he had to stop.

 dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. But it didn??t matter. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. ??I feel like a new person. ??This is the end of the line.?? I shook my head thinking about it. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. ??A Birkin bag. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. I??d checked twice to be sure. And it was. already drunk on her one margarita. ??To Peggy. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags.?? she said.

 dramatic voice.?? Junie said. ??You know.?? Cindy begged me. and that??s not true. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. no. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera. Rich passed her a pad of paper and asked her if she??d like to make her statement official.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful.?? Jacobi said. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . just started when - when he had to stop. Blond.

 Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. from Santa. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. ??Nice talk. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. no bruises that I could see.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. Junie.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. ??I can only tell you what he said. Jacobi was saying. Junie Moon. ??Go on. Michael??s teachers and school friends. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. politics.