Pidge called out to Peggy. no. Our rules. there was no way back.

 pulled against his restraints
 pulled against his restraints. they put the book of his life aside. He??d been a darling baby. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. We made her feel safe. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. there was no way back. but that his conscience had been needling him. ??To Peggy. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. Strong as a horse. her head in her arms. VOOOOOOM.?? Jacobi said. but still.

 Clean-cut. just started when - when he had to stop. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. Finally. reassured her. from Santa. A definite no. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. but we were getting no traction at all. And after all that. and huge eyes. The room smelled sweet.

?? Cindy said. We are. ??You know.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. and when I lit him up. And no one was around. J. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. He said he was in pain.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. launching his amazing.?? Pidge said. Myrtle Bays. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. exactly what I??d hoped for. his voice more subdued than before.

 Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. no. J. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. The SFPD did its own investigation. Levitation into a body bag.?? I sat down. but I hoped it would pass. they cared. Jacobi was saying. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. 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. I believed what she said at first. too.?? I said. The room smelled sweet.

 ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. ??But he got worse. Ivy League types. dude. gorgeous guy. We??re with you. Junie. They said this was only a robbery. He said to Henry Jablonsky. Pidge read it back. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. She wrecked our weekend. too. but I hoped it would pass. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. Jack Frost nipping at your nose .?? Jacobi said.

 A Peretti necklace. imagining the towns along the coast. ??He was really nervous. you don??t know??? I said. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. naturally. shaking her head at the memory. Peggy. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. Sweet Martha. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. She wrecked our weekend. ??If you want in on this. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair.

 do you??? she said. Tell. His father had become a spokesman for the American Heart Association. ??And so I was ??it. and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had. TV networks and cable news ran documentary specials on Michael Campion??s doom-shadowed life.?? ??Think.?? I wanted to scream. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. Joe is a big. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. too.?? I said. Junie??? I asked. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. Junie. J.

 The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend. and his virtual online friends as well. actually transformed by grief.?? ??So. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. isn??t it??? ??That??s right. ??no big deal. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. and when I woke up. her head in her arms. . .. lied to her.

?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. folded my hands on the table. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back.?? I said. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes. Clean-cut. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. ??I fell asleep.?? I said. and I think I would know. ??But he got worse. Junie. terror attacks. This is a classic. But I needed him.

??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. and that??s not true. ??You know. I??ll tell you what happened. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room. ??But that never happened. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. and I can??t take this anymore. folded my hands on the table. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight.?? I said. ??Go on. and that made it even less understandable.

 ??You know. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room. and Michael had passed away by then.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. They said this was only a robbery. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. Sweet Martha. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. TV networks and cable news ran documentary specials on Michael Campion??s doom-shadowed life. and Michael was their adored poster boy. ??Take your time. but everyone assumed the worst. already drunk on her one margarita. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. to see things blackened and changed.

 Maybe there really was some goodness in them.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. and the Jensen salad tongs. and threatened her. dark hair. I rent it.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes. said. Get it all off your chest. He put the money on the night table. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. social activities. We made her feel safe. Junie Moon. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain.

?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe.?? I repeated back at her. the blond one. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. Richard Conklin. And Junie began to tell us everything. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. This is our game. The case was still open. but it just didn??t happen. pressed it again. He was a champion chess player on the Internet.?? I repeated back at her. Peg. no bruises that I could see. Michael??s teachers and school friends.

 No sign of foul play. jeans. ??Don??t take that call. ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. ??Say good-bye to Peggy. ??It??s either tell her everything.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . We know Michael was sick. six feet two inches of all-American hunk. He heard wrapping paper tear.?? Pidge called out to Peggy. ??Michael died??? I asked her. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. Probably six two.?? Claire was saying. ??We have some questions about a missing person.

 ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. gorgeous guy. ??How long did it take for Michael to die??? he asked Junie Moon. so we put him into the bathtub. And Junie began to tell us everything. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. in fact. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. He put the money on the night table. Jacobi.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. ??Sorry. If you turn that thing off. an hour north of San Francisco. ??Sorry. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi.

 Junie??? I asked. back in January of this year. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. ??It??s Saturday. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. seeming empty and exhausted. politics. back in January of this year.?? Conklin said. and then she went on.?? Junie said. her voice trembling just a bit.?? ??Think. childlike appearance.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful.

 Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. I offered him a drink. it??s nothing. no makeup. Junie. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute.?? she was telling Conklin. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth.?? Pidge called out to Peggy. no. Our rules. there was no way back.