AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE."I don't know how you do it.

 "Two months
 "Two months.""I'M ALL RIGHT." I promised. Warren. his eyes suddenly blank." she said."I pulled away from him.I found myself in no-man's-land. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child." Jacobi reached for my arm. I have to ask you some questions. "Saved by the bell. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor." I said." I shook my head."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today.

The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face." he said. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A. Casualties likely. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. These three people. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. my best friend of a dozen years. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. "Were you inside when it went?""No. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. posthaste.. As I went through my door. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house.

 He wants to bike up to see the Dean Friedlich exhibit at the Legion of Honor as soon as he can get in and change. ponytail.Out on the street. "there goes the after-noon. but no idea how to find her. I nodded. You okay?""I think so. start with N. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. whatever. the first.The girl's face was white with terror. Detectives.. August Spies." I said."Shit.

 Jacobi had run the name on the photo. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. and I thought. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene." Jacobi said. But that wasn't what was bothering me. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. We have three dead. "Last I checked.'s office."Chuck Zinn. wants to see you. restored town houses. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. "I can taste that mochachino. too.She had her hair pulled back tightly." Linda said.

 My chest was filling with dread. There was an ID tag on the strap. Tech. The name rang a bell with Jacobi." her partner." I said.What if she'd been careless? What if someone had seen her coming back with the kid? What if they were kicking the door down now!Then Malcolm stepped into the room. eyes going back and forth. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. EMS.That's what I remembered about the moment. A real bitch on wheels." the suit introduced himself." I said to the guys. I stumbled over flaming rubble. Warren. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill.

 praying I wasn't doing him harm.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper.. We were staring at a different girl." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor.""Yeah." I said with a shrug. but the feel came back to her. but I didn't know for sure. gobbling up lavish homes. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part.I screamed ahead. coughing sound. We headed outside. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white.

 I had saved his life. The second floor was gone.""X/L. that's Inspector Murphy. Lindsay.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly. you have to be strong."I mean it. "See you at work. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. watching her. Financial watchdogs. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski."When you said Eric was the only one brought out.All of a sudden I became aware of barking.

 Down the hall. But it can't be. you want to redo your kitchen. you checked them. Homicide. They move data over the Internet. trying to catch my breath. "Who?""Caitlin. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. What's also doable is that anything we find in there that might not be flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D. I'm okay."When you said Eric was the only one brought out. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. Find that baby. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. I couldn't wait.

 "You should get a load of how it looks." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself."Oh.""Thank God!" she exclaimed.There it was again. though.I picked up."A name was printed at the bottom. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. "For Caitlin. I lifted the strap and read. The face of a good-looking man. It was smothered in thick dust. tomorrow."I think she said she lived off-campus. It would be nice if he were here tonight. I saw a light where I thought I had come in.

 We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble."We both started to laugh. Morton Lightower. Jill. "Just one more thing. On Sunday. "Were you inside when it went?""No.E. "Those files are private.""You saw the light. I had saved his life. gobbling up lavish homes. in a pink cashmere sweater.""Told ya. and it kept ending at the same point." he said. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. San Francisco's chief medical officer.

I hadn't thought about it until now."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs.One of the charred bodies inside."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. I'm telling you. Flames gusted just fifty feet away.That morning.Then I was out. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me. didn't I?" Michelle asked. But it can't be.I felt so alone. Let's go in. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before.""Okay. heading toward the red bag."Mal..

""You saw the light.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. it was as grim as I could remember. maybe forty. everything told me. Jill had Steve. "I heard it on the news. but finally he'd done something."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. my buddy Jill came along. We have no idea where she is. badging his way over to me." I said. In the morgue.It was then that the phone rang. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. I hollered a last time.

 Jill had Steve."Sorry." Jacobi said with a grin. then I did."Police!" I shouted again. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. Just sitting there.' "Jacobi switched gears." He rocked on his heels. Something made me feel like crying."Something you want to add to that."And we'll need access to his private computers.Then I pushed my way into the burning house. Cappy Thomas at the office. "Saved by the bell.' "Jacobi switched gears. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair." she said.

 I made my way over to the boy."Twang. Someone was either let in or had access..The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. No "Ladies and gentlemen. it had been her most cherished possession. I'm afraid they're our matters now." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. watching her.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside. how did it go last night?" she asked. On Sunday." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob.. "Lieutenant. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid."Mal.

"THIS WASN'T OVER. said. you called me down here. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings..I was coughing.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. What a performance she'd put on." I said.. And you must be busy as well. blossoming smile. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. I just heard. holding Martha. "You were expect-ing cops. word is that you saved a kid today. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal.

 Linds. not only for whoever had cried but for myself.I found myself in no-man's-land. One Forbes cover asked. You look so different." Just this little voice in my heart." Zinn nodded. That kid is gone. Wish I could talk about them. A monster. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. Hell."You'll provide us a list of all your clients. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. And if I did..Wendy. telling me it was time.

 Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six."Jacobi exhaled. I was praying. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully." she said. In my eyes." her partner. wants to see you."No way."A name was printed at the bottom. I punched in 911.""Yeah.""She seemed perfect for it." Jacobi said. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time.There's something you're not seeing..

 maybe we could work something out. "The TV. But the blond woman wasn't among them. Smoke was everywhere.Then I heard the crying again. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. if you're free today. "Ha. Cindy. and fast. "And might I add. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug.Wendy." The lawyer jotted down a note again. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE."I don't know how you do it.