The rain scribbled silver lines down the sloping sideways streets of San Francisco, turning every curb and crack into a miniature river that reflected the bruised gray of the sky. Fog clung to the tops of the hills like smoke from a distant fire, softening the sharp edges of the Victorian houses that marched up Vallejo Street in orderly rows of faded paint and stubborn dignity. Detective Claire Monroe pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders and stepped out of the unmarked sedan
