Catherine Savler may be a tough

San Francisco private eye, but

she doesn t always feel so

tough--especially not when evidence

she s gathered sends a good man to jail.

She s angry at herself and at the whole

business of being an investigator when

the telephone rings. It sJoe Girard, an

old pal who needs Catherine s help. His

cousin, Mitch Morrison, has been killed

in what the police say is a simple mug-

ging. Joe thinks Miteh s death may be

much more complex, the final episode

in a life that turned sour more than

twenty years ago.

Mitch was molested as a child by a

man who is now an eminent superior

court judge. Mitch had set out just five

days before his death to unmask the

judge, who had a lot to lose if thc truth

came ont. But the judge has an alibi for

the time of the killing.

What was Mitch doing in the rough

neighborhood where hc died? Who saw

him? And just what proof did he have of

the judge s crimes?

Catherine knows the case will bc dif-

ficult and disturbing, but she has some

time on her hands, and she needs a

distraction. She gets more than a dis-

traction, however, as she probes ever