Catherine Savler may be a toughSan Francisco private eye, butshe doesn t always feel sotough--especially not when evidenceshe s gathered sends a good man to jail.She s angry at herself and at the wholebusiness of being an investigator whenthe telephone rings. It sJoe Girard, anold pal who needs Catherine s help. Hiscousin, Mitch Morrison, has been killedin what the police say is a simple mug-ging. Joe thinks Miteh s death may bemuch more complex, the final episodein a life that turned sour more thantwenty years ago.Mitch was molested as a child by aman who is now an eminent superiorcourt judge. Mitch had set out just fivedays before his death to unmask thejudge, who had a lot to lose if thc truthcame ont. But the judge has an alibi forthe time of the killing.What was Mitch doing in the roughneighborhood where hc died? Who sawhim? And just what proof did he have ofthe judge s crimes?Catherine knows the case will bc dif-ficult and disturbing, but she has sometime on her hands, and she needs adistraction. She gets more than a dis-traction, however, as she probes ever