It was a crime so brutal, it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but everyone agrees that convicting the killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl's prior criminal record is inadmissible raises a public outcry--and puts the judge in grave danger.

"Be seen, not heard, that's what 25-year-old court stenographer Victoria tells herself until the town's only African-American judge is murdered during trial and Victoria realizes her transcript of the proceedings unlocks everyone's secrets...including the murderer's. Still haunted by a near drowning at the hands of a bigoted high school bully, Victoria Justice attempts to build her confidence and career under the mentorship of The Honorable Frederica...

"Alex Sand was spending the evening at home playing basketball with his two young sons when all three were shot in cold blood. A wealthy federal judge, there's no short list of people who could have a vendetta against Sands, but the gruesome murders, especially that of his children, turn their St. Paul community on its head. Sand was on the verge of a major donation to a local housing charity, Heart/Twin Cities, and with the money in limbo, eyes suddenly...