Prologue, Chapters 1-3 Summary

Prologue: A dog hears his mistress' call and goes to her. The dog knows something is wrong as the woman dies. The dog panics and jumps through a window, breaking bones and dying on the sidewalk below.

Chapter 1: A young boy, a junkie, goes into a pawnshop with the intent of pawning off two pieces of gold jewelry. They are a watch and a wedding ring. The pawnbroker immediately recognizes the objects as belonging to Louis Markowitz, a cop and longtime friend. The pawnbroker calls Kathleen Mallory, another cop who also happens to be Markowitz's adopted daughter. Mallory arrives on the scene and forces the junkie to talk. Mallory and the pawnbroker knew that if a junkie had Markowitz's things, the man was surely dead.

Lieutenant Jack Coffey cannot stop thinking about Markowitz's death. Markowitz was a good and...