Justice

Justice has gone astray in Pittsburgh. Criminals are getting off on technicalities by killing or intimidating witnesses. A small group of people in the Justice System believes this was not what the forefathers had in mind. Their mandate from the State says they will discover the truth, the innocent will go free and the guilty will be punished. As a result they hold trial with the “accused” present. The prosecution presents their case and then the defense does the same thing. There are no legal tricks to bring about reasonable doubt by the jury, and there is no jury, just a judge. When both sides rests the judge finds the person guilty and determines punishment. The punishment is death, and the executioner then burns the guilty person..

It is Deputy Fire Chief Linda Kertchbaum that commands the members of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire to extinguish the first fire. It is a multi-alarm fire in a vacant house. After the fire is out the body of a man is discovered in one of the rooms. It is apparent that he was killed in the fire on purpose and that the fire was arson. Linda calls in her friend, Homicide Lieutenant Stan Jaworski to find the murderer along with his partner and two fire marshals.

A few days later there is a major fire at a vinyl chloride plant on Linda’s shift. Two bodies are discovered and Linda asked that Malcolm Green and her partner, Rich Mathews investigate. It quickly appears that the fire was set by the owners for the insurance money so they can rebuild the factory in a country that is willing to overlook some of the hazards in making vinyl chloride.

Additional people are killed and the next name on the docket is the owner of the vinyl chloride plant. However, what they do not know is the fire at the plant was accidental. Malcolm declared that. So, what are these people to do who took the law into their own hands and discover they were about to kill an innocent man, especially since their last victim had not actually killed anyone?