"The witness is Lena Cobral." Jocasta showed them a holo image of a slight young woman with dark hair twisted into an elaborate bun. "She is the widowed wife of Rutin Cobral."

The image of the young woman vanished and a man appeared in her place. He was young, fairly tall, with short brown hair and a relaxed smile. "Rutin was recently killed, and his murderer is still at large."

"Is that unusual?" Qui-Gon asked. "I thought Frego was a planet ruled by criminals."

Jocasta looked slightly annoyed at the interruption, but continued.

"The Cobral family is the largest power on Frego. They are in charge of a crime ring that has successfully controlled the government for twenty years. Rutin's father died a few years ago, of natural causes. It was widely believed that Rutin was being groomed to take over, although he has two brothers who are older than he is. Solan is the oldest and the new leader of the Cobral."

A shorter, stockier version of Rutin appeared on the screen. Besides his brother's height, Solan also lacked his thick head of hair and genuine smile. He was nearly bald and his scowl looked permanent.

"Solan is well known on his planet, widely feared and respected. He gets what he needs through threats, violence, and influence."

Now that Jocasta was through imparting information, she was prepared to answer Qui-Gon's question.

"It is not unusual for murders to go uninvestigated on Frego. But it is unusual for a favored member of the Cobral family to be killed, particularly without vengeance."

Though Qui-Gon's expression did not change, he felt a fresh wave of grief wash through him. He longed more than ever for Tahl — for her cynicism, her quick mind, and her habit of dispensing information in a way that naturally led Qui-Gon's thoughts in the proper direction.