Has the story been told in the wrong order? A child has been abducted. The child's mother had never believed the stories about Outlings stealing children but now is not so sure. As an alternative, she suggests a secret human cult living in the wilderness...
There are too many cases of lost children to be explained by accident and there are also:
"'...frightened stories about reappearances...'" (p. 9)
(We need to be told more.)
The police play down her story but she thinks that they too are afraid because they are recruited from country folk and their town:
"'...lies near the edge of the unknown.'" (ibid.)
An intriguing mystery - except that the opening passage has already shown us two of the Outlings and a pook carrying the stolen child! Like a Columbo episode where we see the murder before Columbo investigates and, of course, solves it.
2 comments:
In fact, only dimwits are readily convicted. A lot of crimes -- murders, particularly -- involve no bodies, only "he disappeared".
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Because it's notoriously hard for police to track down a murderer without the body of the victim. Without a corpus delicti it's almost impossible to prosecute a murder suspect.
Yeah, I've been watching cop shows!
Ad astra! Sean
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