Lament For The Dead

The Abductor had wrapped all five bodies in bandages. They looked like Egyptian mummies. The bandages around the head of one had been partially unwrapped. But the patch of dark brown hair and a narrow strip of greying, fossilised-like skin peeping through quickly dispelled the notion that it was a hoax. 


He gazed in awe at each of the chairs, five of which were occupied. The sixth was pulled out as if the occupant had just left and was expected to return at any minute. A pack of playing cards had been dealt out for six hands. The mummies were very carefully arranged around the table. Some were holding the cards in their bandaged hands with their heads bent over as if studying them. Others had their heads turned at a jaunty angle so that it looked as if they were looking at each other and chatting. 


* At the turn of the nineteenth century six men committed a heinous act in Drayford Village, for which they were all duly punished. So what does their crime have to do with the disappearance of several of its modern day residents? Craig Gardener, a librarian and local historian, stumbles on the answer. But can the police and he work out who is committing these acts in time to save further victims?