A Well Dressed Corpse — Jo A. Hiestand

Is the phantom black dog haunting a sleepy English village a harbinger of two mysterious disappearances? One dark March evening Vera Howarth vanishes from her village. Despite search teams, TV appeals and a police investigation, she is never found. Her disappearance transmutes into a local ghost story. That was 23 years ago. Now Reed Fitzgerald, the organizer of the village well dressing custom, goes missing. The incident is linked by speculation and fear to Vera's. Detective-Sergeant Brenna Taylor, her boss, Detective-Chief Inspector Geoffrey Graham, and other members of their Murder Team from the Derbyshire Constabulary are called in to investigate a handful of bones, discovered in the forest that hugs the village. During the search, Reed's body is found several feet from the skeletal remains. Vera? Were the two killed by the same person? If not, why are the remains lying so close together? As the police team investigates they discover a tangle of jealousy, betrayal and lies, all involving Reed and Vera, harking back to the ghost stories of the region.