Births, Deaths and Marriages

"The smile froze on Judy''s lips as she heard the scream. It seemed to come from the direction in which she had just walked; she retraced her steps, and saw the girl she had seen earlier, standing by the willow tree, by the pram, her hands to her mouth.

''She''s gone!'' the girl said. ''The baby''s gone.''"

In an isolated cottage a woman has been bludgeoned to death; outside, a man has been crushed ...