Cat's Cradle
by Leslie Sands

THE STORY: The action takes place at “The Cresswell Arms,” an old coaching-house in a remote English village.

Many years before, a kidnapping (and perhaps murder) had taken place in the town, but the policeman assigned to the case by Scotland Yard, Inspector Frost, had failed to solve the crime.

Now he has returned to try again, only to find that he has become a very unwelcome guest.

In fact, as he reopens his investigation, he encounters suspicion and even hostility, as it becomes increasingly clear that he is facing a conspiracy of silence and the wish of the townspeople to leave the past shrouded in mystery.

But Frost presses on, with results that are both startling and disquieting, and which lead to a surprise ending in which justice is indeed served after all—but in a manner more ironic and severe than any formal court of law could mete out.