Tuscan Terror

A small, ancient, three-wheeled vehicle, an Ape truck of a dull blue colour, much scratched and rather battered, drew to a noisy halt beside the rubbish bins. A man got out and stood for a moment scrutinising the area, then evidently satisfied that no one had noticed him, placed a plastic bag on the ground in front of the largest green bin. He climbed back in and the vehicle was set into rackety motion again. As it got further and further away it sounded more and more like the insect it was named after, the bee. As the sound faded, another more acute one took its place, a wail, the cry of a baby. . . Dr. di Girolamo is the local magistrate for Borgo San Cristoforo, in Tuscany is now faced with the mystery of an abandoned baby and the hideous murder of a young man whose body is found in the woods.