Searching for truffles in a wood, a man and his dog unearth something less savoury - a human hand. The body, as Chief Inspector Wexford is informed later, has lain buried for ten years or so, wrapped in a purple shroud. The post mortem cannot reveal the precise cause of death. The only clue ia a crack in one of the dead man's ribs. Although the police database covers a relatively short period of time, it stores a long list of Missing Persons,...