The Holy Innocents (Roger the Chapman #4)

It is a shadowy early morning in April 1475 - Hock Monday, two weeks and a day past Easter. There's spring in the air and in Roger's step as he approaches the thriving village of Totnes. But Roger also senses danger in the air: A pack of cutthroats wanders the forest after a night of stealing and pillaging in the surrounding villages, and Roger barely manages to hide from them in the brush. Arriving in Totnes, he learns that the marauding band has been terrorizing the countryside for weeks, stealing livestock, taking money and goods from travelers, and raiding cottages. And worse, although there is no proof, they are believed to be responsible for the disappearance of two village children. The entire town is devastated and paralyzed by fear. Roger, playfully "hocked" by a group of women, then rescued and let go with only a kiss apiece as his ransom, stays in the village for a few days' rest. Hearing the tale of the missing children from his handsome rescuer, Grizelda Harbourne, who was also the two children's nurse, Roger gets caught up in their story. But his God-given mind for mysteries, and his heightened sense of danger, are baffled: How did the children get out of the house unnoticed in broad daylight? Why did they leave, and where did they go? Would the outlaws really kill just for the sake of killing? Roger cannot rest - or rule out the possibility of more violence - until he solves the puzzle.