Part One: II. Town

The origin of the name Crawlack was not altogether clear; the local historian and bookstore owner claimed it derived from Ville de Grand Lac as it was supposedly entered in the Domesday book, and, according to him, Grand Lac was later anglicised to Crawlack.

All this, however, was never verified or confirmed. In the end, it did not matter much to anyone. It seemed, however, that the Norman name-givers mildly suffered from delusion of grandeur, as their grand lac in reality was little more than an oversized pond.

Crawlack was a small town, a regional centre, with a modestly sized police force. Including administrative staff, some eight people worked at the constabulary, which was now housed in a renovated building, the result of recent modernizations and financial injections by the government.

Detective Chief Inspector Frank Lewis had worked there since he left the academy at 19 and had worked his way up by experience and seemingly endless courses and workshops.