The Return: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery (3) (Inspector Van Veeteren Mysteries)

The author of Borkmann's Point spins a story that leaves even the most veteran crime novel readers chilled.A new case for Chief Inspector Van Veeteren -- the complicated history of a nearly perfect murder. On a sunny August day a man is released from prison. On a rainy April day children at play find his corpse. The fact that the dead man is Leopold Verhaven only becomes clear after some time because the mutilated corpse is without its head, legs and feet. Who would be interested in killing this man, a double murderer who spent 24 years in prison?Determined to let no case go unsolved, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren reopens the case. What he discovers is that Verhaven was a star sprinter before he went to prison for allegedly killing two of his lovers. However, he never confessed to the murders and spent a lifetime proclaiming his innocence. Was he killed because someone thought he had not been punished enough? Or was someone afraid of Verhaven's revenge? A terrible suspicion stalks Van Veeteren: had Verhaven been telling the truth? Was he really innocent?From the Hardcover edition. Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Epigraph......Page 7 I. August 24, 1993......Page 9 1......Page 11 II. April 20 - May 5, 1994......Page 17 2......Page 19 3......Page 24 4......Page 32 5......Page 36 6......Page 44 7......Page 47 8......Page 53 9......Page 58 10......Page 62 III. August 24, 1993......Page 71 11......Page 73 IV. May 5 - 10, 1994......Page 77 12......Page 79 13......Page 88 14......Page 93 15......Page 100 16......Page 110 17......Page 121 18......Page 127 19......Page 133 20......Page 138 21......Page 145 22......Page 157 V. August 24, 1993......Page 167 23......Page 169 VI. May 11 - 15, 1994......Page 173 24......Page 175 25......Page 183 26......Page 189 VII. April 24, 1962......Page 193 27......Page 195 VIII. May 16 - 22, 1994......Page 201 28......Page 203 29......Page 209 30......Page 216 31......Page 226 32......Page 233 IX. September 11, 1981......Page 245 33......Page 247 X. May 23 - 28, 1994......Page 253 34......Page 255 35......Page 262 36......Page 265 37......Page 269 38......Page 281 39......Page 286 40......Page 294 XI. November 25, 1981......Page 299 41......Page 301 XII. May 29 - 31, 1994......Page 305 42......Page 307 43......Page 318 XIII. June 19, 1994......Page 323 44......Page 325 International Bestseller Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is forced to unlock the secrets of a nearly perfect murder in this taut psychological thriller. On a rainy April day, a body--or what is left of it--is found by a young girl. Wrapped in a blanket with no hands, feet, or head, it signals the work of a brutal, methodical killer. The victim, Leopold Verhaven, was a track star before he was convicted for killing two of his ex-lovers. He consistently proclaimed his innocence, however, and was killed on the day of his return to society. This latest murder is more than a little perplexing and Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is determined to discover the truth, even if it means taking the law into his own hands. From the Trade Paperback edition When a young girl on a woodland hike stumbles upon a corpse with no hands, feet, or head, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, recovering from surgery in a nearby hospital, begins to piece together the clues in the case