Author's notes -- Koulagirl, I'd like to write professionally, but can't quite figure out how :). And good thinking with the witch-theory. I can't say much other than, you're on the right track, but it's a little simpler than that. Anyway, enjoy :).
Interlude Two
Burned Alive
Four people were brutally murdered behind Caloundra Hotel last night, each victim tied to a stake and then set alight.
The victims were discovered by a hotel employee investigating the smell of smoke, but by then it was too late to save them, nothing left of the bodies but charred stumps.
"They were right behind the delivery entrance," said Joel Pearson, the bartender who discovered the bodies. "I'll never forget the smell of burning flesh, it was just horrible."
The shocking and vicious crime has rocked the close-knit community.
"Caloundra is Caloundra, nobody's arguing that," said Mayor Des Dwyer, "but I've lived in Caloundra all my life, and a crime like this happening here is unthinkable."
Police investigating the murders have so far turned up no clues as to the identity of the killer nor the motive for such a brutal crime.
"Nobody appears to have seen or heard anything last night," said Sergeant Ben Thompson of the Caloundra Police, "which is extremely unusual given the way the victims were killed."
"It looks as if the killer and the victims simply appeared out of thin air."
Sergeant Thompson said the police were investigating the supernatural aspects of the crime suggested by the wooden stakes, but so far had found no leads.
"If anybody was at the Caloundra Hotel last night and saw or heard anything suspicious, we need to speak with you immediately," he said.