Three, Three, the Rivals

The latest in the series whose titles come from the English folksong, ``Green Grow the Rushes-O,'' requires Detective Chief Inspector David Webb to face troubling aspects in his past while investigating a murder. When old Billy Makepeace is murdered in Webb's hometown, Webb is caught in the remnants of a feud involving the victim; his own father, who is deceased; and Dick Vernon, a former friend who mysteriously vanished long ago. Webb learns from his sister Sheila that, on the night of his death, Makepeace had phoned her, an unprecedented act. Although she wasn't home to speak with him, she thinks his call might have been sparked by her childhood story of having seen a ghost, an experience that he overheard her telling some friends earlier during that day. Determined to clear up bygone mysteries as well as Makepeace's murder, Webb reintroduces himself to small-town life, reconciles with a girlfriend, whom he abruptly left many years before, and finds the missing Vernon. Family relationships, ancient feuds and childhood memories converge in this satisfying, reflective mystery. (Mar.)