Out of the Fog — Clarissa Ross

THE SHROUDED PAST

The three neighboring houses on Maine's seacoast seemed lost in the fog, cut off from the rest of the world. The houses belonged to Vera Waters, her aunt--and now there was a strange new family, who came shrouded in mystery as deep as the fog. Who were the Harpers? Just two men and a woman who, as they claimed, liked the area? If so, why did their first sight of Vera shock them into near silence? And why did Aunt Samantha's astrological readings, usually happy and frequently correct, warn Vera of impending danger?

The threat to Vera's sanity and life became brutally clear the day a private investigator arrived in town. One of the Harpers, said Detective Egan, was mad, haunted by an ancient murder--and driven to kill again! Vera, equally compelled, found herself the unwilling bait in a trap more terrifying than her worst imaginings!

ASSAULT IN THE NIGHT

Vera thrust her hands in her raincoat pockets and hunched her shoulders against the damp chill. There was a red light in Samantha's bedroom. An eerie sensation went through her at the picture of the old woman with her Ouija board, attempting to contact some voice from the other world.

She gave a deep sigh and fixed her eyes on the corner where any cars had to turn into the street. She was about to give up and return to the house when a car approached at high speed, bearing down on her. It must be John.

At that instant she heard a footstep behind her. She was seized by unseen hands and hurled into the path of the approaching car. She screamed and raised her hands to protect herself against the glare of headlights as she struck the asphalt and blacked out…