Search Through the Mist — Lucile Vernon Stevens

There was something about Paul Warley that made Lori want to protect him...even after his stepmother disappeared, even after she began to wonder if he might not be a murderer...

A Lady Vanishes...

A bowl of half-peeled apples in the middle of the living room was the only sign of something wrong the night Jean Warley disappeared. And at first her stepson Paul and her cousin Lori refused to believe anything was wrong. But time passed with no word from Jean, no clue to where she had gone--willingly or unwillingly. When banker Sam Calder was found shot the same night, anxiety about Jean grew. It didn't seem likely that there was a connection between her disappearance and the murder. Still, her husband Gil had been found guilty of embezzling funds from Sam's bank years ago and jailed. But Gil was dead...or was he? There was a rumor he was not only alive but back in town. The report drew a violent reaction from Paul: his father was dead, he insisted, drowned. Lori wanted to believe him, wanted desperately not to listen when reporter Bernie Gray hinted at what she had already begun to suspect: that Paul knew more about Jean's disappearance and the murder than he was saying...

The Sacrifice...
Bernie looked at me earnestly. "Lori, can't you believe I'm asking you these things out of a reporter's curiosity? Can't you tell me the truth? Either that or tell me to forget the whole deal and get lost? Is that what you want me to do?"
There was only one answer, and it wasn't the truth. I wanted is help and his strength, but I was afraid for Paul. If I hoped to protect Paul, I couldn't let Bernie know anything.
"Yes," I said firmly. "Yes, that's what I want you to do..."


Hero: Bernie Gray
Heroine: Lori Warley