Betty Case opened her eyes, fear gripping her. She lay very still for a moment, listening. Then she heard the sound again, like someone walking on the roof.

Instantly she thought of the cat burglar, who’d been terrorizing his victims with an axe. She sat up and reached for the gun under her pillow.

A rasping sound came from the hall window; the she heard footsteps outside the bedroom door. She held her breath, her eyes straining in the darkness, her hand gripping the gun tighter.

Suddenly the door opened. A shadowy figure stood there, a glittering blade in his hand. Betty screamed and pulled the trigger—setting off a chain of events that enmeshed her deeper and deeper in a vicious game of murder and violence.