Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(13)

Nora grabbed her coat, thanked Mom and Dad for helping them out, and headed for the door.

Jane took hold of Nora’s arm. “What about your son? I would love to meet Trevor.”

Nora went to the bottom of the stairs and called Trevor’s name. It was a few minutes before he appeared, making for a few awkward moments of silence as they all stood around waiting.

“Trevor!” Jane said excitedly the moment she saw him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, she went to him and wrapped her long arms around his slender body.

Nora noticed Trevor stiffen. He’d always been wary of strangers, but more so since the incident.

Jane stepped away and lifted her arms in exaggerated glee. “I’ve met the entire Harmon clan now. Even the dog.”

Trevor turned around and headed back up the stairs.

“What do you say, Trevor?” Nora called out to her son.

“Nice to meet you.”

Jane turned to Nora. “He’s adorable.”

“You have a very nice family,” Richard told Nora’s dad.

On their way out, Jane looked around the room until her gaze fell on Hailey. “I’ll see you at cheer practice!”

Five minutes later, they were all buckled into Richard’s black Escalade. Richard drove, and David sat in the passenger seat while Nora and Jane sat in the back.

“The tickets are on my phone,” Jane said. “I bought the ones that give us a little wiggle room as far as arrival time, so we should be fine.”

David looked over his shoulder at Jane. “Are you an art fan?”

“Yes, I am. In fact, way back when, I thought about going for an art major instead of business.”

For the rest of the ride, they talked about art and music and all kinds of creative endeavors. Richard was musically inclined; he played the violin and the piano and claimed to be a decent guitar player. Jane was what she called a closet painter. She dabbled with acrylics and oils but balked at the idea of selling her artwork, let alone showing it to any of them, which only served to make them all curious to see what she’d painted, especially since she refused to tell them whether she painted landscapes or portraits or maybe wildlife. Finally, they all agreed to let it go. Jane also spoke Italian and Spanish fluently and wrote poetry when she was in the mood.

Nora and David were the odd ones out. Richard and Jane were adamant that they must have some sort of hobby and went on to run through a long list of activities like singing, drawing, swimming, diving, horseback riding, and so on. Nora put a stop to the endless lists by explaining that she and David were excellent at wine tasting, although they were not connoisseurs. The conversation ended with a good laugh.

An hour or so later, they dined on delicious juicy pork bao buns at Dumpling Home on Gough Street, then walked to the Van Gogh exhibit, where they all wandered off in different directions. Nora hadn’t known what to expect, but the exhibit was stunning. Two hundred Van Gogh masterpieces were animated on the floors and walls, making for a surreal experience. Somewhere along the way, she lost track of David. Ten minutes later, she spotted Jane and David walking through the Village of Arles. The display was magnificent, and Jane kept pulling on David’s arm and pointing out one detail or another.

Nora wasn’t the jealous type, but her insides twisted at the sight of Jane’s chest pushed against her husband’s shoulder. They were both smiling, happy. If she didn’t know them, she would have admired the lovely couple enjoying themselves. Richard was nowhere to be seen.

Snap out of it, Nora! You’re being ridiculous. She simply wasn’t used to seeing gorgeous women nuzzled close to David. Nora straightened her spine, took a breath, and headed their way.

Jane’s smile seemed to widen when she saw Nora approaching. There was no telltale sign that she’d been caught flirting. Nora felt silly for feeling the way she had, especially when Jane looped her arm through Nora’s and ushered her to the same spot where she’d been pointing a detail out to David. A few minutes later, Richard appeared, and they all finished strolling through the exhibit together. Overall, it was proving to be a nice evening out. Even the air outside had less chill than Nora had expected. Richard took the lead as they walked and talked their way back to where he’d parked the car, having found a lucky spot at the curb somewhere between the dumpling restaurant and the exhibit. Stars lit up the sky as they went along. It wasn’t until they found themselves in a darkened alleyway that they realized they had taken a couple of wrong turns.

Convinced the car was close by, Richard apologized for leading them astray. As they turned about to head back the way they had come, a dark figure popped out from behind a stack of crates, grabbed hold of Nora’s purse strap, and yanked her leather bag from her shoulder, then took off.

David ran after him, Richard on his heels. What if the purse snatcher had a knife or a gun? Before Nora could say something, Jane grabbed her arm and took off running, pulling Nora along with her in a different direction than the men had gone.

“Where are we going?” Nora asked after Jane let go of her arm, her breathing shallow and ragged as she struggled to keep up.

“We’re going to try and cut the bastard off in his path and let him know he fucked with the wrong people tonight.”

As she ran over uneven pavement, Nora tripped and nearly lost her balance but didn’t fall. Her adrenaline kicked into high gear. Every limb was shaking. She looked down at her feet and saw she’d broken a heel. Not wanting to be left behind, she kicked off her shoes and ran after Jane, her lungs burning from exertion. Jane obviously worked out. She was fast.