Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(14)

Nora was thankful to see her finally stop up ahead. Nora caught up to her. Jane had her back flat against the alleyway wall. She put a finger to her lips, telling Nora to be quiet.

Nora leaned against the wall. She heard footfalls—not running but jogging. One man. He was coming their way. Nora’s breath caught in her throat. Frozen in place, she prayed the purse snatcher, if it was him, wouldn’t see them and would just run right by, none the wiser.

But Jane apparently had other plans. The minute the sound of clomping feet grew close, Jane jumped out of hiding, her stance wide as she raised her arm and sprayed the approaching man’s face with pepper spray.

The man was holding Nora’s bag tight against his chest. It was him. The purse snatcher. She watched Jane jab a knee into his thigh. He groaned but refused to let go of Nora’s bag. As Jane and the purse snatcher wrestled, Nora knew she couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. She grabbed a fistful of his wavy black hair and yanked back so hard, he released the purse and let out a high-pitched scream that made her blood curdle. His head twisted around and he looked at Nora. The veins in his pale neck were bulging, his eyes bloodshot and wild-looking. “What the fuck!”

She released her hold on his hair. For a second, she thought he might lunge for her, but instead, he ran off, and she nearly collapsed with relief. She peered inside her bag and saw her wallet.

“There he is!” Richard shouted from the distance.

“No use running after him,” Jane told Richard and David when they caught up to them.

Nora lifted her purse for them to see. “He didn’t have time to take anything.”

They all stood there and watched the dark figure disappear into the night. Everyone was breathing hard except for Jane.

Nora stared at her in wonder. “You were incredible.”

“Thanks. I run four miles a day, and I have a black belt in tae kwon do.”

Was there anything this woman couldn’t do? Nora wondered.

“Impressive,” Richard said.

David was hunched over, hands propped on knees as he caught his breath. After a moment, he straightened and drew in a deep breath. “Well, that was a workout. Next time, God forbid there is a next time, I’m sitting back and waiting for the women to handle things.” He looked at Richard. “I would advise you to stay on your toes around this one.” He used his chin to gesture toward Jane.

Richard said, “As long as she doesn’t use a reverse side kick on me, I’m good.”

The guys laughed. It was a minute before David noticed that Nora was barefoot. “What happened to your shoes?”

“One of the heels broke during our pursuit.” Despite feeling nauseous and dizzy, Nora tried not to let on that her insides were in turmoil.

David walked over to her. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Nora’s hands trembled, and she felt like crying. “That was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.”

“We probably shouldn’t have run after him,” David said.

Jane stepped closer. “Is everything all right?”

The shock and her racing heart kept Nora from speaking.

David must have noticed her legs were wobbly. He slid an arm around her waist, and she held his arm to keep from falling. David turned around and leaned over so she could climb onto his back. “Hop on. Let’s get you home.”

“If you don’t take the ride,” Jane said, “I will.”

Nora wasn’t sure if Jane was flirting with David or just being jovial, but Nora climbed onto David’s back, embarrassed that it had come to this. They all talked and joked about their wild evening, and by the time they reached Richard’s SUV, Nora not only felt much better, she felt an unexpected camaraderie with her new friends.





CHAPTER SEVEN

Nora was driving home after an afternoon spent at the spa—her gift from Jane. Nora didn’t particularly like massages. They were supposedly good for your blood pressure, stress level, and state of well-being, but she had a difficult time relaxing. She would rather go hiking or biking, but she hadn’t wanted to hurt Jane’s feelings, so she’d gone. The best part of her day had been climbing into her car and thinking about her evening on the drive home. She planned to make a pot of spaghetti and hang out with her family, then take a shower and read in bed. A perfect night.

At some point, her thoughts turned to Jane and what a surprise it had been to realize she enjoyed her company. Since their night out in San Francisco, Nora and David had shaken their heads at the thought of Jane wrestling with the purse snatcher. They might have laughed at Nora pulling the purse snatcher’s hair if it hadn’t been so frightening. Nora hadn’t cared about retrieving her purse at the time; she had merely wanted to help Jane. If Nora closed her eyes, she could easily conjure the wild-eyed look on the man’s face after she’d yanked a fistful of his hair.

For a few terrifying seconds, she had worried she might be killed. The thought made her heart race anew. Instead, she focused on how the incident had bonded the four of them. In fact, Nora had invited Jane and Richard to their house next weekend for a barbecue. She had also invited two couples from the neighborhood. David would flip burgers and hot dogs, and if the weather permitted, the kids could swim. Trevor hadn’t entered the water since his frightening experience, but maybe watching the neighbors’ kids having fun in the pool would change things around for him.