Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(64)

Chills crawled up his legs like hundreds of tiny ants. “I never said I didn’t like you.”

“You didn’t have to. It’s obvious.”

He swallowed. She was standing over him now. So close he could smell her sickly sweet perfume. Why is she here, in my room? He would have asked her if his voice hadn’t gotten stuck in his throat.

Just as she began to lean closer yet, her prying eyes directed at the screen, Tank growled, prompting Jane to stumble backward and give Trevor just enough time to twist around in his seat and hit a couple of command buttons.

The screen went black. He inhaled.

Good dog, Trevor thought. “Do you need something?” he asked instead. “Do you want me to go get Mom?”

Her smile appeared forced, like a skinny, crooked line across her lower face. “No. I’m so happy that we’re all in the same house, under the same roof together. I just wanted to see what you were up to and say good night.”

Creepy as hell. “Good night,” he said.

She didn’t budge. That made him even more nervous, if that were possible. What did she want from him? The woman was clearly bad news. She reeked of evil. Why couldn’t anyone else see it?

The very edges of her mouth curved upward. “I think of the Harmons as family.”

Was she nuts? “Why?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You are a wicked child, aren’t you?”

Wicked? His mind swirled. Mom and Dad were in their room right down the hallway. Same with Hailey. Couldn’t they hear her talking? His heart was racing now, but he wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to make a quick exit, but she was standing by the door. She would grab him. Tank was good at growling, he might even bark, but he would never bite anyone.

Jane peered out the large-paned window. The house sat on top of a cliff, which made for an amazing view of the lake and the forest of trees. Even from where Trevor sat, he could see one little light across the lake.

“Is that Gillian’s house?” she asked.

“You know Gillian?”

Jane arched both brows. “I only know of her. I know her mom is a big fat scaredy-cat.” She feigned a shiver and laughed.

Trevor couldn’t believe he’d ever thought, even for a second, that she had looked like a princess from a fairy tale, because right now, if he had to pick a character from a kids’ movie that she reminded him of, it would be Cruella de Vil. All she needed was the long smoking stick and a couple of black stripes running through her hair.

Tank might not be aggressive, but Trevor was thankful to have his dog close by. He could feel his thick body pressed against his knee. “How do you know Gillian’s mom is a scaredy-cat?”

“I know a lot of things.” She turned away from the window and looked straight at him, through him, as if she knew his every thought. “I know that you’ve been searching for information on me.”

His throat went dry. He turned toward his screen, but it was blank. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you don’t trust me.” She raised a finger to her head and twirled it around in circles above her ear. “You’ve got one of those curious minds, always searching for answers. We’re a lot alike in that way.”

Run. Run. Run. Or at least scream!

“Cat’s got your tongue?” She released a long sigh, as if she were suddenly bored. “We’ve come full circle now. And I still don’t know—”

“What are you guys talking about?”

Trevor had never been so relieved to see his mom and sister standing at the door. Hailey’s hair was rumpled and in disarray. She rubbed her eyes.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Jane said, “and I noticed there was a light on upstairs, so I came up to investigate.”

“Trevor,” Nora said, “you need to get to bed.”

Trevor didn’t waste any time doing what Mom said. He slid under the covers, not daring to look at Jane. Tank curled up on his dog bed on the floor close to his bed.

Jane made her exit, and Mom said good night before turning off the light and shutting the door behind her. Usually, he would call out for her to please open his door, but not tonight.

Trevor blindly reached down until he could feel Tank’s silky fur beneath his fingers. He had stopped believing in Santa at the age of seven, but if Santa were real, he would ask for two things: a lock for his door and for Jane Bell to leave this house and never return.





CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

It wasn’t yet 6:00 a.m. when Nora’s phone buzzed and woke her up. She reached for her phone, blinked a few times to focus, then saw that Richard had texted her back: I’m out of town until the New Year. I haven’t talked to Jane since she called off the engagement.

Nora’s heart dropped to her stomach.

She read it again. She thought about waking up David and telling him what she’d learned and that she had caught Jane in yet another lie. Afraid he might continue to sympathize with Jane and refuse to confront her, she climbed out of bed, slipped her arms into her robe hanging on the chair, then quietly made her way out of the room and down the stairs.

The smell of coffee greeted her at the landing. The first thing Nora noticed when she walked into the kitchen was that every dish had been washed and put away. The place was immaculate. To her right, Jane sat at the table in the nook, looking through one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Good morning,” Jane said without looking Nora’s way. “I made a full pot of coffee.”