Nora’s eyes widened. The police? For the life of her, she couldn’t fathom what could possibly have happened. Overwhelmed by everything going on, she slid her way in between Karen and the doorframe. “As long as nobody was—” Nora stopped midsentence. She and David had left a few pieces of furniture, but most of the walls were now bare, including the one straight ahead. NORA HARMON IS A KILLER was scrawled in large red letters. Stepping closer, she prayed the message hadn’t been written in blood. Who would do such a thing? Nora had no words. The first question that popped into her head was: Could this be connected to the accident? No way. The crash she was involved in had happened twenty-four years ago. Her next thought had to do with the man she and Trevor had seen watching them. Could he be responsible? Who was he? And what the hell did he want?
“I canceled all showings for the next few days.”
“I appreciate that,” Nora said. She reached into her purse for her phone, took a picture, and then scrolled through her contacts before making a call. “Hi, Henry. It’s me, Nora Harmon. I realize this must be a horrible time, being that it’s the holidays and all, but I have an emergency here at the house in Sacramento. It appears to be a case of vandalism. Someone got inside the house and painted an obscene message on the wall.”
“It looks to me as if the vandal used lipstick,” Karen said.
Nora nodded, doing her best to remain calm as she talked to the painter. “It’s just one wall, but it appears to be lipstick. You might need a primer, but if you could get this done sooner rather than later, I’ll pay you double. Really? Today? You still have my address. Great. Thank you so much.”
Nora hung up. Her shoulders fell.
“I’m sorry you had to see this,” Karen said.
“You have gone above and beyond,” Nora said. “I appreciate your discretion. Thank you for all you’ve done.”
“No problem at all. We’ve had things like this happen before, so believe me when I tell you this isn’t unusual.”
“Really?”
Karen nodded. “Kids get bored or do these types of things on a dare. Oftentimes they are bowing down to peer pressure. It’s sad, but it happens.” She looked toward the kitchen. “I have my computer set up, and I don’t mind waiting around for the painter and sticking around until he’s done. I can text you when everything is good to go.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind handling all of this?” Nora asked.
“Not at all. I’m sorry you had to drive all this way and then deal with this. You go now. Get back to your family or maybe get some Christmas shopping done.”
They said their goodbyes. Once Nora was sitting in her car, buckled up and ready to go, she pulled out her phone and studied the picture she’d taken of the wall. Chills crawled across the back of her neck as she wondered once again if there could possibly be a connection to her past, a connection to the accident. It was time for her to talk to David and tell him everything.
But first . . .
Nora pulled the piece of paper with the Lewitt address on it from her purse. Since she was only a thirty-minute drive from Auburn, why not pay Mr. and Mrs. Lewitt a visit and see if she could learn anything at all about Jane Bell?
She plugged the address into her navigation system. As she drove off, she found herself thinking about how her life had been in a weird downward spiral since Trevor’s near drowning in Hawaii. That’s when she’d first seen the man in the suit. Not long after, she’d met Jane Bell. While her initial gut feeling had been not to take the job, in the end she’d been easily swayed by the idea of having more freedom while making more money.
If it’s too good to be true, it usually is.
A half hour later, when she pulled in front of the Lewitts’ Craftsman-style house with its low-pitched roof and wide eave overhangs, she opened the door, ready to climb out, and simply froze in place. Suddenly, being here didn’t seem like a good idea. She hadn’t seen Jane since she and Richard came to their house to announce their engagement. Just leave it alone, Nora. Let it go. It’s time to move on.
“Hello. Can I help you?”
Nora jumped. Her hand landed on her chest, over her heart.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
She looked at the man. His walker was the only thing standing between them. He was short and stout and had shocking white hair and hooded eyes—gentle green eyes. If this man was Jane’s uncle, the picture Jane had painted did not make sense. After all Jane’s talk of being neglected and worse, Nora hadn’t expected to see a kind face. “Are you Mr. Lewitt?”
“I am. And you are?”
“Nora Harmon. I work for Jane Bell—”
A look of confusion came over his face.
“Also known as Jane Lewitt, your niece?”
“Ahh. Did she marry?” A smile reached his eyes. “Good for her.”
“She’s engaged to a wonderful man named Richard. He’s a dentist. I take it you haven’t seen her recently.”
“We haven’t seen Jane since she graduated from high school . . .” He looked upward, as if he might find his memory there. “2003. That was the year she left.”
“And you haven’t talked to her since?”
“Greg! Who are you talking to?”
He gestured with his chin toward the door. “Why don’t you come inside? Barbara will make some tea. I’m sure she would love to hear about Jane and her new beau.”
Nora found herself nodding. She grabbed her purse, then climbed out and shut the car door. It didn’t take long to catch up to Greg Lewitt as he slowly made his way up the stone path separating two squares of well-manicured lawn.
After introductions were made, Nora was led into the family room. Greg and Barbara Lewitt both disappeared into the kitchen to make tea, leaving Nora alone in the family room. The house was well maintained, the furniture free of dust, something she wouldn’t have noticed one way or another if there wasn’t so much natural light coming through the windows. The mantel was covered with framed pictures. There was one of Jane in the middle. It looked like a school picture. When Nora picked it up to take a closer look, she saw another picture taped to the back of the frame. It was Jane in the backyard. The hem of her dress was ragged. Her knees were bruised, and her eyes looked hollowed out, as if she suffered from malnutrition.
Nora swallowed. Had Jane been telling the truth all along?
Nora heard a bang and then footfalls. It sounded as if they were bickering in whispered tones. Nora quickly put the picture back where she found it and hurried to the couch and took a seat.
Greg and Barbara returned with a tray of teacups. Greg gave Nora a cup of tea and took one for himself to his recliner.
Nora felt awkward. She never should have come.
Mrs. Lewitt settled into a cushioned chair. Her tone was much less friendly than her husband’s when she asked, “So, why are you here?”
That was a very good question, Nora thought.
“She works for Jane,” Greg told his wife. “She just came by to let us know that Jane was engaged.” He turned to Nora. “To a dentist, is that right?”
Nora nodded.
Barbara looked wary. “Did Jane send you?”