Chapter 29

Sierra didn't know what to say as she heard Kashi say she was done. Her eyes looked down at the note on the table. The messy printed writing. The threat hidden behind the simple command. It frightened Kashi.

"What do you mean you're done?" Carr had almost all but stood up from his chair, his voice a little too loud. "No Kashi, your dad got shot. We can't just let him—"

Sierra leaned across the table and pulled his hat off his head and whacked him in the shoulder with it. "Carr, knock that off." She turned to Kashi and enveloped her in a hug, sending a final warning glare in Carr's direction. "Carr if she's done, she's done." Sierra was surprised that the note had swayed her normally ever-determined friend so much, but maybe this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Maybe Kashi just needed some time off of their investigation to process. To decide if she was done or not.

Sierra could feel Kashi shaking a little as she hugged her, her arms squeezing her tightly.

"Look, let's just forget the mystery for now." Sierra pulled away from Kashi who had still kept her tears from falling. "Why don't we give it some time and decide later whether or not to look into it further?" Both Kashi and Carr looked as if they were to protest, but Sierra shook her head. "Look, Kashi you're freaked out about the note and your dad and I get that. So when you have time to process everything, and you still want to be done, then alright. And Carr you need to calm down first and make sure Kashi is alright rather than just getting upset, okay?"

They agreed and before awkward silence could settle, one of the employees brought over their steaming plates of food.

Sierra drove home after saying goodbye to Kashi and Carr. She hoped her mother was gone by the time she got back. Her dad was still on some business trip, her brothers were probably getting into something they shouldn't and torturing the poor nanny their dad had hired. And if Sierra's mom was home, she'd probably be with her gaggle of friends and asking Sierra why she wasn't the success she was expecting.

Sierra's mom had been a model since she was a young child. She'd acted in tv shows and movies all through her childhood and adolescence, before becoming a singer. She retired and married Sierra's dad, most likely because he was filthy rich, and she'd been blowing his money on whatever she saw fit while harping on Sierra for her lack of achievements.

Sierra had done modeling before. She could be found in a few magazines and she'd had a spot in a commercial for some fitness program recently, but it wasn't really what she wanted to do. And her lack of interest may have bothered her mother more than her lack of success.

Much to Sierra's chagrin, her mother's car was still in the garage as she pulled in. She groaned, knowing she'd not be so lucky as to avoid her as a few other cars were also in the driveway, most likely friends of hers.

Sierra spotted her brothers in their treehouse out back, one of them currently dangling from a rope hanging over the balcony. Malachi had just gotten his cast removed and here he was about to break his arm again. The nanny beat her to yelling at him. The poor woman was shouting at Malachi to get down but instead, he wrapped his feet and legs around the rope and let go with his arms, hanging upside down. Her other two brothers were howling with laughter from inside the treehouse. Jeremy was fourteen, Harold was twelve and Malachi was nine, but they all acted like they were six year olds.

Sierra wasn't sure if she'd rather deal with the gaggle of misbehaved boys or her mother and the group of ladies she called friends. They only got together to eat food and share the latest gossip. She could only imagine what kind of wild stories were being told about Kashi's dad and the gunshot wound.

Sierra walked through the side door of her house, the laughter of the ladies greeting her as she stepped into the mudroom. They were probably in the eat-in kitchen. She wouldn't be able to avoid them through the open space of the house. So instead she just waltzed in through the kitchen, aiming for a set of stairs to the left. And of course, her mother spotted her.

"Sierra, you missed a phone call from your agent." her mother said by way of greeting.

"Well maybe if you sent the calls to my phone, I wouldn't. You can't expect me to be home all day." Sierra snapped, not caring what her mom's friends thought. They all called her a washed up partier anyway. Why not add brat to the list?

"Sierra I booked you a spot in two weeks and I expect you to be ready this time. No more showing up two hours late. And don't be late for the dinner with Mr. Adams tonight either. He could get you a spot on a TV show coming up. You'll finally have a chance to catch up."

Sierra rolled her eyes, climbing the stairs. "Sure mom." Her tone was all but reassuring to her mother who let out a frustrated sigh. Her friends immediately tried to console her mother and coo over her obnoxiously.

Sierra flopped on her head, plugging her phone into its charger. Her mom's tenacity with Sierra had become overbearing. Sierra didn't want any of the modeling or acting. She'd tricked her mother into thinking she couldn't sing. She'd love to play an occasional gig at a bar in town with her guitar, but her mother would find out and exploit that. Sierra wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life yet. Her mother had told her what she'd needed to do ever since she was little. When other kids said they wanted to be doctors and police officers, Sierra had always written "model" because that's what her mom told her. And on top of that, and much to her mother's disappointment, she'd never fallen in love with someone or even been remotely interested in going on a date. It was fun teasing Kashi and other friends, but Sierra had never felt anything like that before. Wasn't sure she wanted to.

She let out a heavy sigh. What was the point anymore?