The Sierra Files Box Set: Books 1-3: Plus a bonus Christmas novella!

by Christy Barritt

  “Sierra’s sister helps in a way that’s helpful to both animals and humans,” my mother stated, her voice softening some.

  Score one for Greg. He could do something I’d never been able to accomplish—he could thaw the ice queen.

  “Isn’t it wonderful that we can all have different roles here on this earth?” Greg continued. He put his hand on my knee and squeezed. “Sierra’s doing something she believes in, and she’s trying to leave the world a little better than she found it.”

  I quickly slipped from out of his grasp. Despite the fact that he’d busted a move, I was grateful he was here. He’d helped smooth a rough conversation, and his words had validated me. That didn’t happen often here at home.

  When no one said anything, I stood. “You know, I’m tired from the drive, and I’d like to get some rest before the ceremony tomorrow. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to turn in for the night.”

  My stomach turned with nausea again. Must be the stress of being here, of the dog, of being sneaky. Lying down truly did sound good.

  Before anyone could object, I waved good night and hurried upstairs. My heart was pounding out of control by the time I reached my room, and unshed tears burned in my eyes.

  Why did my family always make me feel so small? Why couldn’t they understand how fulfilled I felt—except when I was around them?

  I fell back on my bed and instinctively reached for one of my old stuffed cats.

  Don’t think about your family, Sierra. Think about Big Boy instead.

  Coping mechanism number one in my life: channel all your frustration into saving animals. It had worked for me in the past and helped me get through some of the lonely days of my childhood. I had to dwell on the things I could control instead of trying to change other people.

  I stood and walked to the window. I slid it open, feeling the need for some fresh air. The backyard was dark now, but I had a bird’s-eye view of the layout for tomorrow’s ceremony.

  As I glanced at the guesthouse where Chad was staying, I paused.

  Someone was outside the cottage, peering in a window.

  No, it couldn’t be.

  I looked closer. But it was!

  Copper thief? Maybe.

  But the memory of that bone that Big Boy had brought to me—and the dead body in the woods—and the more logical choice was obvious.

  I had to get down there now before someone killed my husband, just like they’d killed Reggie Lennox’s wife!

  Chapter Eight

  I grabbed the first thing I could find in my room—an old Hello Kitty umbrella—and darted into the hallway. I decided to go the back way, just to ensure that no one would spot me. At least it would decrease the likelihood.

  Pretending I was actually good at being stealthy I crept down the hallway, holding the umbrella like a baseball bat. I peered around the stairway and saw that everyone lingered in the living room. Perfect.

  I crept through the kitchen, shielded by the island in the center of the room. Remaining low, I reached the back door.

  “Sierra?”

  I looked up and saw Aunt Yori staring down at me, a bottle in her hand. I put a finger over my mouth, begging for her silence.

  She raised the bottle and begged for my silence.

  We had an understanding between us. I wouldn’t tell anyone she’d been sneaking alcohol, and she wouldn’t tell anyone I was sneaking out.

  She leaned toward me and whispered a little too loudly, “If I was dating a man who looked like that, I’d pay him some late-night visits, too.”

  I gulped, hoping no one had heard her. Then I forced a smile, cracked the door open, and snuck outside.

  What exactly was I going to do when I ran into this intruder? Knock him over the head with my umbrella? Wouldn’t that just be perfect?

  Someone who was brutal enough to murder his wife wouldn’t bat an eyelash at killing me.

  I didn’t give up. I remained on the perimeter of my yard, staying in the shadows as I moved closer to the guesthouse. I knew one thing: I couldn’t let Chad die. Not on my life.

  Big Boy started barking inside the house, and another thought occurred to me: Chad and I were going to be caught red handed with a dog labeled as police evidence.

  Of course, we’d be caught if one of us died also.

  I needed to ensure neither of those things happened. First priority: saving Chad.

  I reached the edge of the house. Where had the shadow gone? Was he inside the house already?

  It was country dark out here. Where I lived was close to the city, and it never really got dark, only semi-dark. But out here in the grand suburbs—I called them that because that was what I considered the upper-class suburbs—the dark was almost blinding.

  Big Boy barked again, more frantically this time. My heart rate increased as the seriousness of the situation hit me again. This wasn’t a child’s game of hide-and-seek. There could be real danger, and here I was acting like I had a clue what I was doing.

  I lowered my Hello Kitty umbrella, realizing it would do little good. I was confronting a cold-blooded killer. The thought made my blood freeze.

  A twig snapped in the distance.

  My ears perked as my muscles tightened. As soon as I heard the sound, a scurry of leaves brushed over the lawn.

  Had I been hearing things? Was the sound just a part of the wind that swept around me? Or was it tied to something more sinister?

  I gripped the flimsy umbrella, at once switching how I held it. The hard plastic kitty head on the handle was the most lethal part. I might need to utilize it.

  I reached the corner of the house, and I hadn’t seen anyone. Big Boy’s barks had lessened. Was that because something had happened to him? Or was all of this overblown, my imagination working overtime?

  With a burst of courage, I jetted across the grass and reached the house. I ducked behind a leafy shrub. With a deep gulp of air, I peered around.

  There he was! The shadow. He crouched by the window, his face leering inside the house.

  I watched as he rose. I still couldn’t see his face or tell anything about him, other than he was clearly male. That was based on the set of his shoulders, his flat chest, the way he carried himself.

  Was it Mr. Lennox? I couldn’t be sure.

  He took a step toward the door. His hand reached for the handle.

  I couldn’t let him get inside. I wouldn’t.

  With courage I didn’t know I had, I raised the umbrella, and together Hello Kitty and I charged toward the intruder.

  A guttural cry escaped me, reminiscent of my Amazon ancestors. Only I was Asian. Okay, so I tapped into my inner Mulan.

  As the battle cry filled the air, the intruder turned.

  Big Boy barked.

  A shadow moved across the window.

  That’s when I clearly saw the man’s face.

  When I did, all the wind left my lungs.

  Chapter Nine

  “Greg?”

  He dropped his hand from the door. “Sierra?”

  “What are you doing?” I asked, lowering my umbrella.

  “I thought I saw someone out here and wanted to make sure everything was okay. I figured it could be someone looking for trouble, at the worst, or Aunt Yori acting foolish, at the least.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “It looked more like something sinister to me.”

  The door opened and Chad stood there, looking just as confused as the rest of us. His hair was tousled; he wore his flannel pants and a white undershirt. Had he actually slept through all of that?

  “What in the world . . . ?” he muttered.

  Big Boy bounded past him and jumped on me, sending my umbrella clattering to the ground. Some protector I was. A fifty-pound dog had just taken me out.

  Greg raised his hands, looking back and forth from Chad to me. “I can explain.”

  “Explain what? Why are both of you outside my door?”

  Greg cringed. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to protect him
, but I did. He’d only ever been kind. “Greg thought he saw someone out here, and he feared something might be wrong. Then I saw someone lurking out here, and I thought something might be wrong. That brings us to this moment right now.”

  Greg’s shoulders slumped slightly. “That’s right. I was just trying to be a good citizen, especially with all the copper thefts around here lately.”

  Chad’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of us. He didn’t buy the story, but he remained quiet. “And now here we all are.”

  Greg pointed to Big Boy, who now sat beside me panting happily. “I thought the police . . .”

  I raised a hand. “It’s a long story. The less you know, the better.”

  “Did you guys . . . ? I thought he was in police custody.” I could tell Greg was trying to process everything, and each conclusion he drew disturbed him. He looked at me, a huge knot between his eyebrows. “I never took you for a criminal, Sierra.”

  “I’m not. I—”

  A smile tugged at his lips as he perked. “I kind of like this side of you. You’ve changed.”

  “What are you—” Chad took a step toward him. He wasn’t angry. Chad wasn’t the angry type. But he was getting irritated. He sucked in a deep breath and seemed to compose himself. “You do realize I’m standing here, right?”

  Greg’s expression slipped back into professional mode. “Of course. Sorry about that.” He glanced back at me, neutralizing his expression. “Okay, now that I know everything is fine out here, I guess I’ll be going.”

  He took a step away when I called to him. “Greg?”

  He paused. “Yes?”

  I pointed from Chad to Big Boy to me. “We need to keep this quiet, okay? Please.” I hoped he heard the urgency in my voice.

  After a moment he nodded, a twinkle dancing in his eyes. “Of course. Anything for you, Sierra.”

  I watched as he disappeared; then I turned back to Chad. He took my arm and pulled me into the guesthouse like a smuggler on the lookout for custom officials. “What are you doing here?”

  “What I said was true. I saw someone out here, and I thought it could be Mr. Lennox coming back to destroy any evidence or possible witnesses in connection to the death of his wife.”

  Chad stared at me patiently. “Okay, first of all, you came out here with a Hello Kitty umbrella to defend yourself with?”

  I shrugged self-consciously. “It was all I could find.”

  “Secondly, we don’t know that body was his wife, nor do we know that he’s guilty.”

  I conceded to his points. “That’s true.”

  “And finally, while I think it’s adorable, if you really think a killer is coming after me, please call the police instead of trying to stop him yourself. Okay?”

  I nodded. “I didn’t have time to think. I just reacted.”

  He pulled me toward him and kissed my forehead. “I know.”

  I remained in his embrace for a moment, enjoying the warmth of his arms. “I miss you already.”

  “We could clear all of this up very easily.”

  I pulled away, crossed my arms, and frowned. “I know. But—”

  He raised a hand to stop me. “You don’t have to explain again.” Then he turned me toward the door. “But you do have to go. If you want to keep up this charade, then you can’t be caught out here. Neither can I, for that matter.”

  “Not even a kiss?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.

  “Nope, not even a kiss. It’s too risky. So, good night, love. I’ll see you in the morning. Your parents have a big day ahead of them tomorrow. And, as has been emphasized several times, nothing can go wrong. Nothing.”

  I was awoken early to the sound of the doorbell ringing.

  I lay in bed a moment, uncertain that I’d heard correctly.

  Another dong rang out. It was definitely a doorbell.

  How late had I slept? My alarm must not have gone off like it was supposed to.

  Unwillingly, I pulled an eye open. The clock beside my nightstand read 6:30.

  Who in the world would ring the doorbell this early?

  Voices drifted up from downstairs, and something in my subconscious knew trouble was brewing. Quickly, I threw my clothes on, raked a hand through my hair, and scrambled toward the noise.

  I stopped in my tracks when I saw Detective Meadows in the doorway talking with my mom and dad. Her grim expression matched the dreary gray suit she wore.

  Nothing can go wrong today echoed in my mind.

  With a start like this, I had a feeling that everything would go wrong.

  I joined the crowd—which included Reina and Aunt Yori—with a touch of trepidation racing through me. I knew whatever was being said couldn’t be good.

  “The dog went missing from custody, and we’re wondering if anyone here has seen him?” the detective said.

  “The case of the missing dog,” Aunt Yori whispered, mischief in her voice.

  “Why would we have seen him?” my dad asked.

  I’d bet anything his eyebrow was twitching.

  “We’re scouring the neighborhood in case he ran back in the direction of his home,” Detective Meadows said.

  “So you came back here at this hour of the morning to ask? Couldn’t it wait until later? A more reasonable hour?” My mother yanked her housecoat closer.

  “In a murder investigation, every minute counts,” the detective countered.

  “The dog was murdered?” Aunt Yori asked.

  “No, the dog found a dead body,” I corrected. “Speaking of which, how’d the dog get away?”

  Everyone turned, finally noticing I was there.

  “He slipped away from his handler when we tried to take him out of the cruiser at animal control,” Detective Meadows said.

  “Can you blame him for wanting to get away?” I asked in the poor dog’s defense.

  “Sierra!” My mother’s eyes were wide with embarrassment.

  Obviously, I needed to explain myself. “While I can appreciate animal shelters in some regards, in other ways they’re—”

  “Enough.” My mom stared me down, her tone leaving no room for argument.

  Detective Meadows eyed me, a new glint in her gaze. “I understand you’re an animal rights activist.”

  My throat went dry as the meaning of her words spread through me like the aftermath of an atomic bomb. “You checked me out.”

  “Standard procedure in a case like this,” she said.

  But I knew better. I’d been the one who called the police at the Lennoxes’, the dog had come to me last night when he escaped from his home again, and I’d been there when they’d found the body. I was on law enforcement’s radar now.

  “Do you mind if we check out your house and property?” Detective Meadows turned back to my parents.

  All my muscles tightened as anxiety zipped through me. This wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all.

  “Of course,” my father said. “We have nothing to hide.”

  “I did sneak in a few cigarettes. Don’t tell Mai, okay?” Aunt Yori said a little too loudly.

  So much for not ruining their big day. They were going to be furious with me when they found Big Boy in their guesthouse.

  Officers invaded the home. There were four of them, and they spread out to look for the canine, scattering like fleas searching for a new homestead on a pound puppy.

  “Those are some fine-looking men in uniform,” Aunt Yori continued, staring after the police officers and nodding her head in approval.

  I could do nothing but stand there. If I made a run for the guesthouse, everyone would know something was up. The best thing would be to remain calm and not raise suspicions.

  But Chad . . .

  I’d pulled Chad into the middle of this, and now he could face consequences that I could hardly bear to think about. Maybe I should just come clean now? I could fess up to my role in all of this and clear Chad before this went any further.

  My blood seemed to buzz as I
considered my options. I really didn’t have many options, did I? I had to make things right.

  I knew Chad. He’d defend me. He’d say it was his idea. He would be the one who got in trouble.

  I couldn’t let that happen.

  I needed to fess up. Now.

  I cleared my throat, feeling like I might throw up again. “Excuse me? Detective Meadows? There’s something I need to tell you.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Good morning, everyone. What’s going on?”

  My eyes widened when I spotted Chad behind me. He stretched, still wearing his PJs and hair messy like he’d been woken from a deep slumber. He grasped a cup of coffee in one hand and had come from the direction of the kitchen.

  I stared at him, trying to piece together what was happening.

  Why was he in the house? Where was Big Boy? Exactly what was going on?

  Detective Meadows explained things to Chad. He nodded like all of this was a surprise and then took a sip of his coffee, not appearing the least bit ruffled.

  “Lots of excitement around here,” he finally mumbled. He stole a quick glance at me.

  The detective turned back to me. “You were about to say something?”

  That’s right. I’d been ready to implicate myself. I had to improvise, and quickly. I rubbed my throat. “I thought you should know that when I was outside of Reggie Lennox’s house yesterday, I saw what appeared to be a bloody tarp in his backyard.”

  “You were snooping at his house?” She twisted her head ever so slightly to let me know she thought my actions were odd.

  That was her reaction to what I’d said? Really? What about the evidence? “I went back to his house to pick up my leash that I left earlier.”

  She continued to eye me suspiciously. “And where was this tarp?”

  “In a wheelbarrow in his backyard behind the shed.”

  “Is there a reason you keep pulling Mr. Lennox into this?” Her steely gaze welded onto mine.

  I shook my head. “Why would I?”