Defending Zara (Mountain Mercenaries #6)(50)

There’s enough money to share, and I know you want what’s best for your family. I’m looking forward to explaining everything to you soon.

Alan

Zara read the email three times and still couldn’t believe what she’d read.

How dare he act so condescending? Yes, she might not understand everything about how a trust worked, but for him to so boldly imply she was an idiot who needed him to “explain” it to her was offensive. He wasn’t even being subtle about the fact he’d only emailed because of the money. If she was as penniless as she’d been in Lima, she had no doubt her loving uncle wouldn’t even have bothered getting in touch with her.

She didn’t remember Uncle Alan very well, but what she did remember was her mom remarking how he was always begging for cash, and how she knew if she gave it to him, he’d spend it on drugs. If he’d been into drugs back then, Zara was guessing he was still hooked. He sounded pretty desperate to get his hands on her parents’ money.

Making a mental note to show the email to Meat later, Zara opened the other from an address she didn’t recognize.

Zara,

I don’t know if you remember me, but my name is Renee Heller. We were best friends in the fourth grade when you went on vacation and never came back. I remember you didn’t really want to go all the way to Lima, but you didn’t have a choice. You said you’d bring back a present for me, and I had so looked forward to playing on the school’s playground when you returned, because no one liked to swing with me like you did! But you never came back.

I remember the day our teacher told us you were missing like it was yesterday. I didn’t really understand, and for the longest time thought you had just moved to Peru.

I’m so glad you’re home. I’m sure things are confusing and crazy for you right now, but I’m still living in Denver, and I’d love to see you at some point, if nothing else than just to catch up. I haven’t really figured out what I want to do with my life yet. I’m currently working as a hairdresser, and while I like it, I can’t really see myself spending the rest of my life cutting people’s hair.

And to prove this isn’t a scam, that I really am Renee, remember that time when we were in third grade and I spent the night at your house? We snuck out into your backyard with our pillows and blankets because we wanted to pretend we were camping. We told each other scary stories, and just as we were falling asleep, it started to pour. We were soaked and ran inside, but forgot our pillows and blankets. Your mom was SO mad the next morning when she looked outside and saw the soggy bedding in your backyard!

Anyway, I hope you get this email, and again, I’d love to catch up sometime. I’ll leave my phone number, and you can always call me or just email me back.

Love, Renee

Zara immediately remembered Renee. They had been best friends when she’d gone on that fateful vacation to Peru. She vaguely remembered the conversation they’d had, about how it seemed they’d be apart forever, and how Zara had promised to bring Renee something “Peruvian” from South America. But she hadn’t made it back.

Zara hadn’t thought much about what the people she’d known had gone through when she disappeared. But now she thought about her old friend Renee and how confused she must’ve been when Zara just never returned. At least her parents’ friends knew what had happened to them. Knew they’d been killed. When someone disappeared, there was just a void. The not knowing had to be just as tough, if not tougher, to deal with than an actual death.

While Zara hadn’t planned on trying to look up any of her old friends, the thought of seeing Renee was appealing. She’d known her “before,” and Zara had the urge to see if she and Renee could pick up where they’d left off. Yes, they were older and far different people than they’d been when they were ten, but she and Renee had been extremely close. Maybe they’d still click.

“Hey, anything new and exciting?”

Zara startled badly at Meat’s question, not having heard him enter the house.

“You scared me,” she told him with a hand on her chest.

“Sorry! I thought you heard the front door shut. Are you okay?”

Zara nodded. “Yeah. Just a little jumpy today.”

“I figured you would be, which is why I came in from the workshop early. Any interesting emails?”

Zara shrugged, figuring she’d tell him about Alan and Renee later. She had to concentrate on getting through the meeting with her grandparents first.

“Are there any reporters that you like?”

Zara sighed. “I can’t believe how wrong everyone has gotten things. It’s as if, since they don’t know the facts, they just make something up to have a story.”

Meat nodded. “That about sums up the news business in our world today.”

“Doesn’t anyone care? I mean, do people really think that I hired a hit on my parents? When I was ten?”

“Probably not, but people will take notice and share the story just because it’s so shocking. Some people still believe the world is flat,” Meat said with a shrug.

Just then, they heard a vehicle pulling up outside. Zara’s gaze whipped to the front door, then back to Meat. “Are they here already? They’re early!” she hissed in a semipanicked tone.

Meat calmly walked over to one of the windows facing the front of the house and looked out. Then he turned back to her. “No, it’s not your grandparents. It’s a surprise.”