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My little brother grinned.
“Hey, big sis.”
I ran over, and he gave me the tightest squeeze, lifting me up off my feet and twirling me around.
I recognized that to any of the onlookers, we would have looked like a couple, maybe. Our looks were so vastly different. But who gave a shit what they thought?
"Jesus, you look good. What are you doing to yourself?"
He shrugged. "I’m working out a little, eating right. Started to put on some muscle. You know, weight training.”
I nodded with a laugh. "Looks good on you."
“Yeah, the girls think so, too.“
I whacked his arm. “Ew.”
“What? Just saying. How are you? Why is the hair straight? I don't think I've seen it straight since your prom.”
“Oh God, the prom. At least this time it’s been professionally straightened instead of you, me, and Kira in the bathroom with a hot comb and a flat iron trying to tame this.”
“Looks good, but I don't know. You look weird.”
I rolled my eyes. Leave it to my brother to tell me I looked weird. He wrapped an arm around me and I was still confused about how much taller he was than me.
“I’m just saying, I think you're beautiful however you want to look.”
“Thanks, kid. Right now, I really want a braai with boerewors sausages and pap. Oh! And an ice-cold Savanna. But why don't we head to Kira's first and have a look around. I’m going to go meet Sam at the police station after.”
He nodded. “Thanks for coming. I know you probably think I’m overreacting.”
I stopped and palmed his cheek, and somehow, he was ten again. “Don't worry that you're overreacting, okay? I've got a couple days off work. We'll poke around. See what's going on.”
“Thanks. I didn't want to alarm you. I know your work is important. What kind of pieces are you working on right now?”
We chatted amiably about fake art pieces that I was cataloging. It was almost too easy to lie. I'd been doing it for so long. The sun was beaming down, warming the March day. God, I missed home.
Riley and I both frowned as we drove up to the nondescript brown-and-red brick building. I hated this place. It was fine, but there had been several security reports from this building in the last year.
Riley parked on the street and we climbed out, checking the street both ways before we did. There was some litter on the street, and a couple of kids had tagged the nearby alley. Otherwise, it was mostly clean.
I'd gotten her a really nice place. But, Kira being Kira, that just hadn't worked out. I used the key I had to get us into the building and then we trudged up the three floors to her flat. When I let myself in, I frowned. The air was musty, as if no one had moved around in the space for several weeks.
“When was the last time you were here?”
“I came to check on her right before I called you. From what I can tell, she hasn't been back.”
“Where the hell could she have gone? And you said she's hanging out with some dodgy folks?”
“Yeah. You know the type. Real greasy looking, like they belong in a band, maybe. Lots of tattoos, lots of drinking. There was a braai about a month ago. She invited me, and I went, just not my crowd. Everyone was smoking and playing lots of metal music. Not my scene, so I didn't stay.”
“You tell her you were worried?”
“Yeah, she got real mugged-off that I didn't want to stay. She said I was just like… well, you.”
“Well, at least she's acting like herself.”
He chewed his bottom lip. “I’m really worried.”
