Page 70 of Serial Burn

Nathan was starting to think Eli might not be so bad after all. “Did he confide in you about any suicidal thoughts?”

“No.” Morgan frowned. “He did seem preoccupied lately, but when I asked him about it, he just said he was fine.”

Andrew nodded. “What about Kenny? Still haven’t heard from him?”

“No. I haven’t. Now, I have to—”

“Right. You have to go. Thank you.”

“Of course.” He practically ran out of the office. “Sam—”

“All right, Heath,” Andrew said, “thank you for your time. You know how to reach us if you have anything else to add.”

They left and walked to the vehicle. “What do you think about that?” Nathan asked.

“I think something fishy is going on, but I can’t determine where the smell is coming from.”

“Yeah. Same.”

“We’ll keep after it. Something’s bound to rise to the surface before too long.”

Nathan just hoped it was before another attempt was made on Jesslyn’s life.

His phone buzzed.A text from the chief of police.

Picked up Kenny Davies. He’s in interrogation room number one.

He showed it to Andrew, who raised a brow. “Let’s go.”

SIXTEEN

Jesslyn’s phone buzzed with a call from a number she didn’t recognize, but she swiped the screen anyway. She often got calls without any ID. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Jesslyn McCormick?”

“It is.”

“This is Isabelle Sims. From Tradition’s Custom Touch. You left your card with me the day you visited and asked about my grandfather and his recordkeeping system.”

“Oh yes, hi. What can I do for you?”

“I was talking to my grandmother and asked her what happened to all of the old files, and she said she has everything in her basement. She never got rid of them.”

What she was saying sunk in. “You mean you have all of the files from the old sales?”

“Exactly. I thought you might want to come look at them.”

“That would be incredible.” She chewed her lip for a second. “But let me see if I can arrange to have everything transported to the police station.”

“Oh. Okay. I don’t mind you coming to her house. The basement has a separate entrance.”

“It would be a real pain for her to have us there for as long as it’sgoing to take us to go through the files. Trust me, it’s better this way.” And if Jesslyn was at her home, there was always the possibility of her attacker following.

Isabelle laughed. “I guess you have a point. That’s fine. Just text or call when you’re ready to come get the files. Her house is only about five minutes from the store so I can meet you any time.”

“A team of officers will come and make quick work of moving them. But I’ll let you know when they’re on the way. Thank you so much.”

Jesslyn hung up and made the calls to arrange for the files to be picked up and delivered to the local police department. Nathan and Andrew had a small office there that they’d been given permission to use for the duration of the investigation, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be big enough to hold the files. They’d probably have to use the conference room. She called the police chief to verify if that was all right and he agreed. She then left messages with Nathan and Andrew about what she’d done and sat back with a huff.

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