Page 71 of Serial Burn

Her hands had started to throb and her leg was about to make her loony. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could ignore the pain.

Lainie walked over and held out a hand with a dose of pain meds. In the other hand she held a bottle of water.

Jesslyn raised a brow. “So, you can read my mind now?”

“I’m observant. It’s part of the job description.”

“I can’t take anything that will make me sleepy, Lainie. I’ve got too much to do.”

“This isn’t a narcotic. It’ll cut the pain but won’t knock you out.”

“Oh. Great.” She checked to make sure she had all the information from the gym fire that Charles, the Asheville fire marshal, had covered for her, then popped the pill with a swallow of water. She set the bottle on the coffee table and closed her eyes. “Wake me when everyone gets here?”

“Of course. Rest. You need it. Your body’s been through a big trauma.”

“I know. I’ll try.”

Jesslyn shut her eyes, worried she’d dream of the attack or the man in her room, but found herself dozing, aware of the others near her, knowing she was safe—for the moment.

NATHAN AND ANDREW HAD ACHATwith the chief before they walked into Kenny’s interrogation room, garnering the facts of how they’d found him. When they walked in, the smell hit them first and Nathan winced. Andrew grimaced and shook his head.

Kenny was dozing, head cradled in his arms. At their entrance, he blinked and looked up, eyes bleary and bloodshot but hard and angry. “I haven’t done anything wrong and I’m missing classes. You can’t keep me here.” He picked up the towelette next to him and rubbed his hands with it. Nathan was glad to see they’d already swabbed them for residue, although it might be too late at this point to get anything from them.

“You didn’t seem too concerned about missing classes when you were passed out drunk behind the gas station.” One of the attendants had stepped outside to take out the trash and found him. Thinking he was dead, the guy called 911. Officers arrived and recognized him about the time Kenny started to wake up. Once they discerned he wasn’t hurt, merely drunk, they brought him in and the chief had texted Nathan.

The door opened and a young officer handed Andrew a folder. “Results.”

Andrew flipped it open and drew in a breath before shutting it and shaking his head at Nathan.

No residue on his hands. Great. Andrew passed him the folder. The chief had included a note.Sorry, but ask him questions and let him go. We’ve got nothing.

Nathan wanted to pound the table with a fist. Instead, he looked Kenny in the eye. “We just wanted to ask you a few more questions, then you can go.”

Triumph flickered briefly and Nathan wished he knew why.

He set the surveillance picture on the table and slid it over so Kenny could see it. “Take a look at that, will you?”

Kenny raised a brow but leaned forward to look. He frowned and glanced up. “We all know I was at the scene of the fire. What’s the big deal about this picture?”

“The big deal is the guy standing behind you to your right. Recognize him?”

Kenny looked again. “Whoa. What? Brad? What was he doing there?”

“That’s what we want to know,” Andrew said.

“I don’t know. He didn’t come with me. I had no idea he was back there.”

Nathan scoffed. “Right, nice try.”

“I’m serious, man. Ask him.”

Nathan hesitated. “We can’t.”

Kenny frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Kenny, I’m sorry you have to hear it from us, but Brad died early this morning.”

The boy paled and shook his head. “Died? No. You’re lying.”

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