Page 76 of Serial Burn

“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not. But it’s also a long time ago.” She frowned. “I remember him, but I don’t. I mean, I can picture my mother a lot easier thanmy father. I’ve seen family photos, of course, but it’s hard for me to find many memories of him.”

“But you must have some.”

“Of course. I remember he used to take me over to the neighborhood park and push me on the swings. And he’d pick me up so I could reach the monkey bars. He taught me how to ride a bike, and I remember making pancakes with him sometimes on Saturday mornings. But that’s about it.” She chewed her bottom lip, and Nathan could almost feel the sadness coming from her.

“What about your mother’s parents?”

“They were killed in a car wreck two weeks before I was born.”

“Oh my. I’m so sorry, Jesslyn.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand, a little surprised when she flipped her palm up and threaded her fingers through his. “Thank you for being so caring, Nathan. I really appreciate it.”

Nathan glanced at her and the look in her eyes made him swallow. And remember it was just gratitude. Nothing more. She’d made that clear. He slipped his hand from hers and gripped the steering wheel.

And until she indicated otherwise, he’d respect those wishes.

EIGHTEEN

Jesslyn’s mind was on Nathan when they walked into the conference room of the Lake City Police Department. He’d offered comfort and, when she’d accepted it, had pulled away. Of course, she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in anything other than a friendship, but still...

No. There was no “still.”

He was doing exactly what she’d not so subtly asked him to do. Picked up on her wishes and was honoring them. Because that’s the kind of man he was. She needed to be less confusing, stop sending mixed signals.

Not that she meant to. It just seemed like her heart wanted to stray from a lifetime of focus while her head was telling her she needed to stay on track to do what it took to find the person who killed her family. The arsonist she might very well be chasing even now.

Letting romance enter into the picture wasn’t part of the plan. She ignored the disappointment that swept through her at the thought, but acknowledged the fear too. The question that she’d not been brave enough to ask herself. Was it possible for her to simply be Jesslyn? A woman in love? Could she leave what had become her mission? Her very identity?

A cold hand squeezed her heart. She had no idea.

Which meant she couldn’t have a relationship with anyone until she had time to figure that out. It reallywasthat simple.

Kenzie and Cole entered and settled on the other side of the table, leaving the side closest to the door for her and Nathan.

Chief Badami stepped inside the conference room and Jesslyn forced her personal issues to the back burner.

“Good to see you guys here,” the chief said. “Let me know if you need anything. Water bottles are in the mini fridge. Think there are some protein bars, chips, and crackers in the cabinet next to the fridge.”

“Thanks,” Jesslyn said. “Hopefully this won’t take too long and we can clear all this out.”

His dark eyes were kind, and his skin glowed with good health. She often saw him at the gym with his wife and two children. He played well with other agencies, and while everyone liked him because of his personality, the fact that he excelled at his job made it easy to respect him. Even when he had to let suspects like Kenny go. It wasn’t his fault the evidence wasn’t there to hold Kenny. It was on the officers and agents to find the evidence.

“It’s not a problem,” he said. “We don’t have any meetings scheduled for a couple of days.”

Her phone buzzed with a text from Lainie.

Mr. Christie is awake. Sort of. He’s in and out. I’m not sure if he’ll be able to talk yet, but his daughter said if he could identify the person who set the fire, he’d want to try. Give him a couple of hours to see if he becomes more alert then stop by if you want.

Jesslyn tapped back a thanks, then read the message aloud for everyone else. Nathan’s brow rose. “Well, that’s good news.”

“Indeed. In the meantime...” She passed out hard-copy pictures of the three pieces of jewelry. “This is what we’re looking for. Isabellesaid her father took a picture of each piece sold and stapled it to the receipt.” She pulled the first box of files labeled “A–B” toward her. “Let’s see what we can find.”

It didn’t take her long to go through the first few boxes, even though she had to force herself not to stare at the exquisite, handcrafted pieces. Mr. McElroy had been an incredibly talented man.

Nathan moved quickly as well, flipping through the pictures and setting boxes to the side. Kenzie and Cole started at the other end of the alphabet and worked backward.

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