Page 50 of Serial Burn

The kid headed down the hall and stopped next to a guy who’d just walked in the door. He pointed to Jesslyn and the others, and she waited for him to run. They always ran.

He nodded and walked their way.

Well, miracles still happened apparently.

“Hi,” the young man said. He was nineteen or twenty with a five-o’clock shadow, green eyes, and dimples. “Guy said you’re looking for me?”

“Yeah,” Andrew said. “For you, Brad, Toby, and Heath.”

“Brad and Heath live on the other side of Kenny and me. Toby’s up one floor. You want to come into the lobby so we can talk? I’d invite you in the room, but it’s a mess and no place for everyone to sit.”

Truly? Or did he just not want them to see inside his room?

He turned and headed toward the lobby. Jesslyn raised a brow at Nathan and Andrew, and they wordlessly followed.

They found seats on the couches in the room that was set up for socializing. Jesslyn leaned forward. “What can you tell us about Kenny?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

THIRTYMINUTES LATER,Nathan stood and did his best not to wince at the pull on his hip. Jeff had been open and willing to answer questions. He and Kenny weren’t close friends, they just shared a room. “We’re on different academic tracks and rarely see each other, but he’s a good friend to those he hangs out with.” He eyed Nathan and Andrew. “You said you’re partners. You’d take a bullet for each other, right?”

They both nodded.

“That’s how Kenny is. Once you have his love and loyalty, he’s got your back no matter what. He’s a good guy. Not one to go around burning buildings. You’re looking in the wrong place for your answers.”He looked at Andrew, then Nathan and Jesslyn. “That’s pretty much all I’ve got.”

Nathan shook his hand. “Thank you for talking to us. If we need anything, we’ll call you, and if you see or hear anything that’s out of the ordinary or makes you wonder if something’s going on, will you give us a call?”

“Sure.”

“Assuming they don’t answer the knocks on their doors, any idea where to find the other three guys?”

“No. Sorry. If they’re not in their rooms, they could be anywhere. Although, sometimes—a lot of the time, actually—Brad likes to play pool in the student center. He’s probably there.”

“We’ll check it out. Thanks.”

Nathan handed him a card and they knocked on the other students’ doors. And got no response. They exited the building and walked back to the car. “Guess it’s the student center.”

Jesslyn’s phone rang and she snatched it to her ear. “Hey, Marissa, please tell me you have something.”

She listened and Nathan wished he could hear the other end of the conversation. He turned to look at her while Andrew drove. She raised a brow at him and nodded. “Okay, thanks so much. I’ll think about it, and we’ll try to get to the jeweler before they close.”

She hung up and Nathan found he was almost holding his breath to hear what Marissa had found. “Well? Don’t keep us in suspense, pretty please?”

“Since you asked so nice, she discovered the jeweler that made the piece we found at the scene.”

“Excellent. Who?”

“Tradition’s Custom Touch on West Beach Street.”

“That’s some very high-end jewelry,” Andrew said. “Like really nice custom pieces. I think my grandfather gave my grandmother one for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary—that kind of thing. All that to say, they’ve been there for a long time. As long as I can remember anyway.”

Jesslyn was on her phone. She tapped the screen. “Yep. Founded in 1955.”

“All right, we’ll put that on our list of places to visit.”

“Student center?” Jess asked.

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