Page 77 of Serial Burn

“Man, this place did alotof business,” Cole said. “I recognize a lot of wealthy Lake City citizens. Some of these pieces are worth a fortune. Like more than my car.” He glanced at Nathan with a smirk. “Not more than yours, though.”

“It’s not mine.”

“Right.”

“Shut up.”

Jesslyn chuckled. Then they fell silent and continued to work until Kenzie gasped. They all looked at her as one. “What?” Jesslyn asked. Kenzie’s face had lost some color and her wide dark eyes were on the paper in front of her. “Kenzie?”

Cole touched her hand, and she swallowed, then met Jesslyn’s gaze. “I found the buyer.”

“Who?”

She pushed three photos with receipts attached across the table toward Jesslyn. “Your father.”

NATHAN WANTED TO OFFERcomfort at the shock that froze Jesslyn for a brief moment, but she reached for the papers, her brow furrowed. “My father.”

“Owen McCormick, right?”

“Yes.”

Nathan looked over her shoulder, breathing in the scent thatwas only hers, and focused on the receipt and photos. Photos that matched the jewelry pieces from the fires, just as Kenzie said.

Jesslyn rubbed a hand down her face and stood, causing Nathan to shift back so she didn’t knock into him. She paced from one end of the conference room to the other. Then again. Nathan glanced at Kenzie and she shook her head. In other words,Be quiet. He nodded.

Finally, Jesslyn stopped. “My father is the one who bought the pieces that have shown up at fires?”

Kenzie nodded.

“I’m so confused. Bumfuzzled. That’s a word, right?” No one said anything. “All right then,” she finally said, tapping her lips, “that opens up a whole new Pandora’s box, doesn’t it?” She held up an index finger. “Who did he buy them for? My mother? I don’t think so or else they would have been in the safe deposit box with all the other pieces he bought her. So, who? Obviously, the woman he was with at some point. So, again, who was that?”

“Wait a minute,” Kenzie said, “what are you talking about?”

Nathan wondered too.

Jesslyn hesitated, then seemed to make up her mind about something. “My father cheated on my mother,” she said. “Whenever he was feeling guilty, he bought her a custom piece of jewelry, which she never wore because of what it represented.”

Kenzie’s face dropped into compassion and Cole’s jaw tightened. “I’m so sorry, Jess,” Kenzie said.

“I am too. I realize this is old history, but it’s new to me, so I’m just going to have to process all of this.”

“Of course,” Cole murmured.

“At a later time. Right now, we need to figure out the next step in all of this. My father bought pieces of custom jewelry over twenty years ago. Those pieces have shown up at various fires connected to me.”

“Except for the bank,” Nathan said. “How’s that fire connected to you?”

“I have no idea, but a piece of jewelry was there, so I’m sure if we dig deep enough, we’ll figure it out.”

He nodded and Kenzie pursed her lips.

Jesslyn leaned forward and put her palms on the table. “But I’ve got another question. Why is he buying another woman the same kind of jewelry he bought my mother? For the same reason? How many women did he have on the side? Is there even a way to figure that out?”

She was asking the same questions Nathan was thinking when his phone buzzed again. He checked the screen. A text from Eli.

Can you stop by later? I really need to talk to you. Or I can come to your place.

Nathan hesitated, then tapped,

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