Page 84 of Serial Burn

She nodded and a smile glimmered. “And your sisters’ too.”

“And did you babysit every so often?”

“I did. You remember that?”

“Just vaguely, but yes, I think I do.” She glanced around the shop. “This store is different.”

“Yep. We renovated a few years back, but I know you’re not here for small talk. Why don’t you tell me how I can help you.”

“My aunt said you told my mother about a woman named Felicia. A woman my dad was ... um...” She rubbed a hand over her eyes, then clasped her fingers together in front of her. “Seeing.”

Pam swallowed. “Oh. She told you about that, huh?”

“Just recently and only because of some things that have come to light.”

“I see. So you want to know ...?”

“Who is this woman, Felicia? What’s her last name and how do I find her?”

“Why do you want to find her?”

“I have questions for her. Please, it’s important. I don’t want to cause her pain or bring up any bad memories. If this wasn’t a matter of life or death, I’d never ask.”

“Life or death. Wow. Okay. Well, her last name is Smart and I still cut her hair every month like clockwork.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and tapped the screen. “Here you go.” She rattled off Felicia’s information. “As far as how I discovered your father was being unfaithful, whew, honey, I remember the day like it was yesterday. Felicia came in for her monthly cut and was all excited. She started telling me about this man she’d met and then showed me a picture of him. They’d done one of those goofy booths at some event one night. You know where you get a strip of four black-and-white pictures? This was way before selfies. Anyway, she showed them to me and I was stunned. I was like, that’s my best friend’s husband. Felicia didn’t believe me at first, but I finally convinced her and she was furious.” She crossed her arms and shook her head. “Ran out like her pants were on fire after I finished drying her hair. She was so mad and in such a hurry, she forgot to pay me that day. Next time she came in, she said she’d given Owen his marching papers and if he ever contacted her again, she’d tell Linda.”

“Part of me wishes she had,” Jesslyn murmured.

“Well, she probably figured I’d take care of that. And I did. After much contemplation and a few sleepless nights.”

“What did Mom say?”

Pam pressed her fingers to her lips and shook her head. “She didn’t react at first. Then after about thirty seconds, she thanked me for telling her and said she’d talk to Owen. The next time I saw her, I asked her how things were and she simply said they’d worked out the issues and everything was fine. And I think it was for a while.”

“Thank you for telling her. I know that had to be one of the hardest things to do, but thank you.”

“You’re right. I didn’t want to say anything,” Pam said. “But Icouldn’tnotsay something. She was my friend. If the situation was reversed, I’d want to know.”

“You were caught between a rock and a hard place.”

“Yes, but I think she knew there was someone before I told her. She never said, but I got the feeling she wasn’t surprised.”

“Felicia wasn’t the first.”

“Right. I suspected either she wasn’t the first or your mom already knew there was someone, she just didn’t have a name. I gave her the name so she could use it when she talked to Owen.”

“Do you know if my dad gave Felicia any jewelry?”

“He did.”

“Do you recognize any of these?” Jesslyn pulled up the collage of pictures of the jewelry from the fires, then turned her phone so the woman could see the screen.

Pam looked at it and her eyes narrowed. “Well, I know Owen gave Felicia a bracelet because she showed that off to me before she showed me his picture, but I don’t recognize any of those pieces. He wouldn’t have had time to give her anything else. He’d just given her the bracelet the night before. She later told me she went to him and threw it in his face, then regretted not keeping it when she calmed down. Said she could have sold it for a nice sum.”

Jesslyn tucked her phone away with a flash of disappointment. When she looked up, her smile was in place. “Thank you for meeting with us.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.”

“You’ve been more help than you know. Thank you again.”

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