Page 20 of Serial Burn

A throat cleared. “Ah, Jesslyn, how are you?”

“I’m doing all right, Dr. Stover, how are you?” He was the principal of the high school and the one who’d lined up her appearance this afternoon. An afternoon she’d packed too tight. “Everything okay?”He’d been the assistant principal the year she graduated, and she’d always liked the man.

“Well, no. Not really. I’ve had a few parents express concern about your appearance at the school today.”

Oh. “I see. Because of my publicly televised rant?”

He hesitated a fraction of a second. “Yes. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I understand. Would it be better if we rescheduled?” she asked, taking pity on the man.

“I think it might.” The relief in his voice tweaked her heart. Only because he obviously didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

“No problem. You just give me a call when you’re ready.” She paused. “Or I can recommend another fire marshal to do the program.”

“No, no. I want you to do it. I just think it will be better to do it at another time.” He paused. “Thank you for being so understanding and kind about it.”

“It’s okay, Dr. Stover. Have a good afternoon.”

“You too. I’ll be in touch.”

Jesslyn hung up, a sense of relief pounding through her. Disappointment flickered at the reason for the cancellation, but she wasn’t upset about heading home when she finished the inspection.

Ten minutes later, she pulled into the church’s parking lot and paused before opening the door. Using the mirrors and twisting her body, she examined every inch of the surrounding area before she convinced herself it was safe to climb out. She texted the group that she’d arrived safe.

Maybe she should have taken Nathan up on the offer to follow her, but it just galled her to let anyone else get sucked into her troubles. She’d handle this on her own.

She grabbed her iPad that held her checklist and hurried through the side door, down the short hallway to arrive at the room labeled the office. She walked through the open door. “Mr. McClure? It’s Jesslyn. I’m here.”

He stepped out from the side room with a smile on his face. “Jesslyn, glad you made it. Good to see you.” He shook her hand.

“Sure thing.”

“I was so sorry to hear about Chuck’s church—your church. What an awful thing. Do you know what happened?”

“We know what happened, just not why. We’re still in the midst of investigating.”

“Which means you can’t really talk about it.” She smiled and he patted her arm. “Well, do you need anything from me or are you just ready to get started?”

“I’ll get started. It’ll take me about two hours.”

“Then I’ll get out of your way. I have to leave in about ten minutes, but let me know if you need anything before then.”

“Will do. Will there be anyone else in the building?”

“No. Just us. I didn’t want anyone else in your way.”

“Got it. I’ll text when I’m done.”

She left him, pulled out her iPad and the checklist. She started with the smoke detectors, then moved to the sprinkler systems. The fire extinguishers were accessible and properly mounted. She checked service dates and found nothing wrong. Her phone buzzed and she stopped to check the text.

Nathan.

Security footage showed the guy coming into the restaurant and sitting near the back room. He was watching us the whole time. When you got up and went to the bathroom, he followed. Kept his back to the cameras as much as possible. Beanie and sunglasses covered most of his features. Marissa promised to get to the weapon ASAP.

Shocking.

I know. Sorry I don’t have better news.

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