Page 86 of Serial Burn

“It’s fine.”

He texted Andrew, asking for an update from him.Nothing to report, came his reply.Stay tuned.

Jesslyn looked up and shook her head. “Lainie said Mr. Christie is unconscious again. She’ll let us know if anything changes.”

“All right then, let’s get this taken care of.”

Ten minutes later, he pulled to a stop in front of Felicia Smart’s home and glanced at Jesslyn. “You okay?”

“No. Not really.”

She’d thrown his answer back at him. The same thing he’d said just before walking out of his parents’ home.

“Want me to take over?” he asked.

“No. I’ve got this.”

She knocked on the door and stepped back to wait. Finally, footsteps approached and the door opened. A woman about the same age as Pam looked out at them. She was slender and had friendly blue eyes beneath the stylish dark hair streaked with gray. Growing old gracefully? “Hello,” Jesslyn said. They introduced themselves and showed badges. “Pam Silver gave me your information. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Pam? I guess not. What can I do for you?”

Jesslyn glanced at Nathan. “Well, I don’t want to go through the whole spiel of why I’m here, but I believe you knew my father, Owen McCormick.”

The friendly eyes turned hard. “I knew him. Briefly. It wasn’t a good experience.”

“I understand you may not want to talk about it, but if you could just answer a few questions, I’d really appreciate it.”

“What kinds of questions?” She stepped out onto the porch and let the door shut behind her. Then she crossed her arms.

“We know he gave you a piece of jewelry. A bracelet.”

“He did and I threw it in his face when I found out he was a cheater.”

Jesslyn gave a subtle flinch and Nathan placed a hand on her lower back before he thought about it.

“Stupidest thing I could have done. I should have kept it and sold it, but I was angry.”

“I don’t blame you,” Jesslyn said. “Is that the only piece he gave you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know of any other women he might have been ... with? Besides you?”

“No. I never spoke to him after that day, and he certainly never said anything about other women in our short three weeks of dating—or whatever you can call it when one person is married.”

“I see. Do you mind looking at some other jewelry to see if you recognize any?”

“Sure.”

Nathan held out his phone and Felicia leaned in with a squint. She studied the three pieces and frowned. “No. They don’t look familiar.”

“Do you know what happened to the bracelet?” Jesslyn asked.

“I assume he took it back to the store or gave it to some other poor unsuspecting woman.”

Jesslyn glanced at Nathan, silently asking if he had any questions. He rubbed his chin and shook his head. She’d done a good job and he couldn’t think of anything else to add.

“Do you mind if we call you if we have more questions?” Jesslyn asked.

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