Page 11 of Serial Burn

Her aunt set her fork down and leaned back. “I know. I saw the interview. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me more.”

“Right. I’ve been thinking about this for about two years and now, in honor of the twentieth anniversary of their deaths, I want to do it. I bought the old gym at the corner of Main and Hendricks and plan to have it renovated.”

“Okay ...” Her aunt’s eyes widened as she listened.

“I set up a nonprofit and bought it about six months ago with this idea in mind, and now I want to go through with it. I need your help, though. You’re an event planner and you know people with money. Could you help me put together a list of potential donors? People who would be willing to invest in the building’s renovation and who will believe in the project.”

“And you want to put your family’s name on it.”

“Well, my father’s anyway. He worked on a lot of buildings in this city, but you said this one was his dream, so I want to make it come true.”

Her aunt swallowed and looked away for a moment. “Oh, Jess ... I don’t know what to say...”

Jesslyn raised a brow. “That you’ll help me?”

Carol gaped for a moment, then cleared her throat and smiled. “Yes. Of course I’ll help you. I just—”

“Oh good—because there’s more.” She used her most winsomesmile and added, “I would love it if you would be in charge. I’ll need you to contact the donors and ask them if they’ll do it. Basically, I need you to put it all together and make it happen. I’ll pay you just like any other client.”

Her aunt smiled, shaking her head, but Jesslyn thought she caught a flicker of something in her eyes. Something...

Jesslyn frowned. “What is it?”

“Nothing. Nothing. Yes, of course. I can do that for you.”

“Wonderful.” But what had that look in her eye been all about? “Are you sure you’re not too busy?”

“I’m always busy with something, but I also can pick and choose my busyness. The question is, doyouhave time for this?”

“No. That’s why I need you.” She reached across the table and squeezed her aunt’s hand. “I don’t know what I would have done if you’d said no!”

“Let’s work out the details then.”

An hour later, Jesslyn walked out to her car. She’d stayed longer than she planned, but the lightness in her heart was worth being a shade later to the lab than she’d originally wanted. After a quick trip through the drive-through, she made it to the lab and was happy to see no dark car in her rearview mirror. At least not one that sent her alarm bells jangling.

When she walked inside with two coffees in the disposable cup holder, the lab was already humming with activity. She found Marissa Fields, the evidence technician, hunched over a microscope, her face set in concentration. The engagement ring on her left hand winked under the fluorescent light, and Jesslyn smiled, glad the woman had found her happily ever after.

“Morning, Jess,” Marissa greeted without looking up. She probably recognized Jesslyn’s footsteps. “I was about to call you. Found something odd in the debris.” Marissa was meticulous, digging into the minutiae and coaxing stories from the ashes, residue, and forgotten fragments left behind at crime scenes. Silent witnesses, she called them. Also without looking up, she held out a hand, and Jesslyn slidthe cup of the still steaming brew into it, then parked herself onto the empty stool beside Marissa.

“What’ve you got?” Jesslyn asked.

Finally, the woman lifted her head and took a sip of coffee. “Take a look at this.”

She set her coffee aside and handed Jesslyn a clear evidence bag. Inside was a brooch the size of her palm that had somehow survived the fire’s greediness.

Jesslyn turned the bag over and squinted. “What’s that?” On the back of the piece was the letterMwith a horizontal slash through it.

“Maybe a signature or the logo of the store it was purchased from?”

“Maybe,” Jesslyn murmured. “Is it just me or does this look too clean? Too ... something.”

Marissa sipped her coffee, then set it back on the counter. “Like it wasn’t in the fire, but dropped there after the fact?”

Jesslyn met her gaze. “Exactly.”

“It’s not just you. I noticed that too.”

“Not only that, but the mark looks familiar,” Jesslyn said, frowning.

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