Page 87 of Serial Burn

“I don’t mind.” She huffed. “You’d think I’d be over that experience, but it broke something inside me to realize there are men like that in the world. And I hear they’re having some sort of shindig to honor him. A building with his name on it, of all things.” She rolled her eyes, then frowned. “Sorry. I know he was your father, but a man like that doesn’t deserve to have his name on a building.”

“I know it seems like that,” Jesslyn said, her voice low, “but he changed before he died. At least that’s what my aunt says.”

Felicia stilled. “Well, he did send me a note saying he was sorry and hoped I could forgive him someday, so maybe he did change. And truly, I’m not really angry anymore. I’ve moved on. Your questions were just a shock and brought back old feelings that I let go a long time ago.” She paused. “At least I thought I had.”

Jesslyn blinked. “Wait a minute, he sent you a letter?”

“Came in the mail about a week before he died. I didn’t know if he was sincere or not, but from what you say, then maybe he was.”

“I want to believe that.”

For the first time since they arrived, Felicia offered a small but genuine smile. “You know what? So do I.”

Once they were back in the car, Jesslyn’s phone rang. “It’s Lainie.” She tapped the screen and turned on the speaker. “Hello?”

“Hey, shortly after we talked earlier, Mr. Christie woke up. He was still in and out, but he doesn’t remember much. I asked him about the fire, and he said he was working in the kitchen area when he smelled smoke. Went to investigate and saw someone bent over a bucket that I think was the accelerant. Mr. Christie walked over and asked what he thought he was doing. Then said the person turned so fast and knocked him in the head. The next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital.”

“Wow.”

“Right.”

“So, he never saw the person’s face.”

“That’s what he said.”

“Thanks, Lainie,” Nathan said. “I’ll let Andrew know. He’ll want to come by there and confirm the story.”

“You’re welcome. Stay safe.”

Nathan called Andrew and filled him in on Lainie’s report and what they’d learned from Pam and Felicia about the jewelry, then hung up.

“That poor man,” she whispered. “This guy knew Mr. Christie would likely die in that fire and he left him there. That’s a whole other level of evil.”

“I know.”

TWENTY-ONE

As soon as Jesslyn buckled up, her phone buzzed with a call from Carol. “Hello?”

“Hey, sweetie, you needed me to call?”

“Yes, good timing, thanks. So there was a bank that burned down a few days before the church fire. I was out of town at a conference, and no one realized there was a connection to the other two fires until recently.” She told her the name of the bank. “Can you think of any connection I might have to that bank?”

Silence.

“Aunt Carol?”

“Jesslyn, your mom almost took a job at that branch just a few days before she died.”

A taser hit couldn’t have shocked her more. “What? Why? I didn’t think she needed to work.”

“Money wasn’t an issue. It was more her wanting some independence. She had the jewelry, of course, but the job was her safety net in case...”

Jesslyn swallowed. “Right. In case she wound up leaving Dad. What did Dad say?”

“He wasn’t happy when she told him she’d taken the job. He put two and two together and said if she was planning a future withouthim, then why were they even trying? She didn’t have an answer for that. He disappeared that night like he’d done so many times, and she packed up you kids and came over and cried on my shoulder a while. Then she pulled herself back together and said he was right and she was going to tell them she wasn’t going to be able to take the job.”

“But that’s not fair,” Jesslyn said. “What if she really wanted to work it?”

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