Page 25

TWENTY-FOUR

Jesslyn settled onto the Airbnb’s comfortable couch with a printed report of all the people who’d owned homes in the neighborhood she’d lived in the first seven years of her life. The Nelsons were still at the top of her list to talk to since they’d been close friends with her parents—and they still lived there. And ever since Chief Laramie mentioned her father’s connection to the general store, she’d meant to check on that.

But with her conversation with Nathan still ringing in the back of her head, she found it hard to focus. She shut her eyes. Focus. Focus. Focus. This is your purpose for now. You can worry about everything else later.

She scrolled down the rest of the list. It was a large neighborhood with a hundred and seven homes. She didn’t recognize or remember a single name other than the Nelsons. And she only knew that name thanks to Aunt Carol’s sharing.

Nathan walked in from the back of the house and stopped. “Can you tuck that away?”

She followed his gaze to her weapon on the end table. “Yeah, sure.” She slid it into the shoulder holster. “Eli okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just jumpy about any weapons being in the open or within his reach.”

“I got it. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. Sorry.”

Eli walked into the den. “Aw, Jess, you don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who needs to do that.”

She smiled. “Hey.”

He nodded. “I’m hungry. Thought I’d do some cooking. You got anything to eat around here?”

“A fully stocked freezer and fridge,” Nathan said. “Help yourself.”

“I’ll do that.” He looked at Jesslyn. “Anything you don’t eat?”

“Fungus and mold.”

He raised a brow. “’Scuze me?”

She laughed. “Mushrooms or blue cheese. Can’t stand either.”

He shot her a smile, then nodded. “Got it. Homemade pizza without fungus or mold. Should be easy enough.”

He made his way to the kitchen and Nathan watched him go, his eyes cloudy with emotion she couldn’t identify. Guilt, anger, compassion? All of the above?

“I think I need my aunt to look at this list of neighbors,” she said. “She might be able to give insight into some of them.” She snapped a picture of the list and texted it to Carol with the request for her to look it over and see if anyone stuck out as a possible woman her father may have been involved with.

While she waited for Carol’s reply, she texted Kenzie her location and explained that Nathan would bring her to Kenzie’s home when they were finished going over the case.

Kenzie sent her a thumbs-up emoji, and Jesslyn started her search of all the fire locations. She also wanted to know every building in Lake City that had Owen McCormick’s name associated with it, and she was almost done. She closed her eyes and brought her father’s face to the forefront of her memory. The familiar pang of regret was there like it always was whenever she thought about him.

He’d obviously had his mental health issues and dealt with stresses in his marriage in an unhealthy way. Her mother had been stubborn and determined to save her marriage. What would her life have been like if her family hadn’t been wiped out?

It wasn’t the first time she’d wondered that. Probably wouldn’t be the last. The more she searched, the more her breath caught. “I have the connection between all the buildings.”

“What’s that?” Nathan looked up.

“We thought it was me, but it was actually my father. He was in commercial real estate.”

“Right.”

“And he either built or sold all the buildings the arsonist is targeting, including the bank.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. “No kidding.”

“Not even a little.”

“Coincidence?” She raised a brow at him and he shook his head. “Yeah, probably not. But why target you?”

“Because I’m trying to stop him? Because I’m my father’s daughter and the last one alive?” She shrugged. “Take your pick.”

He nodded. “That’s definitely a connection.” His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen. “Andrew said he could join us for dinner if we wanted. He’ll just be late and for us not to wait on him to eat.”

“Okay. What’s going on with him and his family anyway?”

“I’m not entirely sure. His parents moved here shortly after Andrew was assigned to the Asheville office. They own a bookstore here in Lake City, did you know that?”

“Hm. I think he’s mentioned it.”

“So one of their employees just up and quit. His mom has some doctor’s appointment his dad had to take her to, so he’s manning the store. In the meantime”—he sniffed—“I’m getting hungry.”

They walked into the kitchen to find Eli pulling a pizza out of the oven. He looked up. “Hope you like a meat lovers pizza.”

Jesslyn’s stomach growled in anticipation. “Bring it on, my friend.”

Eli set it on the wooden block he’d found, and Nathan grabbed a pizza cutter from one of the drawers. Plates and napkins were on the table along with a pitcher of tea.

After they said grace, Eli smiled. “Dig in.”

While Jesslyn ate, she studied the brothers. They looked very much alike, but were very different in personality and temperament. From what she could tell.

“You’re an excellent cook, Eli,” she said. “This is amazing. The spices are just perfect.”

“Thanks.” He shot her a soft smile. “Cooking helps me think. And it’s fun to share with people who like to eat.” He seemed to be in a better place than the last time she’d seen him. Maybe Nathan would share with her when he got the chance.

Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it to scan the text. “I have to go back to the scene at the store. The chief said it’s ready for my last walk-through and he has something new to show me.”

Nathan took his last bite of pizza and rose. “I’ll take you.” He looked at Eli. “Tell Andrew we had to go, will you?”

“Sure, I’ll save him some pie.”

“Great. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

She glanced at Eli, who was snagging another piece of pizza from the tray, then raised a brow at Nathan, silently asking if it was okay to leave his brother alone. He nodded and she smiled, then told Eli goodbye and aimed herself toward the door.

NATHAN HAD CALLED TATE and Stephanie to come over and hang out with Eli. The three got along well and usually wound up playing cards when they found themselves in the same room for any length of time. He’d never betray his brother’s confidence about what was going on with him, but he didn’t have to. All he had to say was Eli would benefit from their company while he was gone, and they’d dropped everything to come over.

He had no idea what he’d done to earn this kind of friendship, but he’d never take it for granted. Gratitude swamped him and he glanced at Jesslyn beside him, thankful once again that she was a part of that circle. “You okay? You look pensive.”

“Pensive?” She raised a brow, an amused look in her eyes. “That’s a five-dollar word.”

He shot her a narrow-eyed look. “You’re laughing at me.”

“Never.”

“Hm. So what is it?”

She sighed, all signs of humor fading. “Just thinking about everything. Wondering why I haven’t heard from Aunt Carol about the names on the list.”

“There were a lot of names.”

“I know, but still, I think I’m going to send her a text asking her if she saw any name that made her look twice.”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

“Right.” She tapped her screen and within seconds, gasped. “Seriously?”

“What?” Nathan asked, spinning the wheel to turn right.

“ Been busy with the fundraiser. Will do that as soon as I get home ,” she read. “I want to shake her.”

“I know it’s disappointing, but your emergency isn’t hers.”

“Doesn’t she understand what’s at stake here?”

“She’s focused on the fundraiser. That’s what’s important to her right now.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Because she knows it’s important to you.”

Jesslyn gaped at him. “Well, I appreciate that, but finding out who killed her sister and family isn’t important?”

“No, of course that’s not what I meant.” Was it? “I just ... well, okay, maybe it is. Sort of. I’m not saying she doesn’t want you to find the person, but maybe she believes you’re chasing your tail, so why put everything else on hold to work on that? I’m not saying that’s her reasoning, but it could be something to think about.”

Her lips snapped shut and she rubbed her eyes. “You could be right about that,” she finally said. After another short pause, she looked at him. “In hindsight, she’s been supportive in this whole endeavor, definitely. But not overly ... enthusiastic? Is that the word I want?”

“Maybe.”

“I mean she never offered information unless I pushed her for it. She’s had that jewelry in the safe deposit box for twenty years. She’s known about my father’s affairs for longer. It’s ... weird to know that. I honestly don’t know how I feel about her silence.”

“She didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I get that, but this is the closest we’ve— I’ve —been to finding the person responsible for my family’s deaths. I guess I expected her to be as eager to figure it out. But maybe she just doesn’t want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed again.” She bit her lip. “I remember as a kid, we’d go to the police station twice a week to ask about updates, what the investigators were doing to find the arsonist. We did that for years until I think she finally just gave up.”

“Or maybe it was just keeping the pain alive to go and then leave without any progress made?”

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

The words held no heat, but a twinge of guilt twisted inside him. “I’m sorry. It’s not my business.”

“It’s your business. I made it your business and you’re making me think, so thank you. I appreciate your input.” She reached over and squeezed the hand resting on the gear shift. “Seriously. Thank you.”

“Sure.”

He pulled into the parking lot of the general store and scoped the area. The fire was out, the store a shell of its former self. Grief hit him. The place was insured and would be restored, but the wanton destruction twisted him in knots.

Chief Laramie spotted them and hurried their way. “Thanks for coming so quickly,” he said.

“Sure thing. What was it you wanted to show me?”

He held out a bag. “Another piece of jewelry.”

“But you already found one from here.”

“Yep. And just found this one shortly before I called you. Didn’t know if you wanted to do another walk-through or not, but figured the detectives would want to add this to their stash.”

“I’ll take it,” Nathan said.

“I’ll get my gear on and you can show me.”

“Actually, I need to take a call. One of my guys can walk you through. He should be inside taking samples for testing.”

“Great. Thanks.”

She gave him a smart salute, then looked at Nathan. He was scanning the last of the holdouts of the former crowd standing on the other side of the yellow tape and he figured she was looking for the same thing he was. The arsonist.

“Do you see anyone that says arsonist?” he asked.

“No. You?”

“No, but I’ll keep watching.”

She nodded and bit her lip. “Right. Thanks. Hopefully I won’t be too long, then we can go. We’re getting close, Nathan. I can feel it. We’re going to get him.”

“We are.”

She hesitated, almost said something, then smiled. “Okay then. Time for me to change and get busy.” She left and he watched her go, marveling at her stamina. Her hands weren’t yet healed, her leg was bothering her if her slight limp was anything to judge by, but she wasn’t letting it stop her. This was what she did and she was in her element.

He had no doubt the arsonist would be caught. He could only pray it would be before the arsonist caught her.