Chapter 12
TWELVE
Saturday morning, after a restless night of dozing and checking her windows, Jesslyn walked into the jewelry store with Andrew and Nathan on her heels. The door shut behind them, bells chiming before going silent. It was a small shop on the corner of West Beach Street, one street over from Main.
Glassed cases held a number of beautiful items grouped according to type and material. In one case, there were elegant necklaces of varying lengths, adorned with diamonds and other gemstones. Another case displayed an array of rings, from simple bands to intricate designs with sparkling stones set in gold or silver.
The section to her right caught her attention. It held stunning jewelry, showcasing pieces with unique craftsmanship. Beautiful pieces she’d never seen the likes of. Jesslyn wondered if those were custom pieces waiting for their new owners to pick them up. The walls were decorated with mirrors and paintings, creating a cozy yet sophisticated atmosphere. She walked to the nearest case and peered at wedding and engagement sets. They were remarkable in all different kinds of settings and stones. Would she ever wear one? Not if she kept going the way she was. She looked up and caught Nathan’s eye. He shot her a small smile, then looked away. Heat climbed into her neck, and she pulled in a slow breath, willing the warmth to stop. She couldn’t help looking at him once more, though. “You slept outside my house last night, didn’t you?”
He raised a brow, looking all innocent, but joined her at the case. “What makes you say that?”
“I thought I saw your car out there.”
“It was quiet,” he said. “I caught a few hours of rest. Knowing you were safe helped make that happen. And I had a buddy, Sampson Greene, come by with his K-9, Otis, around two o’clock. He took a shift.”
Jesslyn bit her lip. She should have known he would do that and offered her couch. Regret climbed into her heart. “Thank you, Nathan. I’m not sure what to say to that except thank you.”
His shoulders relaxed a fraction, and she realized he had been prepared to defend his actions. “You’re welcome.”
“But let me know what you’re doing in the future, will you? I probably would have slept better knowing all of that. And you have the comfortable couch or not-so-comfortable guest room bed.”
His jaw swung slightly open, and she grinned and tapped it. He snapped it shut and his eyes narrowed. All of a sudden she wanted to kiss him. Like really wanted to—
Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.
She turned and squelched the unbidden thought. Where in the world had that come from?
A low chuckle from the man told her he might have very well read her thoughts, and the fiery heat that she hated so much started to climb again.
She fixed her gaze on a cabinet on the far wall and walked over to it. She’d seen it before. Nathan and his blasted attractiveness faded along with the burn crawling up her throat. She touched the wood surrounding the glass, and a memory flickered in the back of her mind, daring her to yank it to the forefront.
Before she could, a young woman came out of the back office with a smile on her face. “Hello. May I help you?”
Jesslyn walked over, introduced herself, and pulled her phone from her pocket. “We’re investigating the church fire. We found this piece of jewelry in the debris and are trying to find the owner. I understand this is your signature?”
Again, that glimmer of a memory tried to grab her attention.
The woman looked at it. “Oh yes, that’s one of ours.” She frowned. “It’s an older one, though.” She zoomed in on the picture and took a closer look. “I’d say that was made about thirty years or so ago. Maybe slightly longer, but not much.”
Jesslyn blinked. “Really?”
“Yes, it’s one of the signatures the senior Mr. McElroy used. See, the M with the line through it is only a partial, so the E is turned on its side.”
She took another look, with Andrew and Nathan looking over her shoulder. Why was she so aware of Nathan and wouldn’t have known Andrew was even in the room? She focused. “Oh, that’s really clever.”
“Grandfather would be thrilled to know you think so.”
“So the man who made this is your grandfather?”
“Was.” A sad smile curved her lips. “He passed away four years ago. My father, who is on vacation this week, took over the shop, and I decided to join the family business as well.” She held out a hand. “Isabelle McElroy Sims at your service.”
“That’s fabulous,” Jesslyn said. “Is there any way to find out who purchased it?”
She tilted her head, studying the piece. “I don’t think so. They didn’t keep digital records back then. Grandfather was meticulous about paperwork and had a filing system, of course, but once we started with the computer system, the old stuff was stored somewhere. I know he wouldn’t have tossed it, but I honestly don’t know what happened to it.”
“So they didn’t upload the old records into the new system?”
“No, as far as I know, they didn’t bother. I do know Grandfather kept all of the hard-copy records for years and years, but when we remodeled the space, it’s possible those things were tossed.”
Jesslyn’s shoulders slumped as defeat wove through her. “Well, it was worth a shot. Thank you for your help.”
“Of course.”
The three of them walked back outside and Jesslyn glanced at her phone once more. “They’re ready for me at the fire. I’ll have to think about this jewelry stuff later.”
“I have to head back to talk to Kenny,” Andrew said. “Nathan can follow you.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“It’s necessary,” Nathan said. The flat tone said he was coming whether she liked it or not, and she didn’t have time to argue with him.
“All right, thanks. See you there.”
When Jesslyn pulled up to the scene, the fire was still smoking, but out. Firefighters dotted the landscape, watching for any hotspots that they’d have to deal with.
Her phone buzzed again and she glanced at it. Her aunt. She’d have to wait. Nathan had followed her, of course, and while she appreciated his vigilance, she was annoyed at the need for it.
She waved, and he nodded, then pulled out his laptop to rest it against the steering wheel, clearly going nowhere anytime soon. Her very own bodyguard. She pushed the annoyance away. He cared and she was going to be thankful if it killed her. And besides, if she was honest with herself, she really didn’t mind knowing he was there. The church shooting had scared her. A lot. On the way over, she’d checked on her bullet-riddled vehicle and learned it would be ready when it was ready.
The chief spotted her, and she made her way toward him, meeting him halfway. “Looks like it’s pretty much out,” she said.
“It is, but we found this at the edge of the blaze.” He handed her a crime scene bag.
With gloved hands, she opened it and pulled out another piece of jewelry. “No way. Another one?”
“Yep. I knew you’d want to see it right away.”
It didn’t look anything like the one she’d found at the church fire, but gut instinct told her what she’d find when she turned it over.
And there it was.
The logo.
“Well, at least we know where it came from,” she murmured. She had a feeling there was some meaning she should know behind the pieces, she just couldn’t put her finger on it. “So, our arsonist has a signature. Expensive custom jewelry.”
Chief Laramie frowned. “Sorry?”
“We know the store the jewelry came from. And we now know that the arsonist left it.” She frowned. “Well, I guess we don’t know for sure , but with this, I’m going to say odds are in our favor that he did.”
“What’s it mean?”
She huffed a short, humorless laugh. “I wish I knew.”
Her phone rang and she let it go to voicemail. The piece of jewelry was once again tugging at her memories. Had she seen this piece before? For some reason, she thought she had. Or was it just that she’d seen the logo somewhere else?
Maybe. But where?
Frustrated with her inability to figure out what it was about the jewelry that bugged her so much, she restrained the urge to stomp a foot.
“Any progress on figuring out who’s doing this?” the chief asked.
“Not really. I need to sit down and go through my cases to see if anyone pops out. I’ve been thinking about them during ... everything ... and there are three that I believe bear looking at a little closer.”
“People you’ve put away?”
“Yes. Either because I found the evidence needed for them to do some jail time or I testified in court that their story was a lie and the fire couldn’t have happened the way they said it did.”
“Someone with a grudge.”
“Hm. That’s my thought, but the one I’d suspect the most is still sitting in prison.”
“A family member then? Someone getting revenge?”
“Possibly. But why now? The most recent one has been in prison for two years.”
“You never know what goes on in a person’s head.”
True.
She set aside the thoughts of the jewelry for now with hopes that her subconscious would work on it while she swept the scene. Dressed in her gear, she walked the remains and found her purple stains, evidence of multiple points of origin. She’d process the whole thing, of course, but considering all the similarities, she had no hesitation saying the arsonist for the church and the gym were the same person.
And she felt confident enough to say she was a target.
For the next several hours, she worked the scene, ignoring her buzzing calls from her aunt. Finally, she stopped and called the woman back.
Carol answered halfway through the first ring. “Thank you for finally calling me back.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Carol, I’m working.”
“Oh dear. I figured. I’m sorry to be so persistent, but someone sent me a message that might affect the benefit. I’ve hesitated to tell you about it because it’s just ... hogwash.”
“Hogwash?”
“Sorry, shades of your grandmother talking. Anyway, I just decided I needed to mention it to you in case there would be any danger to anyone who attended. I mean, I’m sure it’s just something silly...”
Danger? “What kind of message?”
“It said that if I went through with honoring such a dishonorable man, there would be consequences to pay.”
“What? When did you get that?”
“About four hours ago. I got home and it was attached to some flowers sitting on my front porch.”
“I’m assuming your prints are all over the note.”
“Of course. I opened the envelope.”
Jesslyn’s pulse picked up speed and she had to work to ignore it. “Okay, I’m going to ask a friend to send an officer to your house. That’s a threat and it needs to be on file.”
“I can’t believe this. Utterly ridiculous. One tries to do a good thing and someone’s always got to throw hate at it.”
“I know.” A memory flickered stronger this time.
“I told you, I’m sorry! It won’t happen again!”
She flinched. “What do you think the sender means by dishonorable?” The line went silent. “Aunt Carol?”
“Oh, sorry, hon, I’ve got to go. We’ll talk a little later, okay?”
“Um ... okay.” She had to go as well. “Right. We’ll catch up later.”
“You’re working on your speech, right?”
“Of course.” She’d thought about it. Sort of. That was working on it, right? “Bye, Aunt Carol. We’ll talk soon.”
She hung up and Nathan walked over. He’d been on his laptop for hours. Ever since they’d arrived. “Did you get some work done?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ve got footage of a lot of the scene for you. Bystanders mostly. I watched for new people coming and people who left, trying to see if anyone stood out.”
“Thanks. I didn’t have a chance to do anything but scan the crowd.” She should have just asked him to do it. “At least we know Kenny isn’t here.”
He chuckled. “Right.”
She rubbed her nose. “I’m beat. How about you?”
“The same. How do you feel about letting me take you out for a steak?”
“That sounds amazing, but I think you should get some rest. You’re still healing.”
“I’m fine, I promise.”
She hesitated, thinking about it.
He was handsome.
He made her heart yearn for things she couldn’t yearn for right now.
And he was a distraction she couldn’t afford. “Thanks, I really appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll take a rain check. I really need to work on this arson case. And I want to visit Mr. Christie.”
Hurt flickered in his gaze before he shot her a tight smile. “All right, I get it. I’ll follow you to the hospital to make sure you get there in one piece. And I’ll check in on Mr. Christie as well.”
She nodded. “Sounds like a plan. See you there.”
“Sure thing.”
THE GYM WAS LOCATED halfway up the mountain, and as Nathan navigated his way back down, keeping her in his sights, his mind spun with thoughts of the pretty fire marshal.
What was he going to do? He was attracted to a woman who wanted nothing to do with him. Had asked him for a rain check . Which meant “go away, I’m not interested,” and he still was trying to figure out a way to spend time with her.
What in the world? He didn’t chase women. He pushed them away. Not to be cocky or anything, but he did so quite frequently. He might enjoy a night out with a date every so often, but as soon as someone wanted more, he went the other way without looking back.
So what was he doing now?
If he didn’t take a few steps back, he was going to be in trouble. Relationships required a willingness to be vulnerable, to open up and allow another person to know his deepest, darkest secrets. And that wasn’t happening.
Not that she was interested.
No was no. So, fine.
He’d keep his romantic emotions in check, but he wasn’t leaving her to fend for herself when there was a possible killer after her.
Once they were on the road, he stayed a car length behind her, his thoughts tangled in the complexities of the case. It was like he had several different puzzles dumped together on the table. The pieces were there, he just couldn’t figure out which ones went to the right puzzle. He shuffled through the fragments of evidence, theories, and dead ends, wishing he could at least get the right border pieces put together.
He voice-texted Lainie.
How’s Mr. Christie? Any change?
Her reply was instant.
Not for the better. He’s really fighting for his life. I’m sorry.
I am too. Thanks.
So there really was no point in going to see the man. But Toby might yield some answers. Maybe. A quick call to his hospital room turned out to be less than helpful, and the kid dozed off midsentence. His mother’s voice came over the line. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No. Tell him thanks for talking to me. I’ll check back if there’s anything else I can think of.”
“Perfect.”
He hung up and started to voice-dial Jesslyn when his phone rang once more.
Andrew. “What’s up, partner?”
“The police chief let Kenny go.”
“What? When?”
“About two hours ago. I came to ask him a few more questions and he’s gone. The chief was getting antsy with nothing to hold him on. Apparently, the kid’s parents are high up on the food chain and he didn’t want to tangle with them.”
“But they don’t even know about him.”
“Which is another issue. He’s worried about what’s going to happen when they find out.”
“He’s not a minor and the law says we can hold him for—”
“I know what the law says. The chief knows what the law says. And he made an executive decision to let the kid go. Said when we have some actual evidence, we could bring him back in.” Andrew sighed. “He’s not a bad guy, Nathan. He’s been easy to work with up to this point, and when he was telling me about all this, while he was firm, he was apologetic. I say we let this go and keep an eye on Davies ourselves.”
“Right. Okay.” A headache started to drum behind his eyes. “Thanks.”
“I’ll check in with you later.”
Nathan hung up and called Jesslyn’s number to fill her in, but before she answered, a flash of light to his left caught his attention.
He braked and turned slightly for a better look just as a bottle, ablaze with angry flames, arced through the air and smashed through the rear window of Jesslyn’s vehicle.