Chapter 20
TWENTY
Jesslyn jerked awake at the shout that had come from the deck. She sat up to see Nathan standing at the railing. Eli had his face in his hands and his shoulders trembled. Oh dear. Something was going down and it didn’t look good.
Nathan turned on his heel, strode past his brother, and stepped inside. He gazed at her, and his features softened a fraction. “Are you ready?”
“Sure. I had a nice little nap.” She’d keep her throbbing leg to herself. “Are you okay?”
“No, not really. I can’t be here a second longer.”
She frowned and glanced at Eli, who still sat at the table on the deck. He still had his face in his hands and his shoulders still shook. The man was sobbing. “Nathan—”
“Leave him. I’ll ... I need to cool off and think before I can talk to him anymore. He’ll be all right.”
“You can’t leave him like that.”
His eyes hardened. “It’s better if I do, Jesslyn. Trust me. If I don’t walk away, I’ll say something that will only make a bad thing worse.”
She bit her lip and let her gaze bounce between the men. “All right. If you’re sure, then let’s go.”
“I’m sure.” He glanced at the clock on the mantel and Jesslyn snuck another look at Eli. He’d stopped crying and was staring out over the backyard. Maybe he would be all right, and having some time apart would be the best thing for both of them.
“Let’s go see Pam,” he said. “I think she might actually be more help than Mr. Christie at this point.”
“All right.” She led the way out of the house, and he followed her to the car.
They climbed in, and within seconds, he was backing out of the drive and heading toward the salon. He drove with clenched hands and a tight jaw. His hip didn’t seem to be bothering him that much at the moment, which meant his adrenaline must be flowing pretty good.
She bit her tongue on all the questions she wanted to ask. He was in no mood to talk, so she’d just give him some space, and when he was ready, he’d tell her what was going on.
By the time they reached the salon, Nathan had relaxed some. Enough that she didn’t think his teeth were going to shatter. The salon was just closing up when they walked in, and a woman in her early sixties was sweeping the floor. Her classy, styled shoulder-length hair swung around her face. She straightened and turned at their entrance, and Jesslyn’s first thought was how good she looked for her age. She had green eyes and wore understated makeup that made her appear younger than her years. She was the only one left in the place.
“Hi,” Jesslyn said, “are you Pam?”
“The one and only, hon.” She smiled. “And you’re Jesslyn. You look just like your mama. Wow.”
“Thank you. And this is Special Agent Nathan Carlisle with the FBI. He’s a friend of mine and we’re working on the arson case together.”
“FBI, huh?” Pam’s perfectly arched brows rose into her bangs. “All right. Now you got me curious how all this fits with your mother. This is going to call for a sit-down.” She set the broom aside, locked the entrance, and motioned for them to follow her. She led them to a small break room that held a table and chairs for four. “Y’all need any water or a snack?”
“I’m fine,” Jesslyn said, and Nathan echoed her.
They sat and Pam clasped her hands in front of her. “Wow. Last time I saw you was just before the fire.” She blinked away a sheen of tears. “I still miss your mama.”
Jesslyn blanked, wishing she could remember the woman.
Pam leaned forward. “All right, I’m listening.”
Jesslyn sent up a silent prayer for answers and took a breath. She let it out slowly while she gathered her words. “All right. So, I’m the new deputy fire marshal. I vowed to one day catch the person responsible for my family’s murder and I feel like I’m getting closer to doing so.”
More tears gathered in Pam’s eyes, and once more, she blinked them away. “Some days I still can’t believe she’s gone. I was a couple of years older than her, but we were friends since high school. The age difference never mattered to us. And if we didn’t see each other for a while, that didn’t matter either. As soon as we were back together, we picked up where we left off.”
This time a memory surfaced. Sitting in a stylist’s chair and this woman spinning Jesslyn around until she nearly fell out laughing. “Wait, I do remember you. You used to cut my hair.”
She nodded and a smile glimmered. “And your sisters’ too.”
“And did you babysit every so often?”
“I did. You remember that?”
“Just vaguely, but yes, I think I do.” She glanced around the shop. “This store is different.”
“Yep. We renovated a few years back, but I know you’re not here for small talk. Why don’t you tell me how I can help you.”
“My aunt said you told my mother about a woman named Felicia. A woman my dad was ... um...” She rubbed a hand over her eyes, then clasped her fingers together in front of her. “Seeing.”
Pam swallowed. “Oh. She told you about that, huh?”
“Just recently and only because of some things that have come to light.”
“I see. So you want to know ...?”
“Who is this woman, Felicia? What’s her last name and how do I find her?”
“Why do you want to find her?”
“I have questions for her. Please, it’s important. I don’t want to cause her pain or bring up any bad memories. If this wasn’t a matter of life or death, I’d never ask.”
“Life or death. Wow. Okay. Well, her last name is Smart and I still cut her hair every month like clockwork.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and tapped the screen. “Here you go.” She rattled off Felicia’s information. “As far as how I discovered your father was being unfaithful, whew, honey, I remember the day like it was yesterday. Felicia came in for her monthly cut and was all excited. She started telling me about this man she’d met and then showed me a picture of him. They’d done one of those goofy booths at some event one night. You know where you get a strip of four black-and-white pictures? This was way before selfies. Anyway, she showed them to me and I was stunned. I was like, that’s my best friend’s husband. Felicia didn’t believe me at first, but I finally convinced her and she was furious.” She crossed her arms and shook her head. “Ran out like her pants were on fire after I finished drying her hair. She was so mad and in such a hurry, she forgot to pay me that day. Next time she came in, she said she’d given Owen his marching papers and if he ever contacted her again, she’d tell Linda.”
“Part of me wishes she had,” Jesslyn murmured.
“Well, she probably figured I’d take care of that. And I did. After much contemplation and a few sleepless nights.”
“What did Mom say?”
Pam pressed her fingers to her lips and shook her head. “She didn’t react at first. Then after about thirty seconds, she thanked me for telling her and said she’d talk to Owen. The next time I saw her, I asked her how things were and she simply said they’d worked out the issues and everything was fine. And I think it was for a while.”
“Thank you for telling her. I know that had to be one of the hardest things to do, but thank you.”
“You’re right. I didn’t want to say anything,” Pam said. “But I couldn’t not say something. She was my friend. If the situation was reversed, I’d want to know.”
“You were caught between a rock and a hard place.”
“Yes, but I think she knew there was someone before I told her. She never said, but I got the feeling she wasn’t surprised.”
“Felicia wasn’t the first.”
“Right. I suspected either she wasn’t the first or your mom already knew there was someone, she just didn’t have a name. I gave her the name so she could use it when she talked to Owen.”
“Do you know if my dad gave Felicia any jewelry?”
“He did.”
“Do you recognize any of these?” Jesslyn pulled up the collage of pictures of the jewelry from the fires, then turned her phone so the woman could see the screen.
Pam looked at it and her eyes narrowed. “Well, I know Owen gave Felicia a bracelet because she showed that off to me before she showed me his picture, but I don’t recognize any of those pieces. He wouldn’t have had time to give her anything else. He’d just given her the bracelet the night before. She later told me she went to him and threw it in his face, then regretted not keeping it when she calmed down. Said she could have sold it for a nice sum.”
Jesslyn tucked her phone away with a flash of disappointment. When she looked up, her smile was in place. “Thank you for meeting with us.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.”
“You’ve been more help than you know. Thank you again.”
“Of course.” Pam hesitated. “Do you mind if I hug you? You look so much like your mother that I think it might be like giving her one last hug.”
“I don’t mind a bit.” They stood and Jesslyn wrapped her arms around the woman and received the sweetest, tightest, yet most gentle squeeze she’d had in a while. A hug from someone other than Aunt Carol who’d known and loved her mother. It was a blessing.
Nathan had remained silent during the chat, but shook hands and murmured his goodbyes.
Pam locked the door behind them, and they walked out to his vehicle, his limp more pronounced.
“Hip bothering you?” she asked. She’d rather bug him about his hip than think about confronting a woman her father had dated while married to her mother.
“Nah, it’s fine.”
“Sure it is.”
He cut her a sideways look and laughed. “Okay, yes, it’s bothering me. I’ve got some pain pills that’ll help in a little bit.”
He slid behind the wheel with a soft grunt and she rolled her eyes. Men.
THEY SAT IN SILENCE FOR A MOMENT. Nathan popped two little pills that would hopefully ease the ache in his hip, and Jesslyn stared out the window, lost in her thoughts.
He let her think.
After several seconds, she turned to him. “I guess we should confirm with Felicia that the bracelet was the only piece of jewelry my father gave her.”
“Might be a good thing to do, though it sounds like he didn’t have time for more than that one piece she threw in his face.”
“True. But just to be sure? And I have another idea,” Jesslyn said.
“What’s that?”
“Aunt Carol said Mom thought my dad was having an affair with someone in the neighborhood. That he would leave the house and be gone all night, then return just before everyone got up. But he never drove. He always walked.”
“Okay.”
“I want to find out who was living in that neighborhood the same time we were. It’s a narrow timeframe so it shouldn’t be too hard. Then we can narrow it down by age and gender. I’d say women ten years on either side of my dad should be a good range.”
“What are you going to do? Track down each one and ask them if they knew your father?”
“Yes. Basically. I guess.”
“Lindsay should be able to find them, but it might take a while.”
“We can start questioning people as the names come in. Starting with the Nelson family—assuming I can find them. They lived a couple doors down.”
“That works for me. In the meantime, why don’t you reach out to Lainie to see if Mr. Christie can talk.”
“I’ll do that right now.” Jesslyn got on her phone.
Nathan’s buzzed with a text from Eli.
I’m sorry. I can’t make it right. I can’t ever make it right and I don’t know how to express how sorry I am. I don’t know how to deal with this kind of all-consuming pain and guilt. I just don’t know.
Nathan groaned. He shouldn’t have let his emotions rule him. He definitely shouldn’t have walked away from Eli. He tapped the screen.
Give me some time to absorb everything and we’ll talk again. I know you’re sorry. I am too. We’ll work it out.
“Nathan?”
He looked up. “Sorry. Eli was texting me and I needed to answer.”
“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.
“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.”