Free Cut by Emily Duvall Page A

about your bachelorette party.”
    â€œI don’t want to talk about it.”
    Leslie looked taken aback. “I know it got cut short, but didn’t you enjoy yourself?”
    â€œUntil Brent Harrison walked into my life.” Jessie corrected herself at the sight of her mother’s curious glance. She quickly clarified, “Brent brought me the news about Melanie.”
    â€œI see.” Leslie walked out of the elevator without further comment. They walked down the blue-carpeted hall together and found their rooms.
    â€œI might try to take a nap,” Jessie said.
    â€œYou should. You look tired.” Leslie stopped in front of Jessie’s door. “I’m sorry Carl couldn’t stay longer.”
    â€œI’m not.”
    Incredulity filled Leslie’s eyes. “What?”
    â€œI don’t want to get into it now. I need to lay down and then get some food.”
    â€œLet’s have a change of plans. We’ll go back down to the restaurant and get a bite to eat. You can tell me about Carl and then we’ll both rest.”
    Food turned out to be a quick lunch. Jessie didn’t have a chance to tell her mom about Carl and postponing the wedding. Or about Singapore. Her mother’s time was taken up with messages and phone calls from friends and family. Neither of them finished their meal. Together they returned to their floor and retreated to their individual rooms.
    Jessie stepped inside her hotel room and took a long breath. The interior of the room matched the detail of the hotel lobby right down to the gold trimmed chairs. She lugged her bag to the bed and missed slinging it onto the luggage stand. Her suitcase tumbled on the floor and landed with a thud at her feet. “Great,” she mumbled and set the bag upright. She proceeded to unzip and put away some of her clothes in the dresser drawers. The musty suitcase scent on her clothes drove her crazy.
    The last of her clothes was put away and she reached down to grab her makeup bag. That’s when she found a dark pink box tied with a silver bow. “What the…” she said, picking up the gift. It must be from one of her friends from the bachelorette party. She tore open the paper. The wrapping fell to the floor and brushed the tops of her shoes.
    A gray velvet box sat in the palm of her hand. “Oh. My. God,” she said, opening the lid. A fat green gemstone met her gaze. Not a plain dull green either. The color of a blazing green forest captured in a stone.
    In general, she didn’t pay attention to gemstones, at least not after the last time they’d come to be in her possession. She examined this one with a close eye. She held it to the light. An emerald perhaps? The color responded to the sun, like two lost souls looking for the other. The shade of green darkened and lightened based on her movement. The shape of a square with slightly rounded edges, like a pillow. Such brilliance and depth sat in the palm of her hand.
    A piece of paper tucked inside the lid caught her eye. Immediately she took it out and read. The words on the note caused her mouth to go dry. The handwriting she’d known her whole life. Jessie stared at the elegant, feminine print of her sister. A tear slid out of the corner of her eye. “Melanie,” she said, running her hand over the blue ink. To brush the words with her fingers felt like she’d reached out and held her sister’s hand. Jessie’s lips moved as she read the message.
You are the only person I trust
    Find Elizabeth
    You’ll know what to do

Chapter 6
    â€œWho the hell is Elizabeth?” Jessie wondered out loud, dumbstruck. She read the note over again and again and tried to make sense of it. You are the only person I trust. Jessie looked to the small square paper, and by association, her thoughts migrated to Melanie. “But you don’t trust me at all,” she mused.
    Jessie returned the gemstone to the box and