Chapter 13 - THE FIRE
The fire moved fast.
I grabbed the extinguisher under the kitchen sink and sprayed until white powder covered the desk, the curtains, and half the wall.
Robert called 911.
By the time firefighters arrived, the flames were out, but the room smelled like melted plastic and burned paper.
The fire captain crouched near the broken window latch.
"This wasn't electrical."
My stomach dropped.
On the floor beneath the window lay a red plastic gas can cap.
Robert sat down hard in the hallway chair.
"They came back."
I wanted to say we didn't know that.
Then the doorbell camera footage loaded.
At 1:54 a.m., a figure in a dark hoodie crossed the front lawn outside the camera's clearest range. The person disappeared along the side fence.
At 2:08, the same figure ran back toward the street.
A car waited with its lights off.
Neighborhood footage caught the license plate. The car belonged to Lisa.
When officers questioned her, she broke in under ten minutes.
"I didn't set the fire!" she cried. "Daniel took my car. He said his was being watched."
"Did you know what he planned?"
"No! He said he needed to get documents from Dad's office."
Robert closed his eyes.
The study held copies of bank records, old tax files, and the hard drive from his desktop.
But Maya had already moved the key evidence off-site.
Daniel didn't know that.
He had risked burning down a house with his father and wife inside to destroy papers that weren't even there.
Police issued a warrant.
For twenty hours, Daniel vanished.
Margaret claimed she had no idea where he was.
Then Rachel called me.
Her voice shook.
"He's here."
"Where?"
"Tampa. The condo. He showed up an hour ago. He thinks I still believe him."
"Get out of there."
"I can't. He's asleep in the bedroom, and his phone is on the couch."
I heard her swallow.
"Emily, there are two passports on the table."
May you like
"Two?"
"His... and yours."
