Burning Down the House

by Allie Gail

  Fire is…it’s therapeutic.

  No. Riley would be a much more likely candidate. After seeing the vicious gleam in his eyes Friday night and hearing the way he trashed Jordan, I wouldn’t put anything past him. He had the motive and obviously he had the temper.

  “…if you ask me. I wouldn’t be surprised, would you?”

  “Huh?” I blinked and tried to catch up with whatever Dana was saying.

  Tilting her head to one side, she gave me a funny look. “Are you okay? You look a little green.”

  “Yeah, I just…I can’t believe this. It’s insane.”

  “I know, right? So what do you think?”

  Hesitating, I suggested, “Maybe it was just an accident. Like faulty Christmas lights or something.”

  “That’s not what I was asking you. Do you think it’s possible that Riley could have had something to do with it?”

  Yes, it is entirely possible. “I don’t know, Dana…I don’t think it’s a good idea to start jumping to conclusions. You don’t know for a fact that fire was set on purpose.”

  “Yeah, but you did say he seemed pretty pissed off the other night.”

  Oh, crap. At the cast party after the play, I told her everything Riley had said to me. Gah - why did I do that? She might have spilled the beans to her father, and what if he wanted to question me about it? If there really was some criminal investigation going on here, I didn’t want any part of it. “You didn’t say anything to your dad about that, did you?”

  “No. Why, should I not?”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t want to get dragged into this mess. And for God’s sake don’t tell anyone else either.”

  She cut her eyes at me sheepishly. “I already told Trent.”

  “Dana! I told you that in confidence!”

  “I’m sorry! It’s just, I tell him everything. You know how it is. Don’t worry though, I made him promise not to say a word.”

  I flopped down on the couch with a sigh. “Please make sure he doesn’t.”

  “This is all so weird, isn’t it? I mean, first she gets pregnant and then this happens. It’s hard to believe it’s a coincidence.” She dropped down beside me. “What if the baby really isn’t - I mean, uh, wasn’t his? Just because no one knew about it doesn’t mean she couldn’t have been boinking someone else. That could be why she dumped him in the first place, you know? Because of the other person.”

  “I guess. Maybe.” From what Jordan had hinted, there could very well be another person involved. How was it that I knew way more about all this than I wanted to? Why did everyone feel the need to confide in me? I had nothing to do with any of it!

  “This is some complicated soap opera drama, isn’t it? Nothing like this ever happens around here. It’s crazy, huh?”

  “Well, all I can say is I sure hope it was an accident. I’d hate to think anyone in this town would be psychotic enough to do something so sick.”

  “That’s for sure.” Without looking at me, Dana casually mentioned, “Trent said you texted him looking for Rob last night.”

  I felt my temper flare at the tactless timing of her statement. “What are you insinuating?” I snapped, a little too defensively. I knew what she was thinking. Hadn’t she been the one to fill me in on the idle rumors circulating about him four months ago? What irked my conscience was the fact that I’d had the same fleeting suspicion, and I was supposed to be the one who knew him better than anybody.

  “Nothing! I just wondered if you guys had a fight or something. That’s all.”

  “No, we didn’t have a fight. I just wasn’t sure where he was, that’s all.” I left it at that. Let her conclude what she wanted.

  She gave me another funny look, but apparently decided not to push it. “Okay. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just curious.”

  “Everything’s fine with us.”

  “All right. Like I said, I didn’t mean anything.” She seemed anxious to change the subject. “I wonder why she couldn’t get out of the house in time.”

  “She could have been asleep.” I’d wondered that myself, actually.

  “Hm. Well, maybe it was just an accident but…okay, hear me out. This theory might sound awful, but…what if she set the fire herself?”

  “Jordan?”

  “I know, I know, it’s a terrible thing to say, but you know how strange she’s been acting the past couple of months. What if she just, like, snapped? Went over the edge?”

  A week ago I would have agreed that it was plausible. But she’d seemed so radiant and happy lately, in spite of Riley’s rejection. She wanted that baby even if he didn’t. It was hard to imagine her committing suicide, and certainly not in such a gruesome way. “I can’t see it. She may have acted a little out there sometimes, but she wasn’t that crazy.”

  “It was just a thought.”

  “Doesn’t do any good to speculate anyway. We weren’t there - we don’t know what happened.”

  “True.” Dana brushed the bangs away from her forehead, but they fell right back into place. “I can’t believe she’s dead. It doesn’t seem real, does it? Hopefully she didn’t suffer too much. I keep trying to tell myself the smoke inhalation probably killed her before the fire got to her. I’m praying that’s how it happened. Burning alive would be a horrible way to die, wouldn’t it?”

  That wasn’t something I wanted to think about. Not now. Not ever.

  It was another half hour before Dana left and I made my way back out to the garage, still somewhat in shock. Dad was faithfully toiling away, and the results showed. The garage already looked a hundred percent better.

  “I was about to decide you’d bailed on me.” He pointed to a storage container that had been set aside. “I think all that’s yours. How about sorting through it and deciding what all you want to keep and what needs to be thrown away.”

  Numbly, I lifted off the plastic lid and stared blankly at the contents inside. It was stuff from my old room that I’d chosen to leave behind when Mom and I moved. Old school papers, spiral notebooks, rolled-up posters, awards - why had he kept this junk? He could have thrown it away when he sold the old house. It occurred to me then how much he must have missed me when I wasn’t around anymore. But at least I still got to visit him occasionally. What were Jordan’s parents going through right now, knowing they would never see their daughter again? Ever?

  “Did you know there was a fire last night?” I blurted.

  “Mm…you don’t say. Where at?”

  “Across town, I think. I’m not sure what street she lived on. This girl in our senior class was killed.”

  That got his attention. His head snapped up from the box he was sorting through to shoot me a surprised look. “Someone was trapped in the house?”

  “She must have been. According to Chief Landry, she died.”

  “So that’s why Dana was trying to reach you. I’m sorry to hear that, honey. Was she a friend of yours?”

  “Not really. You know how I told you about Riley getting someone pregnant? It was her.”

  “The pregnant girl?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  He let out a long whistle. “Damn, that’s rough! Was anyone else hurt?”

  “No. No one else was home.”

  “Jesus. That poor kid...”

  I didn’t ask which kid he was referring to. Jordan, or the unborn one inside her.

  We finished up in the garage around four, which gave me time to get a quick bath and whip up something for dinner before Rob got home. The tree farm closed at five on Sundays, so we would all be able to sit down to a nice meal together. I’d sent him a text earlier to see if he knew yet about Jordan, and his response was a mere two words. I heard. All right, so maybe he was busy.

  I had just turned the chicken and rice down to simmer and wandered into the living room when the sight of Jordan’s face on the bottom corner of the television screen stopped me in my tracks. The anchorwoman was rattling off her newscast with all the stilted emotion of a pre
programmed robot.

  …that claimed the life of a local teen. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and has not yet been officially determined, although it has been confirmed that an accelerant was found at the scene and arson is suspected. Fire Investigator Chuck Whitcomb is currently working with the state fire marshal and local police to…

  “Pretty girl,” Dad commented, shifting his eyes from the TV to me. “I remember her from homecoming.”

  I nodded slowly. The picture they were using actually was from homecoming, more than likely the one taken for the yearbook. The glittery crown rested on her auburn head and she was smiling for the camera, but the effort didn’t quite seem to reach her dull green eyes. I wondered if I was the only one who noticed. Or whether it was all in my imagination, simply because I remembered how glum she’d been at the dance that night. Not at all like you’d expect someone who was just crowned homecoming queen to act. Was it because she already knew she was pregnant? Yeah, surely by then she must have known.

  So Dana was right. It could actually be arson. Someone really was that sick in the head.

  “You suppose that Murphy kid had anything to do with this?” my father mused.

  “He said the baby wasn’t his,” I murmured softly, unable to take my eyes off the smiling image. It was such an illusion. All it portrayed was the vibrant beauty queen and future valedictorian whose life was tragically cut short. No one would see in that snapshot the profound unhappiness behind the secrets she was hiding. It was too late now. I would never know what she’d been trying to tell me. Love is a rebellious bird…

  “He said what? When did you talk to him?” The sharpness in my dad’s voice startled me.

  “Um…Friday night. Right after the play.”

  “He said that to you?”

  “Yes…”

  His expression was sober. “What else did he say?”

  I tried to recall his exact words. “Just that there was no way the baby could be his because they hadn’t been together since May. He was ticked off that she was letting everyone think it was his.”

  “And…?”

  “He called her a manipulative slut. And…and said her future was shit now.” You sure called that one, didn’t you Riley?

  I turned my head as the front door opened and Rob cheerfully greeted us with, “Lucy! I’m home!” His Cuban accent was spot on.

  “Was that all?” Dad persisted.

  “Pretty much. I didn’t talk to him for long.”

  He was already walking away, hand digging in one of his pockets for his cell phone. “You guys go ahead and start dinner. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. Who was he calling? I didn’t want to get sucked into this mess. Feeling Rob’s hand on my shoulder, I looked up at him.

  “What’s the matter?” he wanted to know.

  Sighing, I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “Well, let’s see. Jordan’s dead, the fire probably wasn’t an accident, and now Dad’s freaking out because Riley tried to convince me the baby wasn’t his. I feel like I’m stuck in some overdramatic B-movie. I swear, I don’t know how I manage to get myself in the middle of these situations.”

  Rob gave me a befuddled look. “When exactly did you see Riley?”

  “He cornered me backstage right after the play. I only talked to him for a couple of minutes. He was acting all weird.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” He sounded more concerned than angry.

  “I don’t know - after everything that happened this weekend, I just kinda forgot about it.” It was true, it had slipped my mind when we were talking in the middle of the night. It just hadn’t seemed important at the time.

  “He tried to tell you the baby wasn’t his?”

  “Uh-huh. He was very insistent. Said his parents were getting a lawyer and everything.”

  The skepticism in his voice was obvious. “I don’t know…didn’t Jordan say it was his?”

  “That’s the thing - I don’t think she ever did. I think everyone just assumed it. Riley said she was letting people believe it though - she wasn’t denying it.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “Beats the heck out of me.” Who could tell with her? Nothing she did or said made a lot of sense.

  “Sara, listen to me.” Grasping me gently by the shoulders, Rob spun me around to face him. “I don’t want you talking to him anymore. There is something really shady about this whole business and I don’t want you involved in any way, shape or form. Stay away from him. If he comes near you again, just walk away. And if that doesn’t work, I want you to call me. Will you do that?”

  I nodded.

  “Promise me?”

  “Sure, I promise.” I had no intention of letting that guy within fifty feet of me anyway. It was scary to think he might have had the audacity to torch someone’s house. Had he known she was inside at the time? “They said on the news that arson was suspected.”

  Strangely, that statement seemed to suck all the life right out of his eyes. Every emotion was suddenly closed off, hidden behind a wall I hadn’t seen since before we hooked up. His hands dropped from my shoulders. “Did your dad say dinner was ready?” It was the most conspicuous diversion in history.

  “Yeah, it’s ready. Did you hear what I said?”

  He was already making his escape toward the hallway. “Uh-huh. I’m gonna go wash up.”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that at first. But it only took about ten seconds for logic to hit me. His own parents had died in a fire. Of course this was bound to open wounds that had barely begun to heal. Even if they’d never had a loving relationship, it still couldn’t have been an easy thing to deal with. No wonder he preferred to avoid the subject. He didn’t want to go there again, and who could blame him?

  We were just sitting down with our plates when my father joined us at the kitchen table. I could have sworn he was two shades paler than he was five minutes ago.

  “Hurry up and finish your dinner. Chief Landry is on his way over. He wants to talk to you.”

  The brown rice stuck in my throat, and I had to swallow some iced tea to force it down. “What for?”

  “He just wants you to relay your conversation with Riley to him. To find out if there were any direct threats made. It’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Then why do you look so worried?” Did he think I was blind? Clearly there was something bothering him.

  He tapped his fingers on the table restlessly, staring off into the distance as if waiting for a cue card to feed him his next line. After a moment he returned his gaze to me, then transferred it to Rob. “I want your undivided attention. Both of you.”

  Rob and I exchanged glances before giving him our full attention.

  “I don’t know exactly what the situation is regarding that girl’s death. But I do know that I have to leave for work Tuesday morning and I don’t want to have to worry about your safety while I’m gone. Sara, you are not under any circumstances to go off anywhere alone. I don’t even want you walking out to the parking lot after school by yourself. Wait for Rob and let him walk with you. While he’s at work, you’re to keep the doors locked and not open them for anyone unless you’re one hundred percent certain who it is. Got it?”

  His instructions were hardly putting my mind at ease. What did Dana’s father say to him just now? “Got it.”

  His expression was stern. “Now I don’t know for sure that Riley’s responsible for any of what went on, but if he approaches you, I want you to call the police immediately. If he tries to call, email or make contact with you in any way, you’re to let Chief Landry know about it as soon as it happens.”

  “Okay.”

  “Rob, I’m relying on you to watch out for her. I might be overreacting here, but I have to agree with the motto of better safe than sorry. I don’t like the fact that this punk has had any association with my daughter.”

  “I won’t let anyone near her that shouldn’t be,�
�� Rob assured him before turning his attention to me. “You can come with me to work. It might be a little boring, but you can sit in the office where it’s warm and do your homework.”

  I was beginning to feel like a child who required a babysitter. What was going on here? “Dad…what did Chief Landry tell you?”

  “An accelerant was poured all over the front porch and around the house before being ignited. There’s no question about it. It was definitely arson.”

  25

  As expected, all anyone was talking about at school on Monday was the fire. I tried to tune out the gossip as much as possible, but judging by the snippets that reached my ears the general consensus was that everyone agreed Riley was the culprit. It was astounding to see how easily a crowd’s loyalty could be swayed. In November he was star quarterback and the school darling. Fast forward to December, and he’d already been branded a ruthless killer. It was mind-boggling.

  Fortunately Dana, Trent and Rob were the only ones who knew what Riley had said to me, and only Dana and Rob were aware that I’d spoken to Chief Landry. I told him everything. Not just what Riley said, but Jordan’s misplaced comments as well. But instead of feeling that I’d helped in some way, I could only view myself as a narc. I’m not sure why. That’s just how I felt. Don’t ask me to explain.

  In first period there was an announcement over the intercom informing us that we would be notified of the date and time of the funeral as soon as arrangements had been made, and anyone who wanted to attend would be excused from class. Then something about counselors being available. Larry Adams thought it would be amusing to ask if seeing one of the counselors counted as a grade. All he got was a bunch of nasty glares. Nobody found that funny.

  I trudged through the morning in a fog, stoic and detached, but somewhere around fourth period it all caught up with me.