The room exploded.
People stood.
Someone gasped.
Howard lunged toward her.
The bailiff tackled him before he reached her.
Denise shrieked.
Vicky started crying.
I stood so quickly my chair crashed behind me.
“What did you say?”
Denise looked at me.
For one terrible second, I saw my mother’s face in hers.
Same eyes.
Same cheekbones.
Same small crease between the eyebrows.
Then it vanished.
“You heard me.”
I moved toward her.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“Michael.”
“You killed them?”
“No.”
Her answer came immediately.
Too immediately.
“I didn’t kill anyone.”
“You just said—”
“I said Howard promised the fire would solve everything.”
Howard struggled against the bailiff.
“She’s insane!”
Denise pointed at him.
“He went there!”
“You told me to!”
The words came out before Howard could stop them.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The kind that feels heavier than noise.
Denise stared at him.
Howard stared back.
Neither of them seemed aware of anyone else.
