Chapter 1

The sirens screamed closer, their red and blue lights cutting through the smoke.

Firefighters shouted, water arced into the collapsing community hall.

Sarah Miller stood across the street, her face lit by the inferno.

She didn' t move, didn' t blink.

The smell of burning wood and something else, something sickening, filled the air.

A police officer, Kowski, young and breathing hard, grabbed her arm.

"Sarah? What are you doing out here?"

His voice was sharp, confused.

She looked at him, her expression empty.

"You need to get home, it' s not safe."

Then he saw the soot on her hands, the strange calm in her eyes as the roof of the hall crashed inwards.

Sparks flew like angry fireflies.

"Sarah," he said again, his voice changing, suspicion dawning. "Did you see what happened?"

She just looked at the fire.

Mr. Henderson' s screams had stopped a while ago.

So had the others.

Detective Williams arrived, older, his face grim as he surveyed the scene.

Kowski was already cuffing Sarah, rougher than necessary.

"She was just standing here, watching it burn, Detective. Said nothing."

Williams looked at Sarah, at her valedictorian dress, now smudged and smelling of smoke.

He saw the girl who' d given a speech full of hope just hours ago.

"Take her to the station, Kowski. Gently."

In the interrogation room, the fluorescent light hummed.

Sarah sat at the metal table, her hands cuffed in front of her.

She was still silent, still stoic.

Officer Kowski paced, his face red.

"Do you know how many people were in there, Sarah? Good people. People who helped you."

He slammed his hand on the table.

"Pastor David, Mr. Henderson, they loved you like their own daughter. The whole town pitched in when your folks had trouble."

Sarah' s eyes didn' t flicker.

"They gave you everything, and you do this? You burn them alive?"

Detective Williams entered, motioned for Kowski to step out.

Kowski left, muttering.

Williams sat down opposite Sarah. He placed a file on the table.

"Sarah Miller. Top of her class. Full scholarship to State University. Teachers say you' re a ray of sunshine. Psych evals are perfect, not a blip."

He leaned forward, his voice calm, measured.

"The town thinks you' re an angel, Sarah. They can' t believe it."

He paused.

"So, you tell me. What kind of 'kindness,' what kind of 'support,' makes an angel commit mass murder?"

Sarah finally looked at him, a tiny, almost imperceptible shift in her gaze.

But she said nothing.

The silence stretched, thick and heavy, broken only by the hum of the lights.