Chapter 2

"I want to see my parents," Sarah said, her voice raspy, unused.

It was the first thing she' d said in hours.

Williams nodded slowly. "Alright, Sarah. We' ll arrange it."

John and Mary Miller arrived looking like ghosts, their faces etched with disbelief and a raw, ragged pain.

Mary rushed towards the table, but a guard gently held her back.

"Sarah? Oh, my baby, what happened? Tell me this isn' t true." Her voice broke.

John Miller stood stiffly, his eyes red, his hands clenched into fists.

"Sarah, look at me. They' re saying... they' re saying you killed those people. That you started the fire."

He sounded angry, confused, lost. "Why, Sarah? Why would you do such a thing? After everything Pastor David and Mr. Henderson did for us, for you?"

Sarah looked from her mother' s tear-streaked face to her father' s bewildered anger.

Her own face remained a mask.

"I did it," she said, her voice flat, devoid of emotion.

Mary gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. John flinched as if struck.

"They all deserved to die."

The words hung in the air, cold and sharp.

A chill went through Williams, watching from the corner. This wasn' t grief or panic, it was something else, something hard and settled.

Her parents stared, horrified.

"Sarah, no, don' t say that," Mary pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "You don' t mean that."

"But I do, Mom."

Sarah' s gaze softened slightly when she looked at her mother, but her resolve didn' t waver.

"There' s a savings account," she said, turning to her father. "Under my name. It' s for Michael. Make sure he gets it. For college, or whatever he needs."

John just stared, speechless.

"And Dad," she continued, her voice low, "don' t tell Michael his sister is a murderer. Please. Just tell him... tell him I had to go away."

She paused, then added, so quietly Williams almost didn' t catch it, "Tell him I did it to protect him. To protect you both."

Her parents looked at each other, a new, terrible understanding dawning in their eyes.

What could she possibly mean? Protect them from what?

Williams felt a knot tighten in his stomach. This was far from over.