Fire Trap

In 2001, Louise’s house was burned to the ground.

Around two in the morning, a neighbor awoke to sirens wailing outside. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. Three fire trucks hoses down the old burning house. Luckily, Louise wasn’t home when her house went up in flames. Still, there questions remained.

At the time, Louise was in North Carolina when her house burned to the ground. For three days, nobody could reach her. She said that her battery was dead on the morning after the fire. But what about the following two days? Louise claimed that she didn’t have it on her. Pretty suspicious. But Louise was nowhere near Louisiana at the time. Maybe she had help on the outside?

It might not have been her. At the time, Louise was separating. Not from her first husband, mind you. There was husband number two in the mix. Though the end of their marriage wasn’t as nasty as the one with the first marriage, there were still questions to ask. Where was this soon-to-be ex at the time of the fire? He claimed that he was in Florida at the time of the crime. The police followed up on that alibi and it checked out.

What was the motive? Why would somebody burn down Louise’s house while she wasn’t in it? There was no insurance on the house and she hadn’t been staying there long. In fact, she had only moved into the house five days prior to the fire. Most of her possessions hadn’t been moved to the address yet. The only lost was an old couch, an empty truck, and a wooden table and chair set. Nobody was hurt and there wasn’t much loss. Still, the police had their questions.

The fire looked like it was started in the kitchen. Somebody had broken a window and spilled a flammable liquid, probably vodka, all over the rug near the sink. It didn’t take long for the rug to ignite and spread. Firefighters managed to get there before the whole house went up in flames. Most of the damage hit the kitchen and living room. An elderly couple said that they saw two teenage boys dressed in black around the property in question earlier in the day. They couldn’t see their faces, however. Plus, the house was located in a bad neighborhood. Probably some bored youth looking for mischief. However, it didn’t feel that way.

Louise had a suggestion of her own.

“I bet Daryl did this out of spite,” she said. Seems plausible, only Daryl was in Georgia at the time of the crime. His new wife confirmed as much. Four times the police looked into those two boys seen around the house earlier, but nothing came of it. It didn’t help that there were no witnesses either. As a result of no more leads, the case ran cold. It still bothered the police. Who would burn down a nearly empty house and leave behind no evidence?

Louise didn’t care. She was happy to get rid of that useless house and move on. However, it didn’t leave her. Pretty soon, that case would pop up again in her future. How this happened? Well… It’s a long story… Yeah…

I’m Burning, I’m Burning, I’m Burning for You