Two hours later, the fire had been completely extinguished by the Dallas Fire Department. The roof of the west wing was charred black, but the structural frame remained standing. Fire arson investigators were sweeping through the debris upstairs while Richard, Sarah, and Leo sat inside the mobile command unit at the end of the driveway.
Fire Marshal: Mr. Sterling? I have the preliminary origin report from your study upstairs.
Richard: What did you find, Marshal?
Fire Marshal: The blaze was definitely incendiary. Accelerant was poured directly over the mahogany desk and the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A small bottle of lighter fluid was hidden inside the trash bin near the door.
Richard: And the door lock mechanism?
Fire Marshal: The heavy brass deadbolt was jammed shut from the outside. The lower wooden panel shows signs of heavy physical impact, consistent with the maid kicking her way through to reach the door handle.
Richard: So there is no doubt it was intentional murder.
Fire Marshal: Zero doubt. If Miss Sarah hadn't broken through that door within two minutes of the fire spreading, the entire upper ceiling would have collapsed into the room. It was a death trap.
Richard took a deep breath, clutching his son's hand tightly in his own. He turned to look at Sarah, who was sitting on the examination table wearing a fresh fleece blanket given by the Red Cross.
Richard: Arson investigator... I want every bit of this evidence handed directly to the District Attorney. I want maximum charges filed against Evelyn.
Fire Marshal: The DA's office is already preparing a indictment for attempted first-degree murder, aggravated arson, and felony child endangerment. She won't be getting bail anytime soon, Mr. Sterling.
Richard: Good. Make sure her legal team has zero access to my corporate bank accounts or estate funds.
A detective opened the back door of the command van, holding a thick folder in his hands.
Detective Miller: Mr. Sterling, we just pulled Evelyn's phone records from the carrier. You need to see this.
Richard: What else did she do?
Detective Miller: She was in constant contact with a crooked estate liquidator in Houston. She was planning to list this entire property for emergency sale the moment your son was declared deceased and the trust fund cleared.
Sarah: She wanted to sell the mansion out from under you while you were grieving...
Richard: She didn't care about the home, Sarah. She wanted the forty million dollars in combined assets so she could flee the country before the probate court conducted an audit.
Detective Miller: We also found three flight tickets to Zurich, Switzerland booked for tomorrow morning under her maiden name.
Richard: She was going to kill my son today and board an international flight tomorrow morning while I was in shock...
Leo: Dad... where are we going to sleep tonight?
Richard: We're going to the Four Seasons hotel downtown, buddy. We're going to get the biggest suite they have, order as much ice cream as you want, and sleep safely.