A tall man in a dark suit walked past the fire trucks, holding a leather briefcase. It was Marcus Vance, the lead arson investigator for the county fire department. He walked straight toward Officer Davis and looked at the burning mansion, which was now mostly frames and falling chimneys.
Marcus: Officer Davis, we found the origin point of the fire in the basement utility room.
Arthur: It was an electrical surge, obviously! The old wiring in the east wing has been acting up for weeks!
Marcus: An electrical surge doesn't leave three empty cans of industrial accelerant next to the main breaker box, Mr. Sterling.
Victoria: Accelerant? What are you talking about?
Marcus: Someone poured gasoline straight down the main heating ducts. That’s why the fire spread to the second floor bedrooms in less than five minutes.
Clara: Arthur was in the basement for twenty minutes right before the alarm went off. He said he was checking the wine cellar.
Arthur: You filthy little liar! I was selecting a bottle for dinner!
Marcus: We also checked the security cameras on the perimeter fence before the main power cut out. We have high-definition footage of you, Mr. Sterling, carrying two red gasoline cans into the basement door at eight-fifteen.
Arthur: That... that footage is private property! You had no right to access those servers!
Marcus: The cloud servers backup offsite automatically, sir. The fire didn't destroy the evidence.
Victoria gasped, turning her head sharply to look at her husband with wide, terrified eyes.
Victoria: Arthur... you said you disabled the security system! You told me the cameras were off!
Arthur: Shut up, Victoria! Shut your mouth right now!
Victoria: You promised me we wouldn't get caught! You said the fire would look like a gas leak!
Officer Davis: Well, Mrs. Sterling, thank you for confirming the conspiracy on tape.
Officer Davis stepped forward, unclipping two sets of steel handcuffs from his utility belt.
Officer Davis: Arthur Sterling and Victoria Sterling, you are both under arrest for attempted murder, arson, child endangerment, and insurance fraud.
Arthur: Get your hands off me! Do you know who my family is? My grandfather built this town!
Officer Davis: Your grandfather isn't here to save you tonight, Arthur. Put your hands behind your back.
Victoria began to scream hysterically as the metal cuffs clicked around her wrists, her elegant green gown dragging in the mud as the officers escorted her toward the rear of a police cruiser.
Victoria: Arthur, do something! Call our lawyers! Call the senator!
Arthur: You ruined everything, you stupid woman! If you hadn't slapped that girl outside, nobody would have looked twice at us!
Victoria: You brought the gas cans, you idiot! You put us in this mess!
The officers pushed both of them into the back seats of separate patrol cars, slamming the doors shut as the crowd of neighbors cheered and applauded the arrests.