Chapter 8 - The Fire Started by Accident
The fire itself was accidental.
That fact frustrated some relatives.
They wanted:
a cleaner story.
Margaret intentionally burns child.
Simple villain.
Reality was worse in another way.
She had lit a decorative candle.
The sunroom had:
linen curtains.
A partially open window allowed a draft.
The flame caught:
fabric.
Investigators later found no evidence Margaret deliberately ignited:
the room.
No accelerant.
No planned arson.
But she had deliberately locked:
Emma
inside before the flame spread.
And once the fire began, she had several seconds—probably longer—to:
open the latch.
She didn’t.
Emma screamed.
Margaret saw:
the curtain burning.
Then Emma hit:
the glass.
Instead of unlatching the door, Margaret slid the bolt tighter.
Why?
She later told a psychologist:
“I thought if I opened it immediately, Emma would learn screaming worked.”
That sentence destroyed whatever explanation remained.
My mother had become so committed to winning a power struggle with a seven-year-old that she treated:
fire
as part of the negotiation.
Then came:
“Happy burning.”
Her attorney later tried to describe it as a sarcastic statement made under:
stress.
I did not care.
Neither did:
Laura.
The phrase did not create the crime.
May you like
Her actions did.
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