“Until what time?”
“Eleven p.m.,” he replied.
“And then you went to sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear or see anything after that which alarmed or surprised you? Anything out of the ordinary?”
Ethan shook his head.
“You don’t remember the doorbell ringing? Or a phone call or anything between your turning the light out and discovering the fire?”
“No.”
Helen took this in. “How had Agnieszka been with you that evening? Was she okay in herself? Normal?”
“She was good. Fine.”
“She hadn’t been having any problems recently?” Helen said, now addressing herself to Jacqueline and Michael Harris. “Any boyfriend problems? Money worries?”
“Not that she told us of,” Michael responded. “She seemed very steady. Then again, she’d only been with us for three months, so whether she would have felt comfortable coming to us, I don’t know.”
“So the first thing that was out of the ordinary was your discovery of the fire?” she said, turning back to Ethan.
“Yes.”
“Can you describe to me what happened?”
Ethan took a deep breath. Whether this was to brace himself for the physical pain that was to come or because of the emotions his memories aroused, Helen wasn’t sure.
“I was in bed. The smell of smoke was very strong and... when I switched on the bedside light, I still couldn’t see anything.”
“What then?”
“I called for Agnieszka, but... I didn’t hear anything. I was panicking—I knew what was happening. So I got out of bed and walked to the door and then I felt it...”
He paused and asked his parents for some water, which he drank down greedily, the cool liquid soothing his parched throat.
“Felt?”
“I could tell a seizure was coming on. I get a tingling feeling in myhands and feet first and then my vision goes. Everything takes on a kind of glow and well... I guess I knew I had to try to get out before it came on properly.”
Helen nodded but said nothing. She could see his parents were affected by his description. It must have been terrifying trying to escape the fire with that kind of time pressure on him.
“Next thing I know, someone’s carrying me. And it’s hot, hotter than I could ever have imagined. Did Agnieszka get out okay?”
Helen glanced quickly at Ethan’s parents. She had thought they might have broken the news to their son, but they’d obviously decided he wasn’t ready for it yet. They gave Helen a small nod to proceed.
“I’m afraid she didn’t make it. I’m very sorry.”
Ethan took this in, shaking his head slightly. “How did she die?”
It was a tough question to answer, especially to a kid.
“The fire started in the basement. It would have been very quick—she wouldn’t have suffered.”
Ethan nodded, then turned to his parents. They were quick to comfort him. Everyone present was thinking that Ethan could have ended up the same way.
