Chapter 16

Somewhere beneath the first floor, Jake’s hollow voice calls out, “Hey, what’s going on up there? What happened to the lights?”

Willa says, “I’ll find my way through the dark and tell Jake from the top of the basement stairs to check the breaker box. He can use his lighter to see the switches.”

“The pot king saves the day,” Bobo says from somewhere on the floor, near Sandy’s feet.

“Stop, Bobo, that’s my baby boy,” Pam says in her drunken state, always protecting her youngest child like a mother bird, even under the influence.

Sandy calls out from one of the reading chairs near the dining room, “Jonah, are you okay over there?”

Jonah is notokay. The object near his rump becomes hot and the sizzling sound that Willa and his fiancé mention grows louder. The scent of smoke heightens near his nostrils and…

“Oh my God,” Magnum whispers from the sofa. “I see flames. Jonah’s on fire.”