After the two Bills left the house, Mary-Sue and Larry lingered downstairs washing dishes and swaying to Handel’s Messiah on the kitchen radio. Kate went up to her room with a glass of milk, hollowed out after her talk with Bluto. She paused at the landing, thinking it might cheer her up to see what Raymond was up to. His house was dark, and she remembered—he was on Santa duty. The street was so crowded with cars and carolers that no one but her saw the figure climbing out of the Parks’ window. It was a teenage boy whose appearance made her hair stand up: he was the ghost of Bluto, crystallized and preserved at age sixteen, except Bluto would never have worn such a corny Misfits T-shirt.

She noted the bruises on the left side of the boy’s face. She would share these details with 911.

A few minutes after he slipped away, there was that monstrous bang. Kate felt her entire house shake. Glass broke. Before she could get downstairs, her mother was already hurrying up the staircase, asking if she was all right. Together, they stood on the landing watching the Park house being engulfed by a fireball, too transfixed to worry about whether the flames would leap across to them. Miraculously, the blaze stayed hermetic. Neither house next to it received much more than a minor scorching. In a matter of minutes, the Park house caved into itself as if some dark centrifugal force had sucked the fire down a secret drain.

The next day, Kate, her mother and Larry channel-surfed local news for information, even though the drama was unfolding right across the street. The hazmat crew picking its way through the wreckage had refused to answer Mary-Sue’s questions. News vans double-parked on the street made it impossible for them to get a good look at anything, even from the upstairs windows, on tiptoes, with binoculars.

“A vintage Craftsman house on historic Santa Claus Lane in Alta Vista was devastated by a fire Christmas Eve. Witnesses reported a loud blast at around 10 p.m. and fire rapidly gutted the house . . .” Shaky cellphone video showed flames shooting out the roof of the house.

“The body of the forty-year-old homeowner, Beverly Joon Park, was found in the wreckage.” In an old photo, Mrs. Park smiled demurely outside All-Friends church. “She is survived by two teenage daughters . . .” Day-after shots of the neighborhood.

“Investigators believe arson is the cause. An unidentified young male found loitering in the area has been taken into custody. The motive for the crime remains unclear . . .” Repeat of cellphone video footage. Shots of firemen working through the singed, damaged interior.