Chaff and dross can look green and lush to the covetous eye
The orange flames shot up a hundred feet before being swallowed by the smoke and blackness that shrouded the old house in the dead of night. Old boards and plaster along with the bric-a-brac of years of scurrilous living fed the inferno as the heat and consumption intensified its winning battle with the cool air and what was left of a still night.
I heard the sirens in the distance and way down across the fields and beyond the neighborhood's rural mail boxes the red flashing lights of Setterville's all- volunteer fire department rushed toward the insidious fire on the hill. Before they could arrive, the searing hot flames burst through the roof of the attached barn and the one hundred and fifty year old farm of Daniel Patrick McCullough was lost to vengeance.
The official story was bad wiring. The more enlightening story begins with a woman.
-----------
Linda Harris Donaldson McCullough was the unforeseen ubiquitous queen of Setterville. She held the title for three years, 3 months and 3 days, less a few hours or so. Whether she deserved it or not is unimportant but being the wife of Daniel McCullough gained her entry into all the perks and privileges of everything the town had to offer which in hindsight was little more than smoke and memories.
Of course there were the clubs and gatherings with their places of honor and prestige; all things of importance to those who valued any sense of social standing. Certainly there was money; Daniel was wealthier than any other soul not only in the town but throughout the county. It was family money and nearly as old as the house he grew up in. The McCullough's were accustomed to winning and success and when it didn't come through hard work, planning or fortune, it was gained through deceit and trickery.
Linda was accustomed to her good looks and little else or so she thought until she stumbled upon the interest of Daniel McCullough. She was not for lacking in sustenance and substance but genteel wealth was the grass on the other side of the fence or in this case, several stone walls and miles to the east. Until then, her home had been comfortable with all the superfluities of a respectable middle class existence.
It stayed that way until she performed that stumbling trick.
"Jesus, girl, you could have fallen flat on your beautiful ass." Daniel McCullough said to her after he caught her in his arms when she slipped on the little rock that broke her footing.
Linda looked up into the face of the man who held her and thanked him profusely.
"Seriously, you should be more careful here. That could have been a nasty fall."
"I don't know what I was thinking of, sir. I'm so sorry but thank you so much for catching me as you did. It would have been bad indeed." Linda smiled into the man's inquiring face.
Once pulled back together and having straightened the tight skirt and adjusted the high heels, Linda turned again toward the imposing polished brass doorway as Daniel McCullough held the door open for the attractive woman entering his domain. He didn't know who she was but he knew then he wanted her even if to merely enjoy the forbidden fruit beneath the overly short skirt. The glittering ring on her left hand was mostly unremarkable in his mind even it was of paramount importance to another. The McCullough's took what they wanted and Daniel was well trained in his predatory ways.
Once inside the fox turned right and the prey moved to the left toward the bank of elevators to continue her journey to the offices of Ladson, McCullough, Sperry, LLP. The morning paper had an advertisement for an administrative assistant position with the firm offering a modest salary and benefits for a Monday to Friday position that seemed suitable for Linda's talents and limited ambitions.
"Mrs. Donaldson, I'm sure we will come to a comfortable agreement on the particulars and we'll cover all the paper work later I'm sure but for now I'd like to welcome you to the firm." The old man smiled with his handshake and roving eye.
As she sat there in the opposing chair, Tom Ladson could barely contain himself from spilling drool down his mottled chin. Linda's skirt had risen high on the seat exposing an inappropriate expanse of smooth thigh. He may have been an old man well past his seventies but his memory still aroused him even if his physical limitations constrained him to the present state.
On the other hand, Daniel McCullough viewed the exchange between the two with more than curiosity. There was something about the woman that stirred him, more than sexual interest. Her beauty was intoxicating and the manner in which she innocently presented herself amplified a desire to have her, to possess her as his. He gazed longingly through the two way glass mirror on the wall at the raven haired beauty as she crossed her legs and smiled, the very rising of her bosom with each breath fastening his eyes to the spectacle.
"Thank you, Mr. Ladson. I'm so happy to be working for you and I won't disappoint you, I'm sure."
She rose from her seat and Ladson led her off to another office for introductions as Daniel stood there transfixed, intoxicated by both lust and desire. Tom wasn't hiring her for himself. She was going to be working for Dave Sperry, the other senior in the group; at least that was the plan. Before the day was out she was reporting directly to Daniel McCullough, the managing senior partner of the firm.
Mrs. Linda Donaldson was the 30 year old raving beautiful wife of ten years to a rather simple man with simple tastes, Liam Donaldson. She came from modest stock and until these events had never expressed an outward interest for the things of privilege. Liam was a middle level manager for a small manufacturer on the outskirts of town with a salary and expectations for more when time and experience allowed. The home was pleasant with plenty of room and a patio and pool added for frequent entertaining among their friends and neighbors.
Linda and her husband moved here from a larger city for the opportunity with the plant a few years earlier and Linda had left a decent position with a law firm in favor of her husband's more lucrative opportunity. Yet, boredom set in and she decided she needed to go back to work.
For Daniel McCullough, Linda's boredom would prove to be an opportunity for both of them and ultimately at Liam's expense.
