"Agnes Samuel's phone rang just before 6 p.m. It was Jonathan, her husband. He said he had something to tell her, and he needed to tell her in person. It appeared to Agnes that he was agitated, even nervous. He was short of breath, and he kept trying to stall. 'I can't talk now. I'll see you when I get home.' Agnes thought it was strange, and it made her curious.
When Jonathan finally walked into the living room a couple of hours later, she asked him what it was that he had to tell her. He avoided the question, never once saying a word.
"Jonathan was terrified, maybe more than Agnes had ever seen him. He kept saying, 'There's a ... there's a smell of burning.' He had a worried and pleading look. Agnes started to ask him what he meant, but he walked out of the room.
Jonathan broke down in tears. When Jonathan walked out of the room again minutes later, Agnes tried to say something. She started crying, and Jonathan quickly told her to 'Go upstairs and don't come down for a while.' He told Agnes that he had been called in for questioning and would most likely be arrested for committing arson. 'I'm going to leave, and I won't be back.' Jonathan said he would be back later, when everything was over. He called Agnes before he left. He told her, 'tell the girls to go with their aunt and bring your insurance papers to her.' Jonathan asked her to do all the paperwork the next day, as he would be out of town. 'I'll be back after they go to bed."
Agnes wasn't able to call anyone. After work, Agnes went to see Dr. Rogo. Her neighbor's house had caught fire. Agnes wasn't able to tell Dr. Rogo what had happened. Dr. Rogo told her he knew Jonathan had been called to the police station, and that Jonathan had been arrested. He pleaded with Agnes to tell him what was going on.
The first responders found Jonathan lying in bed, horribly disfigured and in a state of shock. His condition quickly worsened, and he was rushed to the hospital. It was discovered that Jonathan had sustained third-degree burns over 83% of his body. Since he was unconscious, the team was unable to question him. There were no burn marks on the carpet, and the other rooms were okay. The police were able to gather all the evidence, and it was later determined that the source of the fire was in the bedroom, near the bed. They quickly ruled out any foul play but told the wife that they would still have to wait for Jonathan to regain consciousness before they could question him further.
Jonathan's state was critical. His heart, lungs, and kidneys almost failed, and it was revealed that he was suffering from severe burns on a large part of his body. Jonathan was unconscious when he arrived at the hospital and didn't wake up for the next three days.
Jonathan underwent surgery, and then was shifted to the burns unit, where he remained unconscious and heavily sedated. On the 12th day, Jonathan regained consciousness. The hospital psychiatrist talked to him, but Jonathan wasn't able or willing to say anything about the fire. He kept crying about a 'smell of burning.'
Jonathan was in critical condition, still in coma, and in extreme pain. He was connected to multiple machines that assisted him with his breathing, and there were lines running from his body to the blood bags that kept his heart and organs working.
They were palliative, and it didn't appear that he would ever regain full consciousness, or recover from his bodily injuries.
The nurse, Agnes, had suspicions that Jonathan deliberately tried to commit suicide, and the reason he did that was because he was very stressed out. This made him very unhappy, and Agnes had been thinking about starting a divorce.
Jonathan had tried to commit suicide in the past.
Mr. Polycarp entered with glasses of whiskey, one for himself and one for his wife. Mr. Polycarp was a rotund, red-faced man in his fifties. The epitome of a fat man, he was well aware of his rotundity.
The whiskey had been sought to stimulate amorous feelings. Mrs. Polycarp was a thin, plain woman of a fair complexion, light brown curly hair and dark brown eyes.
