Today in Salem: The fortuneteller Samuel Wardwell is choking on the acrid smoke that’s pouring from a burning house. He can feel it in the back of his throat, stinging his eyes, brushing his face with hot ash. He’s seen a house burn once before, when the Proctor’s chimney caught fire. But that was at a distance, and now, close up, he’s surprised by the sharp smell, the sound of wood cracking in the flames, the wind of it in his hair.
It’s night time, but the flames are bright, and he can see his wife’s tears as she hits him with her tiny fists. She’s saying something, but he can’t hear her above the noise of the blaze and the shouts of the others. He doesn’t need to, though. The fire has interrupted the funeral for her brother, who, instead of being buried, is now being consumed by the fire.
Even Samuel, a fortuneteller, doesn’t know how the blaze started. He and the others had just discovered that gallons of funeral wine — gallons — had been stolen, when they heard triumphant shouts, footsteps running, followed quickly by the smell of smoke. But the questions would never be answered. Who started the fire? and why?
WHO was Samuel Wardwell?
Age 49. Dabbled in fortune telling as a young man. To save his life, he confessed & submitted a long and detailed story of his indiscretions. He later recanted and claimed innocence. Case files: Samuel Wardwell