He grabbed the handle and pulled with all his might, but the door stubbornly refused to move. Pain shot through his arms that had nothing to do with physical effort. His face contorted with anguish as his fingers melted to the handle. The scream that emanated from his inner being was deafening even over the roar of the flames.

The fire that consumed him melted the clothes on his body, creating a human inferno. His melted legs no longer supported his weight. His torso collapsed in a heap, ripping his immolated arm out of its socket. The scream that had filled the small room, had grown silent. His scorched lungs were no longer able to function.

He made one last futile attempt to reach out to his earthly treasures. The arm fell to the floor and burned like a log on a fire.

His head rolled unnaturally to the side. His now empty eye sockets stared back at the room full of everything that he had valued. Money, paintings, and stocks, all evaporated into smoke. Only his gold, silver, and gems remained.

***

The investigator was stumped. All the wiring was intact, there seemed to be no reason why the fire started and no reason why the door jammed.

The only thing he found was a scrap of paper that was unburned. A large silver coin had fallen onto an antique Bible. He picked up the coin and glanced at the piece of paper that it had protected.

The paper read, ‘The love of money is the root of all evil.’

A chill ran up the investigator’s spine as he crumpled up the paper and threw it away.

Two months later…

“And here’s a special feature in the bedroom,” the realtor said. “It’s a panic room that was converted into a walk-in safe.”

“Wow!” The husband said. “I’ll put that to good use.”

“Really?” the realtor said.

“Oh, he just doesn’t trust anyone with his money,” the wife said. “Sometimes I think he loves money more than me.”

“That’s not true, money…I mean, honey,” he said.

They stepped into the safe and the wife crinkled her nose.

“Did someone have a barbeque in here?” she said.

“Oh no, of course not,” the realtor chuckled nervously. “It must be the neighbors cooking on their grill.”

She quickly ushered them back out of the room.

“So, what do you think?” she asked them.

“Sold!” he said, glancing back at the safe.

“Hold on,” the wife told her husband. “We like it, I just have another question. Why did the former owner leave?”

“Oh, um, health reasons. He needed a cooler climate,” she said, avoiding their eyes.

“Who cares,” the husband said. “We’ll take it.”

“Great, I’ll get the paperwork ready.”

“I’m gonna love this,” he said, thinking about all the things he was going to put in the safe.