Technomancer (Unspeakable Things: Book One)

itself was barely scorched. There were even a few paper cups and a stray pen sitting undisturbed on the table itself.
    I checked Bernie’s wrists next. His hands had been burned away to bone and ash. I assumed this might be considered a defensive wound. He’d burned away his hands trying to defend himself. But his wrists were intact, and there were lines of blood and flaked skin around each of them. I nodded, still holding my nose. Someone had cuffed him and let him die helplessly.
    My immediate suspicion, of course, was that it had been Ezzie, or one of her type. It almost certainly had been a creature like the lava slug I’d found in the middle of my burnt house. What else could it be? The evidence pointed toward an organized effort, however. The only way such a creature could get into and out of a building without burning it down was via a rip in space. Could the cultists be involved? Gilling might have brought it in, rolled it over him, and then popped it home again. Or maybe that was Rostok’s power, here inside the Lucky Seven. Maybe that’s why he had Ezzie, because he could move things into and out of his domain.
    Frowning, I straightened up. I knew I didn’t have much time left. I was surprised, in fact, that McKesson hadn’t shown up yet. He was the master when it came to finding freaky crimes.
    I opened the door and stepped out between the two security men, both of whom were waiting nervously in the hall. I noticed that they took pains not to look inside the conference room.
    “This is quite a mess you have here,” I said.
    “You got that right,” Mr. Red Mustache said. “How are you going to do it? A big black body bag and an ambulance around the back? We’ll wheel the gurney out ourselves. The less the paramedics see, the better.”
    “I’m afraid we have a problem,” I said.
    They looked instantly worried.
    “News has leaked out about this—accident,” I said. “Do either of you have cell phones on your persons?”
    Sagging jaws. They blinked and looked confused.
    “We didn’t call anyone, Mr. Draith.”
    I nodded as if I didn’t believe a word they said. “I see. Well, it doesn’t really matter. The call records are all there in the system, aren’t they? We’ll find out in the end. In any case, I need to talk to Mr. Rostok.”
    “That’s not possible—”
    “It’s not only possible, it needs to happen
now
. If you don’t want a news wagon out there in the valet parking with a satellite uplink to Los Angeles, I’d suggest you cooperate and quit trying to cover your tracks.”
    “We aren’t covering up anything,” Mr. Mustache said. “We didn’t call anyone—did you, Nate?”
    Nate shook his head. His eyes were big and scared.
    “If corpses can’t be neatly disposed of, a guilty party must be found. Can either of you two gentlemen guess who that might turn out to be in this situation?”
    Confusion on their faces was replaced by panic. “Right this way, Mr. Draith.”
    They put me on a private elevator to the top floor. After crossing an empty lobby, I found myself in front of a familiar door. It opened at my approach. As before, no one greeted me at first. I took a confident step forward into the darkened room and stood calmly.
    “Can I sit down while my eyes adjust, Mr. Rostok?”
    “You may indeed, Mr. Draith,” came the rumbling response. “You’ve changed, haven’t you? Death stalks you, and it has built character where there was none before.”
    Not quite sure what he was getting at, I felt in front of me until I found the chair I’d sat in previously. I put my butt in the seat and peered into the gloom. The LED lights were there, I could see them faintly all around me. I thought to myself I should bring a flashlight next time I came to visit this reclusive man.
    “I’m through with riddles, if that’s what you mean,” I said. “Let’s cut the crap, shall we? Ezzie killed Bernie. The evidence is clear. You called McKesson to clean up the mess. Must be nice to have the police so terrified of unexplainable deaths they are willing to clean up your messes for you.”
    “It is convenient.” Rostok chuckled. “But Ezzie didn’t kill anyone. She’s old now, you see. Her kind become larger and cooler as they age. You would have smelled burnt carpet the first time you met her in this room if she’d been hot enough to hurt anyone.”
    “Hmm. I suppose you have a point there. But it was definitely one of her kind. Are you denying