Histories of the Void Garden, Book 1: Pyre of Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page A

statements made by several other members of the
Department of Defense.”
    Agent McMahon
leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin, enjoying the rough
texture of his two-day stubble. He wasn’t sure if he’d said too
much. If this information put David Beach on his back foot, he was
doing a good job of hiding the fact. On the other hand, if Mr
Beach’s apparent lack of interest was genuine then McMahon really
did have a problem.
    “Mr Beach, I’m
sure you’re eager to get back to Sophie …”
    “Stephanie.”
David corrected him, jaw tightening slightly as he spoke.
    “Sorry, of
course, Stephanie … If you could just help me by clarifying for me
one more time, the exact nature of the conversation that took place
between you and Undersecretary Carlton, I’ll let you get back to
Stephanie.”
    The two men sat
looking at each other across the table, both of them irascible and
tired. David really did just want to get out of that room and pick
up Stephanie. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the exact
wording of his conversation with Carlton. He couldn’t erase the
image of McMahon’s sallow face, his designer stubble, his gelled
blond hair, and that image made it exceedingly hard to concentrate
on a conversation that took place weeks ago.
    “Undersecretary
Carlton wanted me to talk to someone at a company called Arctum
Industries, based out of New York. There had been some concerns
raised about security in that building for some reason. He told me
that I needed to be discrete in my line of questioning with anyone
I spoke to at Arctum Industries, but that ultimately he needed me
to get hold of schematics for the building.”
    McMahon frowned
and picked up his glass of water again. He sipped, then returned
the glass to the table, and leaned forward, bringing his chin close
to the table to catch David Beach’s eye line.
    “Are you aware
Mr Beach, that on the afternoon of March sixth, when you apparently
received this call about Arctum Industries from Undersecretary
Carlton, that Undersecretary Carlton was in a meeting with the
Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2pm to 4pm?”
    David Beach
lifted his head from his hands slowly.
    McMahon
continued, slow words, dripping maliciously from thin lips, “This
information has been verified by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the
Undersecretary of Defense included. Everybody present at that
meeting on the sixth has confirmed, time and again, that no phone
calls were made during the entire two hours. No one left the room.
Your phone records confirm that there was a phone call, but beyond
that …”
    David Beach
threw up a little in his mouth and then chuckled slightly, wiping
his mouth with the back of his hand. He recalled his protestations
to Stephanie that morning and the pains he went to, trying to
explain to Stephanie that he didn’t want to have breakfast because
it always gave him indigestion.
    “Something
funny Mr Beach?”
    David shook his
head and shrugged, “I was just thinking about breakfast.”
    Agent McMahon
tried to blink away his frustration. He was really starting to hate
David Beach.
     
    A tight band of pain
around her chest woke Charlene Osterman, but the pain had subsided
by the time she opened her eyes. As she tried to adjust to the
light, she stared up at the sculpted plaster coving around the
ceiling of her apartment, struggling to remember how she had come
to be lying down on her couch. She felt something brush her hand
and she reacted with a start, body tensing, pulse racing, she found
she was unable to move her head because her neck was aching.
    “Charlene,
don’t panic.”
    The voice came
from somewhere beside her, soft and reassuring. Several slow
breaths later, she recalled the voice, and what she had been doing
before she had passed out. She tried to move, “Mr Yestler, I’m
sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” His hand on her forearm was
comforting rather than restrictive, “Charlene, you don’t have to
get up, take your