The Unchanging Stone

By Gareth Lewis

There is a stone that never changes, but which warps everything around it. It should be locked away, where it can never challenge the status quo, but it went missing a while back. Now there are hints it’s being used, and that could change everything.

Cassie knew she wasn’t free of that world, but at least she hadn’t been stuck in it. Then a nuisance call turns out to be a murder with links to the factions, threatening to drag her back in.

There’s a conspiracy within a secret society, determined to regain their former secrecy, and restore what they believe was. But change isn’t easy to control, nor the future easy to fight.

Book 6 of the Ghost Bullets series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gareth Lewis
• Release date: Jan 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215487808

Gareth Lewis

Gareth Lewis has written a number of novels and shorter works in a few genres, including fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers. A programmer, he has a degree in computer studies, and lives in South Wales.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Cassie sauntered along with the relaxed stride of someone content in the boredom of their mundane task. Just drudge work, with very little chance of being shot at or dragged into ethical quagmires. She reminded herself of that every time the boredom tried to tempt her with delusional nostalgia. She was content with the unchanging monotony of her new role.

If not quite enough to consider a change of profession. She wouldn’t want to work in the drab office space she walked into. It was on the fifth-floor of a shabby office block, and possibly the only office on this floor still occupied.

It wasn’t immediately clear what they did here beyond office stuff, and hopefully she wouldn’t need to learn any more about it. There was only so much boredom one could stomach.

She exchanged a nod with Sergeant Layton, who leant against the wall just inside the door. Layton had her phone held up in front of her, as though she was busy. Probably avoiding dealing with the witness statement she’d left her junior taking from the officious type presumably in charge of the office.

Most of the office was an open plan place, peopled by drones pretending not to be fascinated by the scene.

There were no obvious signs of malfeasance, beyond the stark decor. Even she hadn’t been demoted low enough as to be enforcing those laws.

‘Sergeant,’ said Cassie. ‘What’ve you got for me?’

‘Detective Kinsala,’ said Layton. ‘Who’d you irritate to get assigned this one?’

‘God.’

‘God, God? Or the Chief, God.’

‘Don’t let him hear you suggest there’s a difference. What’ve we got that needs a detective?’

‘Probably nothing.’ Layton’s expression implied she was certain it was nothing. ‘But the office manager insists they had an intruder, and he’s been making enough noise that they want him to stop calling.’

‘So they sent you for your renowned diplomatic skills.’

Layton’s expression maintained its bored blankness. ‘I’m a people person.’

‘No signs of intruders?’

‘Open alarm flap.’ Layton nodded at the alarm control on the wall.

Cassie stared at her, waiting.

‘According to Mister Patel, he’s always the last one out and first one in. He insists he always closes the alarm flap at night.’

Cassie raised an eyebrow. It rarely paid to do more than was absolutely necessary.

‘To be fair,’ said Layton, ‘Patel seems the pedantic type, who would want things done exactly so. No signs of anything taken or disturbed. I’m not sure what he expects us to do about it, but he gets more shrill whenever we try to leave, and the deputy chief is on a keeping the public happy binge.’

‘Are you in charge here?’ He sounded shrill enough to be going on with, and had apparently noticed Cassie’s arrival.

‘I really doubt it,’ said Cassie.

He didn’t seem to pay attention to her actual words. ‘Why don’t you have anyone dusting for prints?’

‘That’d require a forensic technician, and they’re all tied up.’ Or they cost resources, and calling them out on a non-case would earn her a reprimand from the bean-counters. ‘Please take me through what happened.’

Patel frowned, probably at having to repeat it, but didn’t take much prompting to talk. Layton rolled her eyes, but didn’t immediately try to sidle away.

Cassie paid only passing attention to Patel, enough to be sure there was nothing new in his report. There wasn’t. She spent the time looking around, though nothing leapt out to her as a clue.

He eventually drew to a close, and stood staring at her as though expecting a revelation of the culprit’s identity.

‘Nothing’s been taken?’ she asked.

‘Nothing that I can see,’ said Patel, giving the fact short thrift.

‘And the panel couldn’t have fallen open.’

Patel drew himself up. ‘I shut it firmly.’ As though that were the most important part of his job. Which, for all she knew, it might be.

‘Does the alarm record when the code’s entered?’

He had to stop and consider that. ‘I... don’t know.’

‘And who else knows the code?’

‘The owner and my assistant. But Mister Vance is out of the country, and Aida insists she hasn’t shared it.’ He seemed irritated at having to answer such trivialities.

‘Yet the intruder apparently knew the code, and possibly had a key, and you didn’t say the door was unlocked this morning.’

Patel glanced at the alarm, his mouth half open in surprise.

‘And nothing was taken.’

His brows tightened as he stared at her, no doubt preparing to launch into some demand or other. She didn’t wait for him.

‘I’ll have a look around as I’m here.’ She strode along the edge of the room, leaving him to catch up. Layton and her sidekick trailed along, probably more for the show than anything.

’I must insist you don’t disturb the staff’s work,’ said Patel.

‘I thought you wanted the break-in investigated?’

‘It wouldn’t have been any of them.’

‘They’re the most likely suspects. It’s routine to check them out.’

‘Nonsense,’ he said, and launched into something she lost interest in before it reached a point.

The layout was simple: one main room, a corridor leading off to the left, with numerous smaller rooms off from it. The main room held little of interest without her doing a far more thorough inspection than she intended wasting time on.

An open door at the far end of the corridor showed what she presumed was Patel’s office. She may do more of a search there if he irritated her too much, but for the moment she was just tiredly amused.

The first door she tried led to a storeroom. It mainly stored stationary. Everything was tidily arranged, so any disturbance should be apparent.

The next door was to a kitchen lounge type place, with only seating for half a dozen of the couple of dozen strong workforce on display. A couple of them were present, stood getting drinks. They made a hasty exit as the entourage arrived.

Her casual glance around the room stopped on one of the chairs. She pulled it out from under the table and studied the vague footprint on the seat.

Patel tsked, and moved to clean it. She held her hand out to stop him, and looked around the room again, her gaze rising.

‘It was probably Meredith using it to get to the top shelf again,’ said Patel.

‘Meredith got big feet for a short woman, does she?’ asked Layton.

Cassie pulled out another chair, and placed it next to the section of wall under the air vent. She stepped on it, and examined the vent.

‘Screws look to have been out recently,’ she said. She looked at Patel.

‘I don’t know anything about it,’ he said, seeming to take offence.

‘You have a screwdriver here?’

He muttered something about going to look, and left the room.

‘You really think there’s anything?’ asked Layton.

Cassie shrugged. ‘Due diligence. Fairly sure no one’s crawled through it.’ She wouldn’t be comfortable sticking her head in there, and doubted anyone but a small child could get through. A small, malnourished child.

She used the light from her phone to see what she could through the slats.

‘Mainly goes up and down, so nothing likely to be hidden in there.’

Patel returned, holding a screwdriver like some kind of unsavoury piece of food.

‘Better not,’ said Cassie as she climbed down. ‘Better to leave it for forensics, if they’re necessary. The same for the room.’

He glanced around, as though expecting some threat. His mouth went in search of an argument, but only a faint squeak emerged.

‘We should check out the adjacent offices though.’

She passed him, Layton and her sidekick following her out.

‘Rookie,’ said Layton. ‘Go find the building super.’

He scurried ahead of them, towards the stairs.

‘Did a quick look around earlier,’ Layton explained. ‘Couple of occupied offices on the next floor down, but the one directly under was locked up.’

They only had to wait a couple of minutes before the rookie, Orson, returned with someone who unlocked the office.

Peryton Logistics, the sign on the door identified it as. No specifics as to what they actually did. Their symbol was an unnecessarily elaborate shield with snakes and birds, like they were trying to have a crest. Something about it seemed irritatingly familiar.

The super didn’t look happy about being summoned, but let them into the office without argument or requests for a warrant.

The office was little different from the one the next floor up. Apart from the guy slumped over the table off to the side.

It put them on alert. After waving the super to stay back, Cassie approached the table. Layton and Orson stood watch by the door.

Cassie felt for a pulse at his neck, but his coldness was enough to confirm their suspicion.

‘He’s dead,’ she said. She nodded for them to sweep the place. It wasn’t likely anyone was still in a locked office, but it was routine.

She took out a phone and reported it in. A dead body would at least require some forensics to be spared, unless the medical examiner decided it was natural causes before they were free. There were no obvious signs of cause of death, but she didn’t move him to check.

Cassie backed away, preserving the possible crime scene.

A glance over the stuff on the desk before him stopped her in her tracks. She recognised some of the places in pictures, and scanning the notes confirmed they were related to Euclidean. Of course they were. She couldn’t just find a nice clean dead body, unaffiliated to any nonsense.

‘Detective,’ said Layton, as she retreated from the far corridor. ‘Got another body. Died on the can.’

‘Any obvious signs of cause?’

‘No.’

‘Okay. If the place is clear, let’s wait outside.’

She dialled in again, and updated the details, if only so the medical examiner knew to have space for two bodies.

Then it was waiting, for the medical examiner’s staff, and whoever Homicide sent to take over from her.

Layton led Orson away to canvas the other occupied offices, but they’d returned to wait with her a while before Detective Garbol arrived.

Cassie was sure they’d at least passed in the corridors, but didn’t think they’d ever spoken.

‘What you found?’ he asked. Tiredly, with maybe a hint of accusation.

She told him the details, omitting the Euclidean stuff. She’d have to alert Captain Foster to that, but it’d require too much information for someone unfamiliar with the specifics, and they’d probably just try to have her committed for it.

Garbol called the guy from the medical office out from his inspection of the body. ‘What do you know?’

‘No obvious signs of cause of death,’ he said. Not committing himself to anything.

‘So it could be natural causes?’ asked Garbol.

‘Two bodies makes it unlikely. But we’ll have to wait for a proper examination to say anything for certain.’

Natural causes? Cassie withheld comment, but suspected Garbol was looking for a quick write off. That may fit the wishes of some interests, but she doubted anyone could have gotten to him this quick.

‘How long have they been dead?’ she asked.

‘Sometime overnight, I’d estimate,’ said the examiner.

‘Fine,’ said Garbol. He didn’t seem interested in investing in the case until the homicide part was confirmed. ‘I’ll take over from here.’ He turned and stalked into the crime scene.

After sharing an eyeroll with Layton, Cassie sauntered out. She’d done her part of the job. After reporting the Euclidean link to Foster, she’d stay clear of it.

Now she unwillingly considered things, she thought the firm’s logo might have reminded her of a symbol related to one of the factions. She should also mention that.

But in no way would she let her curiosity drag her back into that world. She was happily clear of it.

She avoided glancing at Jimmy’s ghost, sauntering alongside her. Practice let you ignore so many things.

She was done with that world, and intended to stay done.

Now she just needed to convince herself of that.

Chapter 2

Portis appeared no more comfortable with Amanda’s visit this time, but at least the shock seemed to have passed. And the initial danger.

Samantha. Amanda reminded herself to think of the woman as Samantha Stay now. That was what she claimed her real name was, and it was as good as any other.

Amanda didn’t delude herself that the wine she’d brought along - good wine - would in any way foster an illusion that they were friends. But it should hopefully offer more of an informal air to proceedings.

Karla was nearby in the stealth suit, of course. And they’d done a full sweep for any surveillance before she came near the place, after a journey made as discreetly as possible. Even the shades she’d worn till entering the building were strategic, containing bafflers that prevented facial recognition software getting an accurate read on her.

Now that she’d allowed Samantha time to adjust to the reality of her predicament, the real questioning could begin. They’d cover the same ground as last time, but without as much of the panicked defensiveness that’d been in play. There might still be a more considered subterfuge, but at least that should offer some variety.

‘What’s the overall purpose of your group?’ asked Amanda. She sat at ease on one end of the sofa. She’d decided not to refer to them as a faction until she wanted to push for a reaction.

Samantha shrugged, and took a sip of her drink, giving herself time to consider her response. ‘Restoring Euclidean to what it was.’

‘The old make Euclidean great again nonsense? And which version of an imagined golden age of the organisation did they sell you on?’

She made a show of considering it. ‘I think it’s the one from before you commercial sellouts started spreading our knowledge around, diluting our power, and losing our position in the world.’

Amanda arched an eyebrow, and allowed a faint smile to entertain itself about her lips. ‘Do you have any picture of what the world they’re selling you looks like? Or is it just a vague idea of better? How all the loyal will be rewarded with riches and respect. At least all those who survive to that point.’

She didn’t expect to turn Samantha, but anything that made her think could be useful. The factions relied on unthinking devotion, and uninterrogated promises. As, if she were honest, did Euclidean. From the drones at least, though admittedly many of the higher-ups had been indoctrinated for so long that Euclidean was pretty much a cult. Amanda hoped she didn’t fall into that category, but if she was, she probably wouldn’t be able to tell.

Samantha smiled back, but said nothing. No visible hint of it making her think, but that hadn’t been expected. They were both still in the probing each other’s defences stage