Episode Transcript
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0:01
We
0:01
know you enjoy listening to great stories,
0:04
so the next logical step is to become
0:06
part of a story and what better story
0:08
to be a part of than unraveling a family mystery
0:10
in June's journey. In June's
0:13
journey, you are June Parker, a curious
0:15
and investigative woman in the decadent
0:17
twenties whose goal is to solve her sister's
0:19
murder. Whether this is your first case
0:22
or your season Sherlock, June's
0:24
journey will keep you searching with more than a
0:26
thousand scenes full of hidden clues. There's
0:28
always something new to discover. And new
0:30
chapters are added every week, so I'm constantly
0:33
meeting new characters and unlocking new place is,
0:35
I like that June's journey isn't a game. I just
0:37
play mindlessly. I genuinely love
0:40
a good murder mystery. So I keep
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playing for both the story line and the memory
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games. Pick up where you left off to
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uncover new secrets or start your investigation
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today and download June's journey.
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Avail mobile on Android and iOS mobile
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devices as well as on PC through
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Facebook games.
1:05
Hello. This is Max Gladstone, author
1:08
of the Craft sequence and co author of
1:10
this is how you lose the time war. I'm
1:12
so excited to introduce you to our
1:14
new podcast, Bookburners. Book
1:17
burners is a supernatural adventure of
1:19
survival investigation and transformation.
1:23
Our heroes are survivors of magical catastrophe
1:25
and the shadows of our world. And
1:27
together, they worked for the Vatican's black archive,
1:30
seeking out forbidden magical and monstrous
1:32
lore, guarding the edge of the fire
1:35
against the darkness beyond. They
1:37
save lives and souls.
1:40
But can this knowledge be contained Should
1:42
it be contained? And if it breaks loose,
1:45
what next? This project
1:47
was first presented in twenty fifteen,
1:50
but it feels more urgent than ever today. We're
1:52
excited to share it with you again. You
1:55
can listen to book burners wherever you get
1:57
your podcasts and learn more at
1:59
realm dot f f. But don't go
2:01
anywhere just yet. We have the
2:03
first episode of book burners here
2:05
for you right now. So just
2:07
sit tight. And enjoy.
2:29
Realm presents Bookburners. Episode
2:32
one.
2:40
One. Sal
2:43
Brooks would have described herself in a police
2:45
report as early thirties, female,
2:48
brown hair, five nine, exhausted,
2:52
borderline breakdown case, shaking
2:54
hands, haunted eyes,
2:56
Then she'd have deleted everything after nine
2:58
and continued with the details of the incident.
3:00
In this case, forensic
3:02
analysis of a museum theft yielded
3:04
an an Astoria address Arriving
3:07
on the scene with warrant in hand, detective
3:09
Collins and I were fired upon from the window
3:11
by a white male, late forties. After
3:14
a brief exchange of fire, detective Collins
3:16
forced the door. Behind
3:18
the door, Cell
3:21
set her badge and gun on her bureau and gripped
3:23
the first two fingers of her left hand. Her
3:26
stomach ran a floor routine even the Russian
3:28
judge would give full marks. She'd
3:31
seen blood before and bodies.
3:33
The severed fingers in the ashtray on the coffee
3:36
table in Astoria that afternoon Those
3:38
were worse. They sealed
3:40
prints at least, which would not
3:42
help her sleep tonight. Her
3:45
cell phone rang. Harry,
3:48
she didn't pick up. The
3:50
ringing stopped before the call forwarded to voice
3:52
mail, then started again. Still
3:54
him? this
3:57
isn't a good time. It was what she started
3:59
to say, but she didn't get halfway through her brother's
4:01
name before hurricane Perry struck shore.
4:04
So thank you. Thank you. Thank you
4:06
for picking up. I'm so glad
4:08
it's wonderful to hear your voice. I
4:10
missed you. How are things? How long has
4:12
it been anyway? Can I come over
4:14
like now? It's
4:16
been a month. She found gap
4:19
in her blinds. The sidewalk under
4:21
her window was bare and the street almost
4:23
empty. Red Toyota pickup
4:25
on the Civic, garbage, two
4:28
young guys staggering home after drinking
4:30
off a Thursday night? Thank
4:32
god. The last time she'd heard
4:34
Perry talk like this, he was on the run from
4:36
some crazy scenes to drama and hadn't waited
4:39
for her permission to come over, just called
4:41
her from the sidewalk and the rain and looked
4:43
up dripping. With that hang dog,
4:45
John Cusick, look, she knew he practiced in
4:47
the mirror. Since
4:49
the last time you were in trouble, is
4:52
nothing big. So I promise nothing
4:54
you should worry about it. Just, you know,
4:56
Internet stuff. And then then I started arguing
4:59
with my roommates, you know, old people
5:01
can get crazy sometimes like crazy.
5:04
It's not the same thing as last month that
5:06
I swear. It's just a place
5:08
to be, you know. I'd get a hotel
5:11
if I could. If he had
5:13
money for a hotel. She
5:15
picked out her corner window just to be sure.
5:18
It wasn't down there either. I've
5:21
had a very long day, Perry. I
5:23
know. I know. Every day is
5:25
a long day for you. I'm so sorry,
5:27
but I just kinda need a place to
5:29
rest for a little while. And I did apologize
5:32
for last month. And I said he flowers. David
5:35
still isn't returning my calls. You
5:37
deserve better than a guy like that. A guy
5:39
who doesn't understand the importance of family?
5:42
David has a huge family. He's a good
5:44
guy. Just doesn't like being kicked out of
5:46
bed because my kid brothers locked himself
5:48
out of his apartment. That was
5:50
a good thing, emphasis on the
5:52
was, And the flowers you sent
5:54
were fake? Better that way,
5:56
they don't die. Right? And it
5:58
wasn't just that I locked myself out. And
6:01
anyway, I'm improving. I mean, you don't
6:03
have anyone over now. Yeah.
6:06
Her eyes narrowed. She glanced
6:08
out each window again. Where
6:11
are you? What do you mean?
6:14
She realized she could hear his voice twice.
6:16
Once through the phone and once from
6:19
the hall. Sell marched from
6:21
her bedroom, past kitchen, and living room
6:23
to the door. Sheen bolted the bolt,
6:25
unchained the chain, and pulled the door open.
6:29
Perry was less wet than she'd last seen
6:31
it at least. One hand pressed
6:33
an oversized Star Trek phone to
6:35
his ear. He wore a dirty tan trench
6:37
coat open over ratty black t shirt
6:39
with three pixelated hearts on the front and
6:41
a fourth half full, and jeans torn
6:43
at the knee from his nervous habit of clawing
6:45
them while he worked on his computer rather than
6:47
from where. His other hand held
6:50
a large rectangular parcel wrapped in
6:52
more t shirts in duct tape, which he waved
6:54
at her then stuck under his arm and waved
6:56
again with an empty hand. He
6:58
deployed John Cusick version one
7:01
point two. She clicked her
7:03
phone shut. He started
7:05
warming up John Cusick version one point
7:07
seven. She
7:09
sied and smiled and hugged
7:11
him. Come in, doofus.
7:15
You set up in the living room and she put water
7:18
in the kettle. Do I wanna
7:20
know why you're here? Thank
7:22
you so, so much.
7:25
You set the parcel on her living room table and
7:27
undid the duct tape. It's not
7:29
dangerous. I mean, I'd tell you if it were,
7:31
you know. But I got into a fight
7:33
with the roommates of our project. We're working on together.
7:36
It's sort of and I wanna make sure
7:38
I'm right before I go home. I just need
7:40
some time to work on this thing
7:41
myself. Bunch of posers. Don't
7:44
know, Alta from Aramek. He
7:46
unwrap the t shirts layer by layer. Each
7:49
silk screen video game reference worse than
7:51
the last. I get that
7:53
one, she said, it's the what?
7:55
The game with the dysentery? Why
7:58
are the t shirts? Cell. Do
8:00
you have any idea how old this thing is?
8:03
He folded a Mario shirt back to reveal
8:05
a thick comb bound in pale leather
8:07
with gold wire on the spine. The
8:10
pages' ragged edges were dyed blood
8:12
red. Sal remembered
8:14
separate fingers and an Astoria astray,
8:17
and her stomach made a second pass at the floor
8:19
routine. No.
8:23
Old. And I mean old.
8:26
I shouldn't be handling it without gloves.
8:30
The Kettle cried and Sal followed its protest
8:32
to the kitchen. You should get
8:34
new roommates. You fight more with those guys
8:37
than I ever have with an ex, even
8:39
Jeremy. She returned
8:41
with two months of coffee. It's
8:43
just professional differences. I mean,
8:45
we're working on big problems, borderline
8:47
intractable, arguments get heated.
8:50
There are different strategies about how to approach
8:52
the artifact. Aiden, you know, roommate
8:54
Aiden with the crush on you. He wants to
8:56
scan the whole thing for word frequency analysis.
8:59
Which just seems patently silly. The Kodak's
9:01
form factor suggests it's supposed to be read,
9:03
like, by people. And, anyway,
9:06
in security protocols are hella lack which
9:08
matters when you're under surveillance. He
9:11
took a sip, made a face. Is
9:14
this instant? Wait. Is
9:16
surveillance? Todd says
9:18
it's the book burners. That's why they wanted
9:20
the book out of the house, which is just so dumb
9:22
if the book burners were after me how I've
9:24
even made it here. You said his
9:26
hand on the book's cover. Sa
9:29
hadn't noticed before how the leather was discolored.
9:32
Most of it matched Perry's skin, but a
9:34
crimson balloon spread beneath his
9:36
fingers. She
9:38
heard a sound she couldn't name. A
9:41
footfall, maybe, or a
9:43
whisper, very soft. Goosebumps
9:46
chased goosebumps up her arms. Harry,
9:50
who are the book burners? Do you think someone's
9:53
following you? I thought you didn't wanna
9:55
know. She leaned over the
9:57
couch over his shoulder and checked through the blinds.
10:00
Street still bare, red Toyota
10:02
pickup, Honda Civic, garbage,
10:05
easy carpet cleaner van? Please.
10:08
So they would have napped me on the way.
10:11
They did not. Her go. I wasn't
10:13
followed. What the hell is
10:15
going on? Someone knocked
10:17
on her door. Shit. Perry
10:19
said. Jesus Christ, Perry.
10:22
She grabbed her phone off the living room table.
10:25
Who is that? Aiden,
10:27
probably. Mister
10:30
Brooks? The man on the
10:32
other side of the door was unquestionably not
10:34
eton, too old, too sure,
10:37
too calm. An accident,
10:39
Sal couldn't place twined through his
10:41
words. Mister
10:43
Brooks, we are not here
10:44
to hurt you. We want to talk.
10:47
Shit. Perry repeated for emphasis.
10:50
Sal ran to her bedroom
10:52
and returned with her
10:53
gun. Who are you? I'm
10:55
looking for mister Brooks. I
10:57
know he's in there. If he is,
11:00
I doubt he'd wanna see you. I
11:02
must talk with him. Sir, I'm
11:04
a police officer and I'm armed.
11:06
Please step away from the door. Has
11:08
he opened the book? What?
11:11
She looked into the living room. Perry
11:14
was standing now holding the book, fingers
11:16
clenched around the cover like she'd seen men
11:18
at bay, clutched the handles knives.
11:21
Sarah, please leave. I'm calling nine eleven
11:24
now. She pressed the auto dial.
11:27
The line
11:27
clicked. Stop him from
11:29
opening the book. The man said,
11:32
please, if he means anything to you, stop
11:34
him. Hello. This
11:36
is detective Sally Brooks, and she
11:38
rattled off her badge number and address. I
11:40
have a man outside my apartment who is refusing
11:42
to leave. Something heavy struck the door.
11:45
Door jam timber splintered. Sally
11:48
stumbled back, dropped the phone, both
11:50
hands on the pistol. She
11:52
took aim. The
11:54
door burst free of the jam and struck the
11:56
wall. A human wind
11:58
blew through. Later,
12:01
Sal remembered slippers, a stinging
12:03
blow to her wrist, or gun knocked
12:05
back against the wall, A
12:08
woman's face, Chinese, she
12:10
thought, Bob haircut. Her
12:13
knees slammed into cell's solar plexus
12:15
and she fell gasping to the splinter
12:17
string carpet. The
12:19
woman turned in slow motion almost
12:22
to the living room where Perry stood. He
12:25
held the open book. His
12:27
eyes with tears of blood, and
12:30
his smile bared sharp teeth. You
12:33
spoke a word that was too big for her mind.
12:36
She heard the woman roar and glass brake.
12:40
And darkness closed around her like a mouth.
12:45
Somer son, picked her skin, Sally,
12:49
fourteen years old, on a raft that
12:51
topped the pond, out back of her grandparents,
12:53
Carolina homestead, while Perry read
12:55
aloud unsure. Her
12:58
hand trailed into the Stillwater. The
13:00
water was still, but
13:03
moving too. Her
13:05
raft rocked her head back and forth,
13:08
and her body wasn't fourteen anymore.
13:11
And, Tamish, she was dreaming. Isn't
13:13
she? Is
13:16
she strange she could hear voices on the
13:18
other side of the dream? You
13:20
lost him. A man's voice,
13:23
little thing, close, a different
13:25
voice from before. How did that happen?
13:28
He opened the book as how. woman's
13:30
voice, do you need a picture? I
13:33
have crayons in the truck if you'd like to draw
13:35
one. He tried to
13:37
hit me. She replied, got her
13:39
instead. I pulled her out,
13:41
but he made the window before I could catch him.
13:44
So all the boys off grid with a rider, and he
13:46
said, And I said here, eight million people.
13:49
Wonderful. I think we'll call that. A
13:51
double plus effort. CYREN's.
13:55
Christ, the man said. I
13:57
answered her calls quickly here. Come
13:59
on. And is she? Fine.
14:02
Are you sure? Down
14:04
open your eyes while lying on your back.
14:07
Bad for them. You'll see too
14:09
much of the sun. She
14:12
forced them open. The man
14:14
kneeling over her was red haired and
14:16
beautiful. Sorry,
14:18
I have to run, have a nice rest.
14:21
It feel better in the morning. They
14:23
pulled away and the ceiling grew new
14:25
shadows, which fell to crush her again.
14:40
Two. Sell
14:44
in the department clinic with whatever
14:46
she had to hand was how the clue solution
14:48
would read if someone didn't start making
14:50
sense soon. She
14:52
glared over the doctor's head at Collins, her partner
14:55
who leaned against the wall, arms crossed,
14:57
looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here,
15:00
carrying anything but the news he carried.
15:03
Her head swam. I've
15:05
told you three times, she said,
15:08
my brother again in my apartment. Two people
15:10
followed him. I gave you their descriptions. They
15:13
broke down my door, there was a fight, and
15:15
I woke up when the officers arrived. It's not
15:17
that complicated a story. You're
15:19
sure you saw your brother. Of course,
15:22
I'm sure. It was Perry. You had
15:24
some kind of fight with his roommates. Breathe,
15:27
the doctor said. She breathed.
15:30
The stethoscope chilled her skin. So
15:33
what's the problem? Collins
15:35
shifted, but if he'd been trying to get comfortable,
15:37
his expression suggested that he'd failed.
15:41
Who says there's a problem? Come
15:43
on, Collins. Here.
15:46
He passed her a tablet. Hit play.
15:49
Security camera footage rendered her apartment
15:51
building hallway in ghoulish greens and
15:54
whites. She saw herself
15:56
open her door and peer out into the
15:58
hall, smile. Step back,
16:01
swing the door wide and close it again.
16:04
This is the wrong footage. It's
16:06
not though, check the time stamp. If
16:09
Harry's not there. Collins
16:11
lowered his chin toward his chest. It didn't
16:13
touch due to the extra chin in the way.
16:16
Scratch one theory. You
16:18
thought I was seeing things. Who
16:21
knows? We got your testimony, and we
16:23
got a living room with broken glass and two
16:25
cups instant coffee. We got a tape
16:27
that doesn't match your story and falls apart
16:29
ten minutes later. Stare up with
16:31
the ceiling, the doctor said, just
16:33
with your eyes. Keep them wide, please.
16:36
The doctor's flashlight burned the world.
16:39
Sal forced herself not to blink. So
16:43
you don't have the intruders either. Say
16:45
it falls apart, like I said. Shit.
16:50
Sal, come on, Chinese
16:52
woman, white guy with red hair, unnamed
16:55
third guy with quote, old,
16:57
accented, unquote, voice. Doesn't
16:59
give us a lot to go on. Irish,
17:02
she said. The white guy had an Irish
17:04
accent. Great cell. In
17:06
New York, that sure narrows it down.
17:09
Someone must have doctored the tapes. First
17:12
responders pulled them. Someone messed with
17:14
the footage they did it fast. The
17:16
doctor released her eyelid and she blanked
17:19
pink blood web blotches from her vision.
17:22
The other eye, please? And
17:24
again, the world was light. They
17:27
planned this, Sal said, whoever
17:30
they were, it couldn't have been random. They
17:32
were after Perry, they hacked into building
17:34
security, which would make sense.
17:36
I mean, it'd be possible if paranoid.
17:39
Except those cameras don't talk to the internet.
17:41
They're not even digital. There's an actual
17:43
honest to god save system in the building basement.
17:46
Looks like it was in all back when I was hunting playboys
17:48
under my big brother's mattress. Gross,
17:51
Collins. There was a rat nest
17:53
on top of the cabinet. The thing we saw in
17:55
the VCR, Nobody
17:57
got to that tape before her hoisted. Trust
17:59
me. And you should find a new landlord.
18:01
That building's a dump. My
18:04
brother is out there somewhere. I
18:06
saw him.
18:08
The doctor finished with the flashlight and stepped
18:10
back. She is
18:12
good to go. If anything's wrong,
18:14
I can't see it.
18:16
Sal squeezed both her eyes shut until the pink
18:18
one way. Thanks, doc.
18:20
Can you give us a minute? When
18:23
the door closed and left them alone, Colin
18:25
sank into the doctor's chair with a long
18:27
his as if he was under such pressure
18:29
he had to let out steam to bend. He
18:32
looked at the back of his knuckles rather than
18:34
her. You
18:36
know, none of this makes sense. He
18:38
said, I know what I saw.
18:41
And the more you say that, the waiter it sounds.
18:44
Nothing on the cameras. I mean,
18:46
nothing, no blood. What
18:49
did people think I just snapped? Imagine
18:51
my brother being kidnapped, beat myself up,
18:53
broke my own Dan living room window? You
18:56
were upset when you left yesterday. Of
18:58
course, I was upset. We found fingers
19:01
in an ashtray. I freaked
19:03
out, but that doesn't mean I'm nuts. We
19:06
went to your brother's apartment. This
19:08
roommate say they saw him this morning. Did
19:10
you see him? She asked. Colin
19:13
Shook his head. Then they're lying,
19:15
or he escaped. Either way, he's into
19:17
something big. He needs help.
19:20
Well, he told the boys to call us when he shows
19:22
up again. But for now, you
19:24
should take a day or two. Come down,
19:26
rest. And if I don't, He
19:29
shifted his weight back on the chair, which creaked.
19:33
The lieutenant asked me to tell you all this,
19:36
so it doesn't have to get formal. I
19:39
have to find my brother. So
19:42
she pushed herself off the table and grabbed her
19:44
jacket from the hook by the door. If
19:46
you won't do it, someone has to? I'll
19:49
pretend I didn't hear that, he said.
19:51
Stay out of trouble. Okay? She
19:54
laughed, opened the door, and walked fast until
19:56
she hit the street. Theories
20:00
were for people with more patience in Sal Brooks,
20:03
but the Brooklyn bound Q trains stopped over
20:05
the Manhattan Bridge, so she had time to make
20:07
up a few. I'm
20:09
crazy. The nuclear option didn't
20:11
compel. The doctor said she was
20:13
fine physically. People snapped
20:15
all the time zeroed to nuts in sixty seconds,
20:18
but this kind of snap didn't match her experience.
20:21
If she were cracking, her story would make
20:23
more sense or less or both.
20:26
She'd met people on this very train who told her
20:28
with overwhelming conviction that they were the product
20:30
of genetic experimentation by the United States
20:32
government using alien DNA, and
20:34
they'd built a prototype transport beam to
20:36
take them home, which they'd show her if she visited
20:39
the compound in Jersey they shared with their four
20:41
lovers chosen to embody the classical Chinese
20:43
elements. As if she'd trust
20:45
someone who asked her to go to Jersey. So
20:48
far, she wasn't ranting about conspiracies or
20:51
screaming obscenities of passersby. Count
20:54
crazy out for now. Though
20:56
crazy people probably did that too.
20:59
Once you reject the possibility you're mad,
21:01
Anything you do no matter how strange
21:04
must be saying. Keep going
21:06
in that direction and you're one step away from
21:08
the creep with the chopped off index fingers in his
21:10
astray. The train
21:12
crossed the river. But
21:14
I assume you're not crazy. She thought,
21:17
Perry didn't come to you because of an argument with his
21:19
roommates. He didn't drop by to say hello.
21:22
He was afraid. Maybe
21:24
he thought they wouldn't follow him into someone else's
21:26
apartment, or maybe he knew he could
21:28
escape somehow if he'd just had time to
21:31
to read that book, which
21:33
made no sense. She
21:36
rose out of the subway and onto a long
21:38
wide Brooklyn street with three story brick
21:40
houses on both
21:41
sides, blank dark windows, Italian
21:43
bakery, convenient store.
21:45
Newly opened coffee shops indicated these
21:48
blocks were a hair's breath
21:49
from hip. When the neighborhood
21:51
crossed over, Perry and his friends would have to
21:53
move. Providing, of course, whatever
21:55
mud hole they'd stumbled into didn't swallow them
21:58
first. Perry's
22:00
roommates knew something. If they
22:02
had seen him this morning, they could tell her how
22:04
he looked, where he said he was going when he left.
22:07
If not, they had lied to cops, which
22:09
gave her leverage. Not that
22:11
she'd need much with Aiden and Todd, the
22:13
boy scared easy. She
22:16
took a quick turn around the block. Dead
22:19
for ten o'clock in the morning, most of the
22:21
locals at work somewhere else. Cold
22:24
November air tossed a sun front
22:26
page down the sidewalk, and Sal's
22:28
shoulder deeper into her jacket. She
22:31
walked past the boy's townhouse, which was the
22:33
only one on the blocks till decorated for Halloween.
22:36
A big rain soaked felt and wire
22:38
spider clung crookedly outside Perry's window.
22:42
Parked cars line the street mostly foreign
22:44
made. One thin pink Cadillac
22:47
belonged in a Mary Kay reward brochure
22:49
or a museum, and
22:51
an easy carpet cleaner van.
22:55
Every instinct in her screams keep walking.
22:58
Call back up at least. Only idiots
23:00
and martyrs throw themselves into situations, they
23:02
don't understand without cavalry waiting.
23:05
She didn't know it was the same van.
23:08
She was already on shaky ground back at the office,
23:11
and the people who'd broken into her house seemed to
23:13
have no personal feelings about their intrusion.
23:15
If she remembered the conversation she'd overheard
23:18
correctly, they even thought they had saved her
23:20
from something. Still,
23:23
though. Acel really
23:25
wanted to rule out any chance she was crazy.
23:27
She shouldn't have walked straight to the van, drawn
23:30
her gun, thrown open the rear doors and
23:32
told the two monitor lit figures inside,
23:34
hands where I can see them. The
23:37
Chinese woman rolled her eyes, then raised
23:39
her hands to the level of her shoulders. I
23:41
told you we should have switched bands. The
23:44
red had backed away from the keyboard and swiveled
23:46
in his chair. Shivers sound cold.
23:49
How was I supposed to know? Where the hell
23:51
is my brother?
23:52
That's
23:52
an interesting philosophical question, really.
23:55
The guy said, nice accent. That
23:58
was the concussion talking. Focus.
24:01
The Chinese woman shifted forward in her chair.
24:03
Don't move. Sal shouted. Excuse
24:07
me, detective Brooks, set a voice
24:09
from the sidewalk behind her, a man's,
24:11
deep, older, and studiously
24:14
calm. The voice from the door,
24:17
cell drew back from the van and turned to include
24:19
him in her field division. I
24:22
think there's been a misunderstanding. He
24:25
was tall, Hispanic, and wore
24:27
a priest's black shirt in color. He
24:30
held a tray with three coffees in one hand,
24:32
but the other was raised palm up between
24:34
blessing and
24:35
surrender. Who are you?
24:37
What the hell is going on here? I
24:40
am father Arturo, Menchu. Accent
24:43
on the second syllable. And
24:45
as for your other
24:46
question, I can explain
24:48
if you let me.
24:51
They stood on the sidewalk beside the van.
24:53
Menchoo had wanted to talk inside, but
24:55
Sal gave him a, what kind of idiot do
24:57
you take me for? Look. Which ended
24:59
that line of conversation fast. Red
25:02
looked uncomfortable out in the open. He
25:04
kept shifting from foot to foot and glancing
25:06
over his shoulder. Hands deep in his pockets.
25:10
The woman just watched, arms crossed,
25:12
a bandage wrapped the knuckles of her right hand
25:14
and there was a lot of lean muscle hiding beneath
25:17
her black jacket? Cell
25:19
liked her. After a confusing day,
25:21
straightforward hostility felt refreshing.
25:25
Your priests, thou said,
25:27
skeptical. The woman
25:29
laughed once. I
25:31
am a priest. Mentu said,
25:34
Grace, of course, is not. Liam's
25:36
a lay brother. Why did you break
25:39
into my apartment last night? She
25:41
considered adding how in reference
25:43
to everything, the broken door, the
25:45
book, the corrupted tape, decided
25:48
against it. One problem at a time.
25:52
Menchoo set the tray of coffees atop the
25:54
van. Your brother's in
25:56
possession of a rare manuscript that
25:58
does not belong to
25:59
him. It used to belong to the people
26:01
we worked for. It was
26:03
stolen seventy years ago. Turns
26:06
out the volume spent the last seven decades
26:08
in a metropolitan museum sealed collection.
26:11
In two weeks
26:11
ago, someone broke into
26:13
that collection and made off with a number of
26:15
books, including this one.
26:18
You're saying Perry was part of the museum
26:20
heist. She remembered
26:22
Astoria
26:23
yesterday. Severred
26:25
fingers and an ashtray full of
26:27
blood. White male,
26:29
mid forties, shots fired,
26:32
Hope of recovering Christ fingerprints.
26:35
No way.
26:38
Not directly. Your brother and
26:40
his friends were one of many parties looking
26:42
to buy these stolen texts.
26:45
Father Manshu kept his voice calm,
26:47
maintained eye contact, presented himself
26:50
to her at an angle.
26:52
He was good at seeming non threatening, part
26:54
of the jobs, how guest?
26:56
Her
26:56
attention drifted back to grace who grind
26:59
bearing
26:59
teeth. And there were
27:01
others willing to pay more. Your
27:04
brother stole the book from the original thief
27:06
and left copy in its
27:07
place. We raged
27:09
out to your brother hoping to resolve the issue
27:11
without violence, but he ran
27:13
to you and then he ran
27:15
from
27:16
you. And
27:17
the book is valuable, if only to
27:19
a collector, and the people he stole it
27:21
from don't like to lose.
27:23
We can keep him safe if he works
27:25
with us. The
27:28
fingers had been wedged into the gaps in
27:30
the ashtray meant to hold cigarettes.
27:32
Their nails pointed
27:33
out, sun rays of flesh
27:36
and bone.
27:38
He should go to the police. We
27:40
are the police. Manchief said,
27:43
bullshit. We are special
27:45
consultants to the police department on this
27:47
matter if you'll permit
27:49
me. He reached slowly
27:51
for his breast pocket. She
27:54
nodded. From within,
27:56
he produced a business card with a cell phone
27:58
number cell recognized. And
28:00
this is chief Gallagher's card. Michelle
28:02
will confirm my story. We
28:05
were oversellers last night for
28:07
which I offer my apologies. Perry
28:10
is in great danger. And
28:13
there it was beneath the professional
28:15
polish, beneath the professional assurance
28:18
Al had heard too many times from priests
28:20
and lawyers, and she
28:22
cared. I'm
28:24
sorry. He
28:25
continued. I know this has been
28:27
a huge shock. I know you're worried
28:30
about your brother. So are we?
28:32
We need to find him. One
28:34
man, Liam said, of
28:36
the grade in the city like this, paint
28:39
with cash, no problem. Anyone
28:41
else you'd like me to find while I'm at it? Elvis,
28:43
amelia earhart. Father
28:45
Man, she ignored him. It's
28:47
possible his friends know something, but
28:50
they're
28:50
scared. They won't talk to anyone. They don't
28:52
know. We're wasting time,
28:54
Grace said. We should just knock down the door.
28:57
Liam nodded. Great idea. We're
29:00
so well last night. There
29:02
were a thousand procedural reasons sal
29:04
should leave. But Perry was
29:06
in danger and if these people had the chief's
29:08
blessing, she could help them without breaking
29:11
orders. Technically, I
29:13
can help. No, Manchuh
29:16
said. I'm sorry. We can't involve
29:18
you. I'm involved already. This
29:20
is my brother we're talking about. Every
29:22
second counts. If you go in there
29:24
without me, you'll learn less than the cops did this morning.
29:27
We know what we're doing. So
29:30
do I? Manchu's eyes
29:32
were deep and sad. Liam
29:35
cleared his throat. Leather
29:37
and father were short handed anyway.
29:40
The priest side. Very
29:42
well. One
29:45
question, Sal said to break the silence
29:47
as much as anything else. You
29:49
said your
29:50
consultants, where from?
29:53
The old man raised one finger to his collar.
29:56
Isn't it obvious?
30:07
Three.
30:10
Jesus Christ. Sal said when
30:12
Liam handed her the bug. It was
30:14
barely visible against the cosmetic tape.
30:17
When she said it against her skin, she didn't
30:19
feel the slightest chill of metal. This
30:22
is good gear, my
30:24
specialty. I'm this one.
30:27
Liam offered her a thin silver cross on
30:29
a chain. What's this for?
30:32
Stuff, he said. Just put
30:34
it on. Okay? I don't
30:36
believe in god. He believes in
30:38
you. He laughed as if he'd
30:40
made a joke. Think of it as a
30:42
temporary deputization. Grace
30:45
checked her watch. We could have been inside
30:47
twenty minutes ago. Talk
30:49
normally, Liam said, and we'll
30:52
hear. If there's trouble, he
30:54
is across. Panic
30:56
button. More like a motoring
30:58
only in reverse. If you see something
31:00
strange, try touching it with the cross. There
31:03
are he wiggled his fingers.
31:05
Circuits and stuff. You
31:08
joking. Oh, whole year
31:10
of little faith. I
31:12
think she said and left the van.
31:16
A skull knocker stared out at Sal from
31:18
the boy's front door, a half inch
31:21
left of center. Drill
31:23
holes covered with duct tape pop the door to
31:25
the knockers either side. They tried to
31:27
screw the knocker in three times without measuring
31:29
the door's actual midpoint and after the
31:31
third attempt agreed to celebrate their success.
31:34
The mailman had given up on the overstuffed mailbox.
31:37
It contents congealed by rain into
31:39
a sudden block of wood pulp and ink.
31:42
Layers of junk mail formed a newsprint marsh
31:44
on the front step sporting an impressive
31:47
array of greenish molds. Sales
31:50
stared into the skulls glass chip eyes,
31:53
squeezed her own eyes closed, open
31:55
them again, and reached for
31:57
the hinged lower jaw. Before
32:00
she could touch it, the door jerked open to reveal
32:02
Eitan. Tall and gangly wearing
32:04
pajama bottoms and a dirty flannel shirt.
32:07
He stood out the door with his foot, but he was too
32:09
skinny to quite fill the small gap. Sal,
32:12
this is a really bad time. She
32:15
shut the door. He stumbled back
32:17
of setting a pile of mud caked boots, and
32:19
she pushed through into the narrow musty hall.
32:22
The door slammed behind her. Where's
32:24
Perry? What the hell have you gotten him into?
32:27
Perry's fine, Zelle? Come
32:29
on. This is like Calidual Search or
32:31
whatever. I know my rights. I
32:33
don't give a shit about the weed you have in your
32:35
desk, Eitan. Perry's in trouble.
32:37
True or false. Perry's
32:42
Eitan spread his arms to span the hall
32:44
and block her path. Between a rack of
32:46
mud splattered coats and a cross stitch parried
32:48
made of Darth Vader's mask. Barry's
32:51
fine. We're fine. We had
32:53
a, you know, small agreement last night,
32:55
and we've taken care of everything. Maybe
32:57
we could go out for coffee and talk about
32:59
it. Let's talk here. Unless
33:01
there's something you're trying to hide. Hide?
33:04
No. Of course not. What would we
33:06
try to hide from you? She
33:09
jerked forward as if the duck under his left arm.
33:11
When he braced to grab her, she jagged right
33:13
and he fell into the coats while she swept
33:15
past into the living room, a sea of
33:18
pizza boxes and USB cables. A
33:21
rust dotted red and fair sword and hung on the
33:23
wall. Something green bubbled
33:25
in a beaker on a bunsen burner on top of cloth
33:27
foot table she'd rescued from curbside recycling
33:29
for them. Stares rose
33:31
from the mess to the second floor where the boys
33:34
slept when they slept at all. Todd,
33:37
black, older than Perry and Eitan, though
33:39
he'd enacted, sat at the couch blanked
33:41
by two monitors with a heavy leather bound
33:43
book open on a stand on the coffee table.
33:46
He looked up and blinked at south through goggles.
33:50
Avon's coat muffled cursing from the hall mixed
33:52
with music from upstairs or something
33:54
like music, a stream of bleeps
33:56
and blips she remembered from sitting cross
33:58
legged on the carpet, eight years old,
34:00
playing Nintendo. Sally,
34:04
great to see you. Didn't expect you
34:06
to drop
34:06
by. Harry didn't say anything.
34:09
The
34:09
prescription goggles warped Todd's eyes to
34:11
silver dollar size. But
34:14
this is a really bad time. Eitan
34:17
said, that time wouldn't happen if anything
34:19
to do with my brother's disappearance, would it? Or
34:22
the museum theft? Todd
34:24
let go of the book too fast. His
34:27
blue latex gloves left to trace powder
34:29
on the brown leather, which was embossed with
34:31
a vine and knot pattern. Or
34:33
were those vines after all? I
34:37
really don't know what you're talking about.
34:39
So, like we told the cops, Perry,
34:41
he came by this morning. He was fine.
34:43
He looked
34:44
scared, but that's it.
34:47
He swallowed
34:47
hard. Theft, though,
34:51
you think Perry was mixed up
34:53
in something? I haven't seen that book around
34:55
here before Todd. Look,
34:58
he raised his hands fingers spread. Perry's
35:02
the one who gets the books, and we analyze
35:04
translate upload. It's
35:06
all about board as far as I know.
35:09
Maybe Harry got himself in deep
35:11
with the wrong people, but I don't know
35:13
who or why. You
35:15
just read the books. That's
35:18
it. He said. So
35:20
if I came back here with a
35:21
warrant, what would I find? You
35:23
don't wanna do that. I
35:25
mean, really? I
35:27
wanna know where my brother is.
35:30
He doesn't wanna see you. He
35:33
came to my house last night terrified. Nothing's
35:35
changed between now and then. Behind
35:38
her in the hall, Aiden recovered. So
35:42
sweat ran down Todd's temple to his
35:44
cheek. Maybe we can
35:47
talk this over somewhere outside. His
35:50
eyes jerked up and left. She
35:53
turned, three bedroom doors upstairs,
35:56
one for Aiden, one for Todd, one
35:58
for Perry, Perry's, the
36:00
one with the Japanese cartoon scroll,
36:03
was slightly a jar. That
36:05
sounds like a good idea. She said,
36:07
then ran up the stairs and burst through the door in
36:10
the Perry's room. Monitors
36:12
illuminated the unmain bed, the barebook
36:14
shelves, the piled clothing. There
36:17
should have been sunlight, but the Halloween store
36:19
spider hung outside Perry's window blocked
36:21
the sun. And
36:24
Perry himself sat in ripped jeans
36:26
and blood stained shirt, curled
36:28
like a shrimp over his keyboard, unblinking
36:30
eyes inches from his central monitor. Fairfoot,
36:34
hair tousled, one day growth
36:36
of beard, jaw muscles,
36:38
sneaked, relaxed, snaked
36:41
again as he rocked in his chair typing.
36:44
Perry, except
36:47
detective Brooks, a lawyer might ask
36:49
some day, how did you know the person
36:52
sitting in the chair was not your brother? And
36:54
she'd opened her mouth before the courtroom, but
36:57
no words would come out, an audience
36:59
would stare at her, the judge would
37:01
drum her fingers, the lawyer
37:03
would lean forward, anytime
37:05
detective Brooks, the
37:08
clothes were parries, the body language
37:10
ditto. But still when
37:12
she said, Harry, the second
37:15
time, her voice was uncertain. You
37:18
stopped typing? And curled himself
37:20
vertebra by vertebra from the keyboard
37:23
and turned to her. His
37:25
eyes focused on the wall behind her.
37:28
He smiled woodenly. Sal,
37:31
Sister, I'm sorry he had to
37:33
come here. Perry.
37:37
She'd imagined hugging him when she saw him again,
37:39
imagined hitting him too. Neither
37:41
seemed possible now. Harry,
37:44
here, here. As if saying
37:46
that would make it true, I
37:49
am. And you should go. So
37:52
What a reasonable suggestion? I
37:55
have worked to finish if you don't mind. She
37:58
didn't. But her not minding
38:01
was strange, wasn't it?
38:04
Harry, what happened last night?
38:07
Nothing? He said, I was
38:09
pushed. You see, the book burners
38:11
chased me, and I took help where I could
38:13
find it. I'm perfectly fine. And
38:15
better than I've been in a long, long while.
38:18
You're a police
38:20
officer. He said, as if he just
38:22
looked the fact up in a large and fine print
38:24
list. His words
38:26
didn't match the movements of his mouth.
38:29
She focused through the fear and
38:31
why fear he was her brother, but
38:35
maybe he wasn't right now. His
38:38
mouth was not moving in time with his words
38:40
because the words he spoke were not English
38:42
even though that was the language she heard.
38:45
It must feel like this when you solve a
38:47
case, when the whole world
38:50
makes sense at once. I've been
38:52
working on a puzzle for long time,
38:54
and I just needed the right push.
38:57
You reached for her. There seemed to
38:59
be great deal of space between them all of a
39:01
sudden, but his arm grew longer to bridge
39:03
the gap. A finger
39:05
of ice pressed against her skin above her heart,
39:08
so cold it burned. As
39:11
the hand approached and no longer looked like the
39:13
hand at all, not like a hand of flesh,
39:16
torn corrugated chin twisted around
39:18
paper and woven plastic bones
39:20
forming fingers. Black
39:22
oil dripped from racket joints. The
39:25
arm was a length of rebar wound
39:27
with trash bags and shredded cloth.
39:30
Bottled glass eyes reflected the monitor's blue
39:33
glow. Thin lips parted
39:35
to reveal metal teeth wet with more
39:37
oil. But some
39:39
trader impulse still insisted this was
39:41
perry, her brother, There was
39:43
no reason to pull back from him. There was no reason
39:45
to run. She should let this thing
39:48
touch her. That the oil on its metal
39:50
skin was not oil, in fact, but
39:52
it was for a voice that might help her
39:54
that only got inside. The
39:57
cold fire against her chest was real.
40:00
Her skin seared, froze, cracked.
40:03
She followed the pain back to her body and
40:05
retreated unsteady as if her legs
40:08
belonged to someone else. She
40:10
staggered out into the hall and the arm stretched
40:12
toward her impossibly long. She
40:15
slammed the door shut on the thing's hand.
40:18
The perrier thing didn't seem to care.
40:21
It kicked the door open. Mangold
40:23
fingers clicked back into place. It
40:26
smiles, split as it widened. It
40:29
didn't need a face anymore, just
40:31
teeth. From the
40:33
bedroom, she heard a window chatter. glass
40:36
eyes widened. A
40:38
black blur knocked the thing that was
40:40
not her brother into the wall. Sal
40:43
blinked and the blur result into grace.
40:46
Slivers of window glinted from the footsteps
40:48
of her boots. She raised one
40:50
of Perry's monitors overhead and slammed it
40:52
into the all in creatures face. Sally
40:55
thought help. Her
40:57
hand went to her shoulder holster, but Grace
40:59
and the creature were too close moving too fast.
41:02
It threw Grace back, wriggled to its feet without
41:04
concern for any principles of anatomy, and
41:07
ran at her. Grace jumped back
41:09
onto the bed out of reach, dodged a
41:11
tin claw then jumped onto the creature before
41:13
it could recover, toppled it to the ground and
41:15
struck it in the face four times with her forehead.
41:18
A ceramic plate on the thing's face broke.
41:21
Grace clogged inside it for something cell couldn't
41:23
see. Take it easy. That's my
41:25
brother. It's not. Grace
41:27
said. It never was. The
41:30
creature threw her into the desk. Grace
41:32
roared. Dodge left. A
41:34
claw shattered one of the remaining monitors. Grace
41:37
grabbed the broken flat panel from the floor
41:39
and hit the arm, which snapped. Grace,
41:42
get back. Give me a shot. I have
41:44
this. You worry about the guys downstairs.
41:47
What? Go. She
41:50
went behind her more screaming,
41:52
more broken glass. Downstairs,
41:55
Todd sat in front of the book. His
41:57
blue gloved hand stroked its paper. He
42:00
looked up and over at her. Tom,
42:03
Jesus Christ, there's something up there.
42:05
But his gaggle swollen eyes were black
42:07
from pupil out to edge. He
42:10
turned a page of his book.
42:15
You are listening to book burners. Created
42:17
and produced by Realm, your portal
42:20
to another world, listen away.
42:27
Bookburners
42:37
is created by Max Gladstone and
42:39
written by Max Gladstone, Margaret
42:41
Dunlap, Amal El Motar, Marlafferty,
42:45
Andrea Phillips, and Brian Francis
42:47
Slattery, Executive could have produced
42:49
by Molly Barton and Julian Yang,
42:52
performed by XC Sands, audio
42:54
production by Amanda Rose Smith,
42:57
an additional editing by Corey Barton
42:59
and Brooks ewald. Original
43:01
theme by Hashem Ocelahi featuring
43:04
Jody Reddage Gerber and mix by Justin
43:06
Morell. Cover art by Annie
43:08
Wu. Executive in charge for
43:10
Realm, Mary Osudola
43:12
He. Find more shows like
43:14
book burners by following Realm on
43:16
Apple Podcasts Spotify or
43:18
at realm dot f m.
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