Adamant by Emma L. Adams

in the dark, between the fence bars, I could see a crowd had gathered outside the back door.
    “There’s never that many people at Central this late,” said Markos, frowning. “Something’s up.”
    “No shit,” said Aric. “Get out the way. We have to find out what’s going on.”
    Just before we reached the gate, a small figure ran through, turned left and pelted into the night, so fast it appeared a shadowy blur.
    “Oi! You!”
    Two guards followed, vanishing into the shadows too. Markos cursed under his breath.
    “What the hell?” I said. “Was that–?”
    “Trespasser, probably,” said the centaur. “Come on. Let’s see what’s up.”
    Trespasser? Who the hell would have the nerve to break into Central?
    We went through the gate, towards the crowd. The entire night guard had congregated out back, by the look of things. Carl beckoned us over, and he, along with everyone else wore a dead-serious expression… like someone had died.
    Oh, shit.
    “What happened?” Markos got there first.
    “Mr Clark,” said Carl. “He’s been murdered.”
    No way. I looked from Markos to Carl and back at the guards. Like someone would reveal this to be an elaborate prank.
    “What… how?” I asked.
    “Strangled from behind, we think. In his office. You knew he was working late?”
    “Yeah. He spoke to us. Before our shift.” Damn—we were the last people to speak to him. “When did this happen?”
    “We’re still trying to determine that,” said Carl. “No one has ever been murdered on the premises before. Not in thirty years.”
    A shiver went down my spine. “Damn,” I said.
    “Who would do that?” Lenny blurted. “He—he was…”
    “A supervisor,” Aric cut in. “He wasn’t a higher-up, right?”
    A blond woman stepped forwards to glare at him. I recognised her as Ellen, whom I’d met earlier that day. She’d been part of the next shift.
    “Might you show a little respect?” she said to Aric. “A man has died. Your supervisor, to be precise.”
    It seemed unreal. I’d spoken to Mr Clark that day. Barely an hour before he died. He’d been reading those papers I’d fetched from the archives.
    “How could a killer have got in the building?” I asked Carl. “It’s magicproof and there’s no way to climb up the walls, right?”
    “Unless it was someone who worked here,” said Aric.
    Lenny moved away from him in panic. “No way! None of us are killers.”
    “The police are here, but it’s looking like we’ll need the Law Division in on this one,” said Carl. “They’ve never had to investigate a crime within our own headquarters before.”
    “It’s messed-up,” said one of the guards. “Who’d strangle Clark? He’s harmless. Never hurt anyone, never really spoke to anyone outside his department.”
    “Yeah, that’s why it’s suspicious,” said another guard.
    “We saw someone run,” Markos said. “They were being chased down by guards.”
    “How the hell did they get in?” I said. “Did anyone see anything odd when we were on patrol? Because the Passages were quiet. Nothing out back, either.”
    “That’s the point,” said Carl. “There’s literally no trace. None of the cameras picked anything up until this girl appeared…over there.” He pointed at a spot near the building’s corner. “I did find an open window when I went in the back way, but I figured that was a mistake. Now, though… perhaps that’s how they got in. Glass isn’t magicproof. There should have been a guard there.”
    “When was this?” asked Ellen.
    “Not long ago. I went right to the back door after these guys left. I saw the window open a bit later, and figured someone had just forgotten to close it. Damn stupid of me, but it’s happened before.”
    “So the killer got in through the window?”
    “The gate was unlocked when we came back,” Markos said. “It shouldn’t have been, right?”
    “I normally check every ten minutes,” said Carl, “but the alarm went off and