The silence inside Rayder's house had become an eerie presence, thick as smoke from a fire. The wooden floor was covered with splinters, torn papers, and the wreckage of furniture that had been broken in half, as if a storm had swept through the office and lingered there, waiting to strike again. The dim light from the hanging lamps swayed with the wind coming in through the broken window, illuminating the chaos with an unstable, almost feverish glow.

Rayder stood in the center of the ...