Page 96 of Stolen Ones
‘Follow the crowds,’ Bryant suggested as they fell into step behind a group of Chinese tourists all sporting hefty cameras around their necks.
They reached the end of the queue, which snaked around the building.
Kim walked alongside the waiting line to some loud tuts and filthy looks.
Two ladies dressed in matching black T-shirts were operating a ticket booth at the front of the queue.
‘Excuse us,’ Bryant said as Kim stepped into the next available gap.
She showed her ID. ‘Who’s in charge?’
‘Er, our day manager is Rory Duncan.’
‘Can you get him for us?’
‘I’m sorry. He could be anywhere. We’re very busy.’
‘It’s urgent. Please ask him to meet us at the fountain.’
The girl nodded, and Kim stepped out of the way.
Bryant followed her back outside as they passed directional boards pointing them towards ‘Ghoulish Gift Shop’, ‘Horrific Hallway’ and ‘Choking Chamber’. The sign for the plain old ‘Tea Room’ was letting the side down a bit.
‘What’s the fascination, Bryant?’ she asked, standing in front of the ‘You are here’ board.
‘Not sure, guv. I deal with enough horror every day.’
‘Absolutely, the scenes we witness…’
‘Oh yeah, that as well,’ he said, smirking.
‘This way,’ she said. ‘We’ve got to head through the rose garden, then the cottage garden and the fountain is right in front of the maze.’
‘Your orienteering skills are amazing, guv.’
‘You know, Bryant, you’re always not funny, but there are times when you are even more not funny than usual.’
‘Clearly your linguistic skills are—’
‘Holy shit,’ Kim said as they exited the cottage garden.
Before them was the jewel of the extensive manicured gardens. The lush lawns and planted areas all appeared to have been formed to accommodate the grandeur of the fountain.
‘There’s not a smaller one somewhere else is there?’ Bryant asked with dread in his voice.
Kim found herself hoping the same thing.
The plaque told her it was called ‘the Perseus and Andromeda fountain’. The bowl of the fountain was in the shape of an eye. The edge of the fountain was a shin-high stone wall going all the way around. An ornate statue in the middle spouted out twenty jets of water at varying heights, with one vertical spray reaching a good seventy feet into the air.
‘I’m gonna guess that this is Rory Duncan coming at us right now,’ Bryant said.
The suited man was small but speedy, as though he’d been shot out of the archway that led from the cottage garden.
The lanyard around his neck swung to and fro like a sped-up pendulum.
‘Are you the police officers that demanded my immediate attention?’
Kim was quite impressed. It was a good walk from the house to the fountain, and to maintain this level of irritation the whole way showed determination and vigour.
