‘How the hell do we find the right person?’ Kim asked as they parked in a car park that was already three quarters full.
‘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.
‘We are indeed, Mr Duncan. We’d like to know more about this fountain.’
‘You summoned me for a history lesson?’ he asked, reddening even further. Kim half expected his polka-dot bow tie to start spinning.
‘Only recent history, for example the renovation works that were carried out about twenty years ago.’
‘Why would you possibly need that information?’
‘Just humour us, Mr Duncan. We understand that it was quite a big job.’
‘It didn’t start out that way. There was an issue with the water supply to the centre statue. Everything external was checked before digging out the actual fountain. We did question ourselves on that decision, but it’s a big draw for the people not interested in the gory stuff, and it’s an original part of the site, historically integral to the building.’
Kim wondered how historically important ‘Choking Chamber’ and ‘Horrific Hallway’ were to the historic integrity of the building.
‘One of our benefactors came forward and volunteered to foot the bill to get the fountain working again. He agreed with us about its importance.’
‘And did he know the extent of the work involved?’
‘None of us did until the excavation work began to determine the cause of the water supply cessation.’
‘But it’s a fountain,’ Kim said, thinking that the water was just recycled from the base over and over again.
‘It doesn’t replenish to the degree it needs to. Rainwater helps to keep it topped up, but water evaporates in sunlight and as you can see…’ He pointed to the sun’s position, which told her it was being baked every day.
‘In all honesty, we weren’t sure of the water source, as previous problems had always been with the fountain heads.’
‘So how extensive was the work?’ she asked.
‘We thought it would be some damaged pipes or worn fittings, but it was nothing of the sort. The well had run dry.’
‘Sorry?’
‘The water source had been an underground well which had simply run out of water.’
‘And your benefactor didn’t mind the rising cost?’
‘No, he was very generous. He even brought in his own construction company to ensure it was done properly.’
I bet he did, Kim thought.
‘So what work was required?’
‘The crew had to dig down a good ten feet to make the well safe and then install a brand-new water replenishment system that feeds right from a collection tank, and which is also hooked into the water mains if the system ever gets too low.’
‘Sounds like a lot of thought and work went into the project.’
‘It did, but Mr Harte was very hands-on. He was here at all hours checking the progress. They were both incredibly diligent.’
‘By both you mean Mr Harte and Mr Butler.’
He appeared surprised that she knew both names.
‘Absolutely, yes. Their hard work and commitment, not to mention money, has ensured that this little beauty need never be disturbed again.’
Kim took a moment to consider everything she’d learned in order to make a judgement call.
There was the history and integrity of the fountain. The upheaval to the property and their business; the inconvenience to them and their customers. On the other hand, there was the involvement in the project of both Steven Harte and Jenson Butler, as well as the possibility that a little girl rested beneath it.
She turned to the day manager. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Duncan, but we’re going to dig it up.’
Fifty-Nine
Alex headed to her first meeting of the day. There were two pieces to put in place today and a third tomorrow, which would pretty much guarantee her release with or without the inspector’s recommendation.
Stone was her failsafe. Her last resort if her carefully constructed plot went wrong. She was the cherry on top of the cake, and what a delicious cherry she was.
It took her only a moment to spot Stella in the dinner hall. She was at the far end sitting next to Titch, a blonde woman of generous proportions in both height and width.