The Winds of Change by Martha Grimes Read Free Book Online Page A

on the gravel. There was no sound except for a bird somewhere above him.
    All of this had taken less than five minutes when he came upon steps going down. They were moss covered, soft and a bit slippery. The Crystal Grotto was situated at the bottom of these steps. According to Platt, Flora Scott had last been seen by her mother in front of this small cave. He wondered if Flora had gone inside the grotto to look, for the way the grotto was described made it sound quite romantic; pieces of crystal were embedded in the roof and back when the gardens flourished, the owners would set candles all about and the light from the candles would reflect on the crystals.
    Mary Scott had apparently gone on ahead and around shrubberies that would have blocked her view of the grotto. But if it had been only a minute or two until she realized Flora was not behind her, whoever took the little girl had to have been following them and had to be very quick. Jury didn’t see how this person could have been waiting in this spot, for Heligan’s gardens were vast and she (Jury imagined it was a woman) wouldn’t have known Mary and Flora would come this way.
    He or she could have known, however, that they often visited here. If that was the case, it might not have been random. Which would seem to leave it at someone who knew them and meant to take Flora and not just any little girl. If it was Viktor Baumann, though, how could he have hidden the child for the three years since her abduction? There was nothing more to be seen at the site of a three-year-old crime. If indeed it had been a crime.
    His name was Marvin Griswold and he’d been working here in several capacities for more than four years. The ticket kiosk was only one of them.
    ‘Well, it’s hard to remember that far back, three years, I mean, remember exactly what the circumstances were,’ said  

    Marvin Griswold in answer to Jury’s question about the disappearance of Flora Scott. ‘Of course I remember the incident. I mean, it was in all the papers. It was very dramatic. For six months after you could hardly get near the Crystal Grotto. People can be such ghouls, can’t they? But do I remember seeing them - her and her mother on that particular day? No, I don’t. It must have been someone else in the kiosk when they came.’
    He sounded a little resentful as if someone else was having all the fun.
    Jury thought about the geography of the gardens. ‘Anyone entering comes by your kiosk to get a ticket?’
    ‘Yes. It’s not exactly a ticket; it’s one of these pins.’ He held out a small metal tab that a visitor would affix to a jacket or coat.
    ‘And leaving?’
    Griswold shook his head. ‘Not unless they come back by the same way. More likely, they’d come out by way of one of the other paths, such as behind the gift shop over there’ - he waved his hand in that direction, past Jury’s back. ‘There are several ways that lead to here.’
    ‘And the Scott woman would have had a map.’
    Marvin blew out his cheeks in thoughtful contemplation. ‘I expect so. We always hand over a map with the pin. But she might not have bothered with one if she and the little girl visited often.’
    ‘When you didn’t see her return, didn’t you wonder?’
    ‘No, because as I’ve just told you, there are a number of exits.’
    ‘Which also means there are a number of entrances. From the gardens to here, to the buildings, such as the gift shop. But there’s only one exit back to the road. Through the car park.’
    ‘Yes, for the visitors. Of course there are other roads the workmen use. As to what you’re calling a number of entrances, theoretically, yes. But people don’t do that, do they? Try to sneak in. I mean, not into a place such as Heligan. It’s not a cinema or a Stones concert, is it?’
    ‘No,’ said Jury, smiling.
    Marvin sighed. ‘You know, I’ve already been questioned by police, and more than once.’
    ‘But not by me.’ Jury gestured in good-bye.