Chapter 26
Back in the bungalow, Pari showers off the mountain stream water and spends the final hour of the afternoon in a terry cloth robe on Abby's back porch day bed. Reading Camila's email response, she downloads the exact specifications of the statues ordered for the manor's roof.
Unlike the whimsical, garden-style designs Pari expected, based on her previous online searches, the "grotesque"—because, technically, a gargoyle must be a water spout, which this is not—radiates harsh strength and a sense of nobility. The figure's muscular form crouches on his haunches, perched atop a pedestal with spread bat-like wings, prepared to pounce at a moment's notice. His severe eyes fearlessly scour the distance.
Each expensive statue is hand-cast and hand-painted, consisting of crushed st
