Book 3, Burton Crane
Chapter 5THE DAMP HUNG IN patches over the lake as Burton Crane drove past the large gate down a mile-long gravel drive. The showers had dried up, but the wind was fresh. The ancient fortress by a small lake fitted the grounds, but the lawns needed tending. The whole place had the natural smell of decay. In Britain you’d expect a fashionable country restaurant on the ground floor with a liveried waiter to greet you at the door. The top floors would be open to the public; the best wing reserved for the old family, squeezed by inheritance taxis.
The thought made him smile. The only reason for untended grounds was that Baron Keltenbrunner liked it that way. This aristocrat was still collecting his feudal dues.
Crane had heard the stories and read the tidbits about the
