At the far end of the main entry, two large windows flanked either side of the garden’s grand entrance. The iron doors had been fashioned to look like a castle gate. They creaked as I swung them open and stepped out into the cool night air.

 

Directly ahead of me was the garden’s central courtyard. Around a large concrete pad, seven apple trees leaned over a long metal table and its dozen neatly arranged chairs. There was plenty of moonlight to navigate the darkness, and, as if drawn by its power, I walked the length of the courtyard to the foot of a towering, 12 foot dragon statue. No doubt fashioned from the finest white marble, it roared and gnashed its teeth above the rows of surrounding hedges. 

 

The beast made for an appalling display and must have come at great expense. But the golden apple resting between its teeth was perhaps the most peculiar feature of the entire garden. No larger than a golf ball, it gleamed like a beacon in the pale moonlight.

 

Shaking my head, I continued my search up and down the winding paths, moving between rows of green hedge walls. In my wandering, I stumbled across the garden’s many water features– finding them all in disrepair. 

 

Near the eastern corner, stone nymphs splashed each other in a fountain that was long overgrown with moss and tangled vines. To the south, I found a statue of Hercules, standing tall and poised to loose an arrow. No doubt a stream of water had been intended to shoot from the weapon, depicting the arrow’s trajectory into the sky, but it too was dormant. 

 

At the garden’s western edge, Mr. Range’s bedroom window sat two stories above a small lake. The wall was sheer and made of red brick, a series of black iron dragons shooting from the wall like gargoyles. On the wing of the dragon just below Mr. Range’s window, hung a torn piece of fabric. I asked Mr. Grady about it, and he said it resembled the crimson smoking jacket Mr. Range was so fond of wearing.

 

I looked around for additional clues before making my way back to the exit, when a final glance at the dragon statue left me in shock. The sharp fangs had been shattered, and the golden apple once held within was gone.