“Get to work, Jo.”
She checked the satellite connection, opened up a web browser, and typed in an address. She watched, cursing every second the computer buffered. When the browser finally opened to the desired site, she hastily logged in, biting her lip as her fingers clicked away at the keys. Even her most delicate touch sounded like a twenty-one gun salute in the stillness of the early hour.
She glanced at her watch. Only three minutes had passed. So far, so good.
Hastily, she navigated the hard drive, clicking on the files she considered most important: the best shots of the wallow, close up images of the severed foot, and a copy of her findings. Enough, but far from everything they’d gathered thus far went to one location. Then she sent everything to be backed up to the other.
“Come on, you slow ass mother…” she whispered as the files began to upload.
Why couldn’t they have decent upload speeds? This was the twenty-first century and Holloway was filthy rich. ’More money than Davey Crockett,’ as Forrest Gump had put it.
A dull bump caught her ear and she jumped, banging her knee on the low shelf on which the computer sat. “Dammit!” Heart in her throat, she stood, crept to the door, and opened it an inch. Cool air wafted in, and with it, the sound of another bump.
She relaxed. It was only their metal dinghy tapping against Merenneito’s side.
“I’ll bet that gave me a gray hair or two.” She returned to the computer and was relieved to find the last file uploading. Moments later, she surfed over to her email server and fired off a quick note.
That should keep things ticking over for a while.
Finally, she opened up the browser’s internet history and deleted only the two sites she had just visited. Her tracks covered, she shut down the computer, slipped back into her shirt, and headed out onto the deck.
“Jo,” she whispered, “you are living dangerously.”
Chapter 9
Aston emerged into a bright morning feeling a bit sorry for himself. He felt sorry for Dave too, the four of them had decimated the cameraman’s stash of beer the night before. It had been fun, but they’d all be paying for it now. He sipped hot coffee and nibbled on a bacon sandwich, willing the caffeine and grease to work quickly.
Slater called his name and he turned to see her striding across the deck, fresh as a spring flower, makeup impeccable. Dave and Carly trailed her and Aston was pleased to see they looked as bad as he felt. Misery was best when shared. What inhuman capacity Slater had was a secret he’d like to learn.
“Mister Aston, after the grisly discovery during yesterday’s dive, has your focus on this endeavor changed?”
He winced at her. “Really? We’re doing this now?”
“Best to keep everything as real-time as possible. Keeps the responses true and balanced.”
He shook his head. “I think the discovery only highlights how little we understand of what’s happening here. Science demands we gather data before jumping to any conclusions.”
“But what are your personal feelings?”
“The same as my scientist’s feelings. We’re going to start mapping the lake bed today, so let’s see what that throws up.” Without waiting for more, he took a huge mouthful of sandwich and grinned at her with bulging cheeks.
Slater couldn’t help her own smile spreading. “You’re incorrigible. Let’s go then.”
The bridge had a large table behind the drive controls and Holloway and Laine spread a detailed topographical map across it. While the land around the lake was marked in accurate gradients, the water itself was a blank space.
Holloway used a Sharpie to mark an X on the shore. “This is Sweeney’s camp.” He marked a circle a bit further south. “This is the wallow. And this is more or less where you found all that’s left of Sweeney.” As he tapped the pen to make a dot a few yards into the lake, Gazsi grunted.
They looked up, Aston flicking a questioning eyebrow. The first mate looked around the group before shaking his head and turning back to the wheel.
“You talk to Olli?” Aston asked Slater.
“Yeah. He said not to worry about it. Gazsi will do as he’s told, and Makkonen told him to shut up and drive the boat.”
Holloway used a clear plastic rule to mark out a grid across a large section of the lake. “We’ll start traversing here,” he said. “As we map the lake bed and take sonar, we can try to get an idea of maybe where something large might move.”
Makkonen, looking over Holloway’s shoulder, pointed. “Start here?”
“Yes, please.”
The captain went to stand beside Gazsi and the boat’s engines gunned. As they tracked back and forth it quickly became apparent that several parts of the lake, even this close to shore, were far deeper than they had anticipated.
Aston sat watching the sonar screen, occasionally pulling paper readouts off a printer and examining them. “This is weird,” he muttered.
Dave’s lens swung into view and Slater said, “What have you found?”
Aston blinked slowly, took a breath. Thankfully the coffee and bacon had started to do their job, but he still didn’t feel great. And even without a hangover, this incessant camera intrusion was never going to be okay.
He lifted a section of printout for the camera to see. “These are indicating several deep channels even among the already deeper water. And some of these pings are echoing as if there are caves or passages running surprisingly deep very near to the shoreline.”
“And what does that mean?” Slater asked.
“It means,” Laine interrupted, “that there are plenty of places for a creature or creatures to hide. Big creatures.” He looked to Aston. “Yes?”
Aston nodded, but was busy watching Gazsi. The first mate was distinctly uncomfortable at the news. As Aston opened his mouth to ask what was upsetting the man so much, Gazsi turned and stalked from the bridge.
With a frown, Aston turned back to the camera. “Regardless, one thing is made very plain by these readings. Finding anything in a lake this size, of such massive and varying depths, is going to be harder than looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Laine barked a laugh. “Nonsense! A needle in a haystack doesn’t leave a trail to be followed.”
“A trail of body parts?” Aston challenged.
“Faith, ladies and gentlemen!” Holloway said, loud and strong like a carnival barker or a tent church healer. “Faith and science combined, in fact. We will most certainly find something. I know it!”
But the day passed in a slow, excruciatingly dull pattern of motoring back and forth, scanning and recording data. Nothing interesting beyond strange geology interrupted the drudgery of the work. As the day wound down, despite the lack of progress, Holloway’s enthusiasm was undiminished.
“Tomorrow’s another day!” he announced pointlessly as the light began to fail late in the evening.
Aston wished he could have a glass of whatever the billionaire was drinking.
Gazsi crept along the deck while the ship slept. The lake lapped against the sides, gentle caresses in the moonlit night, but the serenity of his surroundings did nothing to settle his upset. He was no fool and he’d had enough. Makkonen paid him, but not sufficient for this. These bloody fools would all get themselves killed and he wanted no further part of it.
Gazsi knew well the legends of the lake and he had good reason to believe them. On two separate occasions he had seen things he couldn’t explain, movement in the water of something far bigger than fish. His uncle claimed to have seen the great monster up close, and that man had no reason to lie. Gazsi was happy, though always cautious, to work the lake, but to actively seek the creature? To disturb it and invoke its wrath? That way lay nothing but violent death, he was sure.