"I served as water bailiff a long time. I ken whit I ken."
"What else can you tell me about the creature?"
"Nothin'."
"It's trapped in Loch Ness, isn't it?"
The old man looked up at me then, his expression of concern confirming my suspicions. "Go ask yer rabbittin' faither, seein' as he's the one that's been fillin' yer heid."
"You're wrong about Angus. He refuses to tell me anything, and it's his life that's at stake."
MacDonald scoffed.
"What was the sworn mission of the Black Knights, Mr. MacDonald? How does it relate to the creature?"
He stood, his patience shot. "I think it's high time ye were gone."
"I'll go, but those monster hunters won't be leaving. This time they'll stay until they've captured the creature, or are forced to kill it. Either way, it'll be on your head."
I hobbled out of his chamber, then out the lodge to the Harley. I climbed on the bike and was about to gun the engine when I saw the old man emerge.
For a moment, I wondered if he meant to talk or stab me.
"I have yer word as kin o' Sir William Wallace that ye'll no' speak o' this tae anyone?"
"Yes, sir."
He fidgeted, still contemplating his decision. "Dinnae ask me again aboot the Black Knights, that I take wi' me tae the grave. As tae the monster, I dinnae ken whit she is, I've only caught glimpses o' her twice, a' I ken is she's the last o' her kind, though whit kind, again, I cannae say. She's big, though, bigger'n any afore her, an' that's 'cause she's been trapped a long time, unable tae leave the Loch Ness tae spawn. Nature took ower an' jist let her grow. Born in blackness, she'll aye prefer the deep, at least she aye did 'til jist this past winter. At first I thought it wis a' the blastin' at that damn resort that sent her topside, jist like it did when she attacked ye seventeen years ago. But I wis wrong. Somethin' isnae right wi' the Loch, an' it's affected her mind an' her appetite, jist as it's affected the eels. Lesions, ye say?"
"Caused by some kind of toxin in the water. I don't know where it's originating from or why it hasn't been detected up until now, but it's definitely affecting the wildlife."
"Aye, but there's a more immediate problem. The creature's tasted human flesh again, an' that makes her very dangerous. Same sort o' thing happened long ago with another o' her kind, back when I was a lad. Still, I dinnae want tae see her put doon, she's served us well."
Served who well? The Black Knights?
"Dae ye think ye can free her to the sea?"
"I don't know. Where's the Loch's underwater access route into the Moray Firth?"
He shook his head. "Off wi' ye now, laddie. Godspeed."
I started the engine, then shut it off. "Mr. MacDonald, thank you for saving my life."
He hesitated, then shook my offered hand. "Make it a life worth savin'. One mair thing. Her eyes may be weak frae aye livin' in the dark, but her sense o' smell's unequaled. That's how she hunts. It's said she can sense a man by smellin' the terror in his blood. So take heed."
I nodded, then gunned the engine and drove off, feeling as if an old scar had finally been picked clean to heal.
True was waiting for me in the parking lot when I rolled in ten minutes later. "Ye're late. Sweet Jesus, whit happened tae yer foot?"
"I fed it to an Anguilla eel." I glanced over his shoulder to the wharf and a hub of activity. "What's going on down there?"
"'trucks arrived this mornin' wi' some steel nettin'. A' the boats are bein' fitted wi' them. Urquhart Bay's been cordoned off intae a giant pen. Now whit's this aboot an eel?"
"Later. Is Caldwell down there?"
"Aye. Playin' head honcho for the cameras."
"Playing's the word. Can you call Brandy on her cell phone? Ask her to join us up here, I need to speak with her away from Caldwell."
Leaning back against a pine tree, I could see Brandy as she swaggered down the wharf in all her glory, waving to television crews and journalists. True waited for her at the end of the pier, and I watched as brother and sister spoke.
"So, Brandy, then it's true?"
"What're ye talkin' about?"
"Zack says ye're sleepin' wi' this Caldwell fella."
"Is this what ye called me out for? Tae discuss who I'm buckin'?"
"I'm concerned, that's a'. Wi' a' ye've been through—"
"Listen here, bro, there isnae anythin' between David an' me 'cept some heavy flirtin', an' most o' that's for the cameras."
"An' one Zachary Wallace as well, aye? I heard whit happened at the Clansman. Ye're rubbin' it in his face, are ye no'?"
"Aye. An' if ye let on about it, I'll smack ye so hard, it'll kill the fuc'in' Crabbitt!"
They started up the hill together, then broke into a footrace, Brandy taking the lead, giggling as True tackled her from behind. The sight of them wrestling in the grass brought a smile to my face, and I tried to recall the last time I'd actually laughed out loud.
For the life of me, I couldn't remember.
When I looked up. Brandy was standing over me, hands on hips like some Greek goddess. She motioned to my walking boot. "Looks like ye stuck yer foot in yer mouth one too many times."
"And it looks like you've got every camera in the Highlands focused on your ass."
"No' yet, but be sure I'm workin' on it. So Mr. Zachary Wallace, what is it then? Be brief, us lowlife whores need our rest."
"Look, I… I'm sorry if I insinuated anything."
"An' whit did ye insinuate?" demanded True, joining Brandy. "I hope for your sake ye didnae call my wee sister a whore?"
"No, I—"
"He claimed I was sleepin' wi' David Caldwell just so he'd rent my boat."
"An' are ye?"
"'Course not. I'm shaggin' David 'cause he's cute an' macho an' he's got a nice package."
"Well, that's a whole lot different then." Satisfied, True lay down in the grass, covering his head with a big, hairy forearm.
My blood pressure soared.
"So, Zachary Wallace, what was it ye wanted then?"
"Your sonar array… it won't find the monster."
"An' how dae ye know that?"
"There's a basic flaw in 'Mr. Big Package's' strategy. It's the same reason none of the other sonar expeditions ever found a thing. But I'll tell you what will work… in exchange for your sharing with me the array's password and security codes."
"Ye've got tae be jokin', Zack? Ye want me tae help ye hack into our sonar's central control station?"
"You have my word I won't touch the programming. My intentions are only to access certain information concerning the fish population and the Loch's geology. As soon as I'm finished, you can change the security codes."
"Forget it. If David ever found out, he'd fire me for sure."
"Come on, Brandy," said True. "Caldwell'll never ken anythin' aboot it. Ye've got his balls in the palm o' yer hand."
The image set my teeth to grinding. "Forget it then," I growled. "I wouldn't want you to compromise your position."
"Good."
"Good!"
"Was that it then, Mr. Wallace, 'cause I'm quite busy these days."
The right side of my brain urged me to say something, to tell her to leave David, to confess that I loved her, but instead I was only able to muster, "I guess that's it then."
Hydrophobia was not the only fear I'd yet to overcome.
Chapter 25
I was working at the Academy of Applied Sciences when Dr. Rines contacted me about joining him in Scotland. His mission: To obtain underwater photos of the large animal he believed occupied Loch Ness. Using a strobe light invented by our colleague, Dr. Harold Edgerton, our team set up an underwater camera and lights rigged to our boat's sonar, so that contact with a large moving object would trigger the strobe camera to snap pictures once every fifty-five seconds. With our camera loaded with rolls of high-resolution photographic film I'd created for NASA, we set out to find the monster.