I stood quietly, nudging the tarp away so I could see.

The Nothosaur had arrived first, judging by its proximity to the capsized boat. The other two vessels circled close by, their spotlights aimed at the black water.

David fumbled with the radio, Brandy finally grabbing it from him. "Nothosaur, this is the Nessie III. Come in."

"This is Hoagland. We were too late. Three bodies went into the water, the Galon's recovered the lone survivor. He's babbling, but in shock. A chopper's flying in to transport him to Inverness."

David took the microphone. "Hoagland, this is Caldwell. Did he say what happened to the others?"

"Negative, but we found the remains of a forearm floating in a jacket sleeve. I think we can assume the rest of him's warming the belly of our friend."

I slumped to the deck, bile rising towards the lump in my throat. And there, but for the grace of God, go I …

"As an M.I.T. trained scientist and inventor, I had always been intrigued about the possibilities of using modern technology to resolve the mystery of Loch Ness.

Dr. Charlie Wyckoff and I began our search back in 1970, but a full two years would pass before our first sighting. We were standing on shore, above Urquhart's Castle, when a hump surfaced in Urquhart Bay. Through my telescope, I saw something that resembled the back of an elephant. I could make out its crest and estimated the hump was at least twenty-five-feet long and four feet out of the water. I managed to get some footage of what looked like a blob on the water, but the photos all turned out blurry."

—DR. ROBERT RINES, ACADEMY OF APPLIED SCIENCES MEMBER: AMERICAN INVENTOR'S HALL OF FAME

Chapter 23

Loch Ness

The Nessie III remained in the area another two hours until the sun rose, by which time my bladder had inflated like a hot-water bottle.

Brandy docked. David kissed her good-bye, he and the provost heading off to prepare for yet another press conference. I waited until she went below, then climbed from my makeshift hiding place and crept out of the pilothouse onto the main deck.

"I was wonderin' when ye'd be leavin'?"

Startled, I turned, Brandy now dressed in a lavender bathrobe. "You knew?"

She leaned back casually against the stern rail, arms folded against her chest. "I smelled ye the moment we stopped movin'."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I figured ye'd a'ready made enough o' an arse out o' yersel' for one evenin'. Still afraid o' the water, are ye?"

"Your brother has a big mouth."

"An' you should've said somethin'. Ye think ye're the only one stricken by a phobia?" She parted her robe, showing me an exquisitely tanned leg, the inner thigh blemished by a series of zigzagging white scars. "When depression hit, I turned tae hurtin' mysel'. Sort o' gives all new meanin' to the term, shavin' yer legs."

"But you got over it?"