"Construction's in the bay. The only thing that hat'll protect you from are birds as they shit on your head."

"More sarcasm. What happened to us, Zack? I thought you and I were a team?"

"Some team. My brains and your mouth."

"Say what you will but it worked. We were the first to catch a giant squid on film."

"We? You took all the credit and blamed me for losing a sub." He turned to me, feigning sincerity. "I was wrong in doing that. I'm sorry."

I ignored his offered hand. "What is it you want?"

"Brandy told me about your offer. You still interested in gaining access to our sonar array?"

"Go on."

"I can't allow you access into the system, but I am willing to let you monitor the array from your laptop… in exchange for telling us why we still can't track the monster."

"I want it in writing, authorized by Provost Hollifield."

"Whatever." He reached into his pants pocket, handing me a folded piece of paper. "That's a Web link my engineer just set up for you. It'll connect you to the array.'

"Fax the agreement to my hotel. Meanwhile, I'll check out the link. If it suits my needs, I'll call you on your cell phone and tell you everything you need to know."

"Do it soon. That provost guy's getting on my nerves."

"What'd you expect? You're spending their money, they want results."

"Results? The creature's been around for fifteen hundred years. All of a sudden they're in a rush?"

"They certainly rushed getting that bridge pieced together. How much they end up spending?"

"About a million dollars or pounds, I forget which. Either way, it's nothing. They'll make that back in crossing fees alone during the first few months."

"You're not actually going to allow people out there?"

"Damn straight. We'll have guardrails up, separating the tourists from the plesiosaur. It'll be safe."

I could have spouted off then, lecturing him about dinosaurs and timelines and how a deepwater feeder, whatever was out there, wasn't about to surface during the day just to please a bunch of humans with cameras.

Instead I only shook my head and walked away.

I believe the Loch contains Zeuglodons, also known as Basilosaurus, which means "King of Reptiles." Basilosaurus was a prehistoric ancestor of modern-day whales, though it actually looked more like a sea serpent. It was 55-75 feet long and very narrow, had a five foot skull and a blowhole on its snout, and was prevalent all over the world some 37-53 million years ago. These beasts could have swum into Loch Ness in search of food when there was ample access from the sea.

A long, thin whale is closer to eye-witnesses descriptions than a plesiosaur.

—DR. ROY MACKALL, CRYPTO-ZOOLOGIST

Chapter 26