"It's a part o' it, an' we call them Guivres. The one they call Nessie's the last."

"Why's she the last?"

"Cannae say."

"Then let me say. From the size of her, there's no way Nature ever intended her or her kind to be permanent inhabitants of a fresh water loch, even one as big as Loch Ness. That means the Black Knights must have cut off her passage to the North Sea… am I right?"

Calum said nothing, but the twinkle in his eye encouraged me to continue.

"Now why would the Black Knights want these monsters stuck in Loch Ness?" I thought a moment. "You were using them! You wanted to keep people away. That's it, isn't it?"

"Sort o'."

"Fine. Forget about the Knights' mission for now I'm more concerned with why this creature's feeding on humans."

"As am I."

"The Anguilla eel that attacked me had lesions in its brain, caused by hydrocarbon poisoning."

"Whit's that?"

"It comes from oil. There's oil leaking somewhere, and it's getting into the Loch. You're the water bailiff, have you—"

"I havenae found any oil."

"Okay. But what if it's coming through the passage that connects the Loch with the North Sea?"

The old man considered this scenario. "Aye, that's possible."

"Then there really is a passage! Tell me where it is."

He shook his head. "I cannae dae that. Besides, the passage collapsed years ago, back when they built the A82. It trapped a few o' the Guivres in Loch Ness, preventin' the rest o' their kind frae enterin'. Nessie's the last o' them. The alpha beast, as Doc Hornsby wid say."

And now she's gone crazy."

"Aye."

"Those underwater lights… when did you install them?"

"No' that long ago."

"Winter? Spring?"

He avoided eye contact. "Maybe winter."

"What happened this winter that you felt a need to install the lights?"

"Ye said it yersel', Nessie went crazy!" He pushed away from the table, obviously agitated. "Whit are ye gonnae dae now that ye ken? Will ye kill her like yer faither wants? Is that why ye're here?"

"My father wants the monster killed?"

"Dinnae play games, I want tae ken whit ye'll dae tae her."

It was Alban MacDonald's words, and I offered the same reply. "I'll free her if I can. Is that what you want?"

I thought that would please him, but instead he turned away, his fists balled, his weathered face turning red.

"Wait a sec… you want her dead, too, don't you?"

"It's past her time an' she's dangerous, but I cannae dae it."

"Because of your oath as a Black Knight?"

"Aye."

Suddenly remembering the laptop, I yanked open the lid, checking for the blip. "Oh shit."

The monster was heading north, closing fast on Urquhart Bay.