What mission could be so important?

And what had my father done to remove himself from the Order? So it was possible Tiani Brueggart wasn't Nessie's first victim, there was a good chance the monster had killed last winter. Angus was close friends with Calum Forrest. Fiercely loyal, the death of his friend's wife, if true, must have surely upset him. Was that the reason he'd been banished from the Templar? Had Angus attempted to kill Nessie against Alban MacDonald's orders?

Angus and Theresa.

I stared at the clue, and then, suddenly, everything hit me at once.

Johnny C.'s death was no accident, Angus had killed him to be with Theresa! But instead of pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, my wily father had gone for broke. Knowing the creature was out there, knowing it would probably kill again, Angus had created his "Nessie defense," making himself a local legend while forcing the Black Knights to destroy the creature that had killed his best friend's wife.

It was a clever plan in its own sordid way, filled with risk and rewards. If Angus could prove the monster was out there, then he'd be found innocent and have Theresa Cialino, sharing in her inheritance. The two lovers would live happily ever after, while Angus still maintained his blood oath as a Black Knight.

All my father needed was to make sure a jury would find him innocent. To do that, he needed an expert on the case, one who not only could convince a jury that the monster really did exist, but someone who could even track it down.

And so, after seventeen years of silence, my father had reached out… and used me again!

Anger surged in my veins, tempered only by the fact that it had been my testimony that had exposed his lie.

I stared at my notes, still seething.

Anguilla eels and the Sargasso Sea.

One monster was on the loose, the other was sitting in an Inverness jail cell, waiting to be released so he could spend the rest of his days with his mistress.

Anguilla eels and the Sargasso Sea.

Angus had counted on using the scars of my childhood to play out his charade, but it had been my research, my testimony that might end up burying him!

Anguilla eels and the Sargasso Sea.

And what would my role be in the rest of this unholy mess? With David dead, the Highland Council would most likely approach me again for help, but I had no interest in capturing the beast. As far as I was concerned, it was already captured, in a lake twenty-three miles long. The key was to find the oil leak, shut it down, and return the biology of the Loch to its normal state.

Anguilla eels and the Sargasso Sea.

I kept staring at the words.

Anguilla eels and the Sargasso Sea.

Anguilla eels and the Sargasso Sea.