Angus turned to the jury, reciting a well-rehearsed speech. "I seek no alibis for my actions. It wis wrong o' me tae strike my friend an' business associate, an' I never meant him tae go ower the cliff, that wis an act of God. But I've been sworn tae tell the truth, an' this is whit I've done. No matter whit ye may think, I saw that beast, an' he saw me. Whether he intended to snatch John Cialino or did it by accident, we'll never ken, but snatch him he did, an' he took him straight under, never tae be seen again. The Polis can drag Loch Ness frae now tae my hangin' day, but they'll never find nothin', mark my words, an' I'll never change my testimony, for it's the truth, so help me God."

The judge banged his gavel again, silencing the buzz, then requested all attorneys to join him immediately at his bench for a conference.

The courtroom exhaled and the media's feeding frenzy officially commenced. Reporters typed furiously on laptop keyboards and Blackberrys as fast as their cigarette-stained fingers could move, while others frantically called their editors on cell phones, demanding front- page space in their evening editions.

The judge chastised Maxie with a hard scowl. "Mr. Rael, I warn you, if you intend on turning this trial into a three-ring circus, I shall hold you in contempt and burn your barrister's license."

"My lord, the accused has given us his account of what happened, and we intend to prove it to the jury."

"That I'd like to see," scoffed Jennifer Shaw, the assistant prosecutor.

As I watched them talk, my mind underwent sort of an out-of-body experience. Was I really here in Scotland? Had my father actually testified that the victim had been dragged below by the Loch Ness monster?

And what part was I to play in this, Angus's latest charade? The attorneys took their seats.

It was time for Act Two to begin.

"Lord Advocate, would you care to question the witness?"

"Indeed we would, my lord." Mitchell Obrecht shot back, his voice booming through the two-hundred-year-old courtroom. "Mr. Wallace, I've been a prosecutor for twelve years and a barrister for eight before that, and in all my years, I've never heard such a ridiculous, fantastical testimony as yours. The legend of a water beast in Loch Ness has never been proven in fourteen centuries, and even if accepted as a mystery, no accounting has ever been documented of a person actually being attacked."

"Ye're forgettin' the Pict warrior Saint Columba saved. An' there's plenty more attacks that remain documented only as drownings."

"Nonsense, ridiculous. What shred of evidence do you offer to back such a claim?"

"At this juncture, only my word."

"Your word? Do you take us all for fools, Mr. Wallace, or are you merely—"