"No, sir. As I said, the frigid water temperatures prevent bloatin'. Loch Ness… she dinnae like tae give up her dead."

"Any other unusual happenings around the Loch?"

"Aye. We've been getting' overloaded wi' reports aboot missin' animals, by that, o' course, I mean domestic pets, dogs mostly. Golden retrievers, dachshunds, poodles, shepherds… name a' breed, an' I can check my list an' tell ye whit's missin'. We've posted signs aboot keepin' them chained up at night, but often, they break loose an' chase after rabbits an' squirrels."

"Thank you, Mr. Forrest. Anything else?"

"No… I dinnae think so."

"What about Nessie sightings?"

"Oh, we aye get them, nothin' unusual there."

"But more than usual?"

The water bailiff hesitated. "Perhaps."

"In fact, according to your own log, you've received over fifty sightings since late January through May, is that correct?"

"If it says so in my log, sure. Disnae make them real, though."

"Understood. No further questions."

"Lord Advocate?"

The two prosecutors conferred with one another. "No questions at this time, my lord."

"Very well. Any other witnesses, Mr. Rael?"

"Just one, my lord. Defense calls to the stand Dr. Zachary Wallace."

A hundred heads swivelled in my direction as my jaw muscles locked in place and my throat squeezed tight.

"Dr. Wallace?"

I looked up to see my no good bastard half-brother pointing me out to the judge and Court Macer.

"Dr. Wallace, you will proceed to the witness stand immediately." The Court Macer was standing over me now, but I still couldn't breathe, my lungs refusing to draw a breath.

Mitchell Obrecht was objecting, and I silently rooted him on. "My lord, Her Majesty's Advocate has not been informed of this defense witness, who is, in fact, directly related to the accused."

"Mr. Rael?"

"My lord, the fact that Dr. Wallace is related to the accused will have no bearing, once we hear his testimony, which is vital, not just to my client but to Scotland entire. The fact is, my lord, up until a few days ago, Dr. Wallace and the accused had not seen each other nor even spoken for seventeen years and we were not even sure he was coming, prior to late last week. For the record, my lord, Dr. Wallace was given no forewarning that he would be called to testify in these proceedings, and would not have come had he known. As you can see, he is obviously perturbed by all this, and as such, we request that the High Court consider him a hostile witness."

Hostile witness? Thirty seconds alone with Max and I'd be up for murder myself.

"I'm going to give you some latitude, Mr. Rael, but proceed with caution, I warn you."

"Thank you, my lord."

Amid much clatter, I was escorted to the witness box, then sworn in. Angus watched me from behind the prosecutor's table, a smug look of satisfaction pasted on his face.