“A close encounter, exactly! The truth can’t be coerced, can it? I mean, it can. People falsify evidence whenever the truth conflicts with their own agenda. They make you sign things and threaten you, but the truth is still the truth no matter how crazy it sounds, right?”

“Right, uh, what are we talking about?”

“We’re talking about finding the truth by thinking outside the box. For instance, that giant croc—what if it’s still alive?”

“Purussaurus? Not likely. It was a saltwater species. Vostok’s fresh water. Besides, the pressure would have crushed its lungs long ago.”

“What about those fossils Ming’s crew dragged out of the crevasse?”

“There was no epic battle in Vostok millions of years ago; a python that size could never kill a Purussaurus. I’d wager good money the Crocodylia was already dead when that giant snake found it lying on an Antarctic shoreline and choked attempting to eat it before another predator could claim its prize.”

“Ming said they traced the ice that held those two creatures back to Vostok.”

“Translated: the ice sheet dragged it into Vostok and probably across a dozen other subglacial lakes en route to the Amery Ice Shelf. It doesn’t mean the lake was populated with giant crocs and pythons.”

“Then you think this whole expedition is a waste of time and money?”

“Not at all. Vostok presents scientists with an incredible opportunity to study what our planet was like during the Miocene. I think there’s a good chance some sort of microbial life has survived. I’m sure the paleo guys will be studying water samples for years.”

“Be honest, Doc. Why did you really turn down Dr. Liao’s offer?”

“I thought I made that clear. I don’t want to be away from my family for six months, especially in minus-forty-degree temperatures.”

“It’s all about that Sargasso Sea incident, isn’t it? In your memoir you wrote about nearly drowning to save your cameraman.”

“Did drown.”

“My point is you’d think they’d honor that kind of sacrifice. Instead they blamed you for the crewman you didn’t save. What kills me is the same thing is happening to you again, here in Drumnadrochit. The creature was killing people; she was a serious threat to every villager around Loch Ness, not to mention the tourists. You resolved the problem and risked your life doing it and this is how they repay you—by turning you into a recluse?”

I felt my blood pressure rise, as if Hintzmann’s words had flipped a switch on an internal furnace. “Where’s this going, Ben?”