Dinosaur Lake (14 page)

“I was down by the lake today getting readings,” the young man said quietly so he wouldn’t wake Phoebe. “It seems as if your public excuse for closing down the park might turn out to be prophetic. My readings jive with what I’ve been told by John Day’s. There is another earthquake coming. A big one, I’m afraid.”

Henry contemplated the growing twilight around his home. He didn’t have to respond to Justin’s announcement. Both men knew it complicated things immensely.

“And,” Justin tacked on, “I thought you’d like to know there’re a couple of reporters camping on the west side of the lake. Hiding out. Waiting to get a look at our monster, I imagine. Get photos.”

Henry ceased swinging. “Reporters?”

“Yep.” Justin tilted his head to avoid the glare of the fading sun. “I’d bet ten bucks they are. They were taking videos of the lake and the surrounding area, jotting down notes, acting goofy. All the signs. They’re reporters.”

“How many were there?”

“Three. Could be more, but three were all I saw.”

“Trouble.” Henry released a deep breath. “Now it starts. I wonder how many more reporters and monster hunters will be slipping in if these get away with it? Waiting for the creature to show itself and if they’re real lucky getting photographs of the thing gobbling down a person or two.”

“Yeah, if they’re not careful, it could be them. How did they find out?”

“Well, first there was Ann’s newspaper story. Then I reckon they talked to the brother of that woman and her family who went missing around the lake or maybe to someone in the homeless camp. The scientists at the dig go into town all the time, too. And they talk. Rumors of the creature in the lake are everywhere, Ann says. Someone must have listened.”

“Don’t they realize, under the circumstances,” Justin said, “they’re at risk? Camping so close to the water. What happens if–”

“If it craves a midnight nibble and comes ashore?” Henry shook his head. They both knew what would happen. The sun was descending and night was coming. “I’d better take a hike down there right now before it gets dark, supper can wait, and escort them out of the park.” Henry stood up with Phoebe sleeping in his arms. He carried her inside, and headed for his jeep.

Justin fell in behind. “I’m coming, too.”

Henry shrugged. “Sure, I could use the back-up. Come on.”

“I need to let Laura know I’m going.”

“I already did,” Henry explained as they got in his jeep. “Ann promised they’d save us stew. We shouldn’t be gone long. I don’t want to be anywhere near that lake after it gets dark.”

He peered at the sky. “Two hours, possibly three before total nightfall.” More than enough time to locate the trespassers and kick their butts out of the park.

Justin described where he’d seen the campers.

“I know the place,” Henry admitted.

They drove back roads down to Cleetwood Cove, parked the jeep, and hiked the rest of the way. They heard the journalists long before they spied their camouflaged tents, tucked away behind some rocks, which blended in so well with the surroundings they couldn’t easily be seen from the rim of the caldera.

Two men and a woman were sitting and chatting before a campfire, eating supper from tin cans.

They looked up as Henry and Justin approached.

“Oh, oh,” the woman said, wiping her hands on her blue jeans. “The law’s found us.”

She was tall with sharp features, questioning eyes and a tough expression. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail. To Henry, she looked like a big city reporter. She didn’t seem upset over their arrival. Smiling at them, and afterwards, reading their intent, her face went sullen and determined.

One of the men looked to be in his mid-thirties with curly hair and a broad face. He wore dress slacks and tucked-in white shirt. An expensive state-of-the-art Minolta camera with a zoom lens hung around his neck. They’d certainly come prepared, Henry thought.

The other man was young, had long hair, a bandana rakishly tied around his head, and a gold loop earring. Dressed in black, he was a modern day pirate. Probably a cub reporter, or a photographer, learning from the pros how to sneak in where they weren’t supposed to be, break the law, get the story, win the prize.

Be something’s supper.

“You folks aren’t supposed to be here,” Henry led off. “The park’s officially closed.” He stood there watching the three come to their feet, guilty looks spreading over their faces. The game was up. They’d been caught.

“Because of the coming earthquake, huh? Really worried about it, aren’t you?” The woman’s tone was sarcastic. “We heard it was something else entirely you’re worried about.”

Henry didn’t rise to the bait. “What are you three doing out here?”

“We’re reporters. I’m Selby Merriweather. This is David Gates and Earl Laurence.” She put out a hand for Henry to shake.

He shook their hands one at a time. He couldn’t treat them as criminals. They were doing their jobs, as he was. Being married to a newspaper woman had taught him that much. “What newspaper you with?”

The younger man replied, “
The National Inquirer.
”

Henry couldn’t help himself from laughing. Ann was forever making jokes about the Inquirer. She and Zeke called it the biggest trash rag in the country, although both would have killed for a fraction of its circulation.

That laugh broke the ice. The three reporters invited Henry and Justin to have a cup of coffee. Discuss their unwanted eviction. See if they could talk him out of it.

Henry’s eyes scanned the lake in the late afternoon light. It seemed strange not to see a boat on it; to see them, empty, moored silently at the dock in a line. To hear no human voices or laughter echoing along the caldera. The night mist was drifting in and settling across the water, the land and the trees.

He shivered. The lake was noiseless and serene at the moment; no sign of any dragons anywhere. There was time. The sun was bright yet in the skies, illuminating everything. The birds were singing and the breezes were cooling.

“Sure, we’ll have a cup of coffee, and then you three will have to pack up and move on out of here. Before dark.” Half the reason he accepted their offer was out of curiosity, half for his wife. Ann would be interested to know what they were up to…what they’d learned. What kind of a husband would he be if he didn’t help Ann protect her biggest story ever?

“You know why we’re here, don’t you?” the woman asked once Henry and Justin had settled down cross-legged on the ground across from them. They were handed cups of steaming liquid. Some of that fancy expensive coffee Ann liked so much.

“The fossils up on the rim, I’d guess.” Henry smiled broadly, playing their game.

“No.” The woman shook her head. “Oh, that’s a good story, too. We’ve already sent it in to our editor. Headline’s gonna run something like: NEW DEADLY SPECIES OF DINOSAURS FOUND BURIED ALIVE. No, it’s the other story here that we’re digging for.” She grinned, the coffee cup poised in her hands as her arresting blue-colored eyes met Justin’s. They glowed with an inner light. With flashy crimson nail polish on lily white hands, the woman made sure Justin saw there was no ring. She was flirting with the paleontologist.

“What other story?” Justin pretended not to notice and Henry was relieved to see he wasn’t returning the young woman’s attentions.

“Oh, you know…the monster in your lake here.”

Henry could have lied, but couldn’t bring himself to do that anymore, especially under the circumstances. This woman sensed, knew, something was in the lake, but they needed to understand how perilous the situation was. Sooner or later the creature would emerge and strike again. Only a matter of time.

Could be the truth would scare them off, save their lives, which was more important than keeping the lie alive. “It’s true, everything you’ve heard,” Henry confessed. “There is some sort of unidentified creature in the lake here.” But he didn’t say anything more. His loyalty to Ann and all. “That’s why you’re in danger. It’s aggressive.”

“I told you it wasn’t the earthquake,” the girl exclaimed to the older man. Her eyes lit up, and she moved closer to Henry. “Is it a dinosaur-like creature similar to the one in Loch Ness? A real monster?”

“We’re not sure what it is. It’s a wild marine animal, that’s all, trying to survive.” Just a half lie.

“The rumors are it’s predatory and very large. That true, ranger?” the younger man questioned, standing up.

“Yes to both.”

“Anyone seen it?”

Henry cocked his head at Justin who was staring at the placid lake with uneasy eyes. “We’ve seen it.”

The girl whipped out a notebook and a pen. “Where? When? Can you describe it? When would be the best time for us to catch a glimpse of it?”

Henry shrugged eloquently, remembering his promise to Ann. “I’m not at liberty to go into that. And you three aren’t sticking around to get a look at it. The evacuation is to protect people. You have to go. Now. As I said…you’re in extreme danger.”

The girl frowned, but her excitement didn’t abate. She was going to be a hard sell.

“The park, especially the lake area, is closed to visitors. By being here you’re breaking the law. I could fine you, and the fines can be stiff.” Henry paused to stress what he was going to say next, aware that, finally, he’d seen doubt in their eyes. “And I’m going to ask you not to release the story yet. Or, at least, don’t pinpoint which lake the creature is in. I can’t make you, but I’m asking you. For the safety of all the curious who’ll come looking for it if you do. They’ll sneak into the park just as you’ve done trying to see it, and maybe end up missing or hurt for their trouble. No matter what you think, it’s not like Nessie. It’s nothing to mess with. So take my advice and clear out. While you still have the chance. It likes the night, but it’s been known to show itself in the late daylight hours.” He wanted to add so badly,
And it’s big, has lots of sharp teeth, is quick as the devil, and it’s already killed many times. You won’t know it’s coming until it’s got you. Most frightening, it seems to be highly intelligent.
But knew if he did they’d never leave. He’d recognized that obsessive gleam in the woman’s eyes.

Her face a shade whiter, she started to say something, but stopped.

“So you see, it’d be foolishness to stay out here tonight. Making yourself a target.” Henry finished his coffee and rose to his feet as the three reporters stared at him. Justin stood up beside him.

He’d shook them up. He could tell. Good. Maybe they’d go and stay gone.

“If this creature’s so menacing, what is the Park Service doing about it?” The woman was on her feet, too.

The crickets and frogs were singing, accompanying the coming night. The sunlight appeared dustier, the mist heavier; its tendrils creeping around the humans’ shoes like cats slinking along the ground. The sound of the water lapping at the rocks lulled.

“We’re working on it. That’s why we emptied the park. We haven’t exactly decided how to handle the situation. Yet. But we will. We know what we’re doing,” Henry said, though he wasn’t sure of that at all. He’d been fretting over what should be done with their unwanted leviathan since the deaths at the homeless camp. In the end, though, he feared it would be out of his hands. There were a lot of other people involved now.

“So we see,” the older man articulated with a touch of irony. Henry couldn’t tell if he’d convinced him they were in jeopardy if they remained, but the man jumped at every noise.

“It’s been nice meeting you.” Henry flashed him his sternest official look. “But I’m insisting you pack up and leave the park before it gets dark.”

“Okay, Chief Ranger, we’re going. For now we got what we needed here.” The man, who acted as if he were in charge, raised an eyebrow at his silent comrades. His shoulders had fallen in stoic acceptance. He turned to his companions, “We’ll regroup someplace safer, in town, at that Cafe we ate at last night? Rethink this assignment. I’ll call Hodge. We’ll interview some of the people who’ve left the park to flesh out the story. There’s no guarantee, even if we camp out here for weeks that we’d see the creature anyway. Might as well leave.”

He directed his next comment to Henry. “Thank you for coming all the way down here to warn us. I appreciate it. We’ll pack up now and go. Won’t take long.”

“By nightfall,” Henry repeated one last time. “Don’t make me come back here again. I’ll have to cite you for sure.”

Henry and Justin walked away. Henry could hear the three arguing behind him. They’d better come to an agreement quickly and get packing. Another hour and night would fall.

“You think they’ll really leave?” Justin asked from behind as they hiked up the trail towards the jeep.

“They’d better. I shook them up a little. Did you see the look on that young guy’s face? He was scared, all right.” Henry snickered. “We could have waited and escorted them to the gate, but I’m treating them like adults and trusting them. Now I hope to god they behave like adults and leave. Mistrustful as most reporters are, they probably think we’ll be hiding in the bushes watching them until they do depart.”

Justin’s eyes flicked behind him at the three reporters, the woman smiled and waved, and then he hurried to catch up with Henry.

“I hope you’re right about that and they don’t slink back in somewhere else along the lake as soon as they think it’s safe.”