Love on Loch Ness (3 page)

Please, please respond.
He'd spent too much of his life going after a dream for it to be nothing. In fact, he didn't know what he'd do if the noise was proven to be something else besides Nessie. His touring company would go out of business, and he'd let down poor Tabitha right before the end, the time she needed dreams the most.

A singular sound called back from the open waters with the same pulse and frequency as the dolphin call, the only difference being its pitch was a significant amount lower than that of the original pitch.

To Flynn, the call was music to his ears. He inhaled in wonder, tears brimming. "It's her."

Gail's mouth dropped open as she studied the readings. "This is impossible."

Flynn came over and peered next to her, his arm brushing hers. "What? What does this line mean?"

"It's gauging the intensity of the call."

"And?"

She refreshed the screen and squinted as though she had trouble interpreting the readings. "It says the intensity of the call is twice as great as a noise produced from a 10-foot pilot whale. But it's not the same call. I've never heard this call before."

"A pilot whale? How big are they?"

Gail gave him a dead stare. "Big."

"How big?"

"Males can grow up to twenty feet long and weigh three tons."

Flynn ran his hand through his hair, trying to imagine the size compared to his twenty-foot touring boat. "That's pretty darn big."

"Yeah." Gail returned to the screen. "I'm trying to see if I can get an image on radar at least."

Flynn resisted the urge to jump up and down or pump his fist in the air. Gail looked scared, and he wasn't about to gloat. "Where's the origin?"

"It's coming from the debris at the bottom." Gail's fingers flew over the controls. She'd done this before.

"Can you send the camera?"

She gave him a steady look as if she'd braced herself for bad news. "Already have."

Shadows

Gail hit her equipment. Static sizzled and the imaging from the drop camera blinked on and off. Had it been damaged in shipping? Or did some sort of strange electromagnetic field jam the frequencies, making it almost impossible to record anything substantial?

She hit it again, and a murky mess flashed on the screen. "Loch Ness reminds me of a cross between my mother's spinach and leek stew and a giant puddle full of old, decaying leaves."

Every image she detected could be a gigantic heap of peat moss — or a twenty-foot-long beast, depending on her rapidly developing imagination.

It's peat moss. Stop scaring yourself.

"Look at this echo-sounder." She pointed to a picture of a rather large mass the shape of a torpedo. Two protrusions on either side could be branches or fins.

Flynn leaned over so close his breath was hot on her cheek. "That's not peat moss."

Gail checked the depth of the object. "The mass not moving, so it could be a submerged log or a densely packed fish shoal."

Flynn tapped on the screen. "But look at the shape."

The shape did make her queasy. She didn't like sitting in a small boat over a whale-sized object that was definitely not a whale. At least sea mammals were predictable. Despite all the hype of movies like
Jaws
and
Orca: The Killer Whale
, whales and sharks rarely ate people or boats, especially people on boats. As for Loch Ness monsters, she had no idea.

"Send out another sonar echo." Flynn gazed over the waters. The hope and eagerness in his eyes made her want to believe him. The feeling was the same she'd had with her dad. Flynn reminded her so much of her dad she had to distance herself from him or the memories would surface.

"All right." Gail replayed the bottle-nosed dolphin recording.

They waited, listening to the water lapping against the boat. A single bird cawed in the night.

Nothing.

Flynn leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Did you record the one from Loch Ness just now?"

"Of course." What kind of scientist would she be if she'd missed it?

His eyes widened. "Play that one."

Gail felt as though she was playing with fire, or in this case, a large pool of black water, but she'd come for the truth and nothing less. She pressed a button, and the haunting call echoed over the water, goose bumps prickling Gail's skin. Even Tom seemed to shiver as he held his camera.

Surely, if Nessie was still there, she would answer.

Nothing. The clump of peat moss wasn't moving, either.

Gail settled into the passenger seat. Could someone be mimicking their calls using another set of equipment? No. Based on the point of origin, her machinery should be able to differentiate between animal and recorded sound. Unless they had special equipment she wasn't aware of. If so, where was the other boat? They were the only ones on the lake. Could hoaxers be hiding in the forest? Would the signals reach for miles across the lake and then seven hundred feet down?

That would be quite the prank.

She had heard of people going to great lengths to create crop circles. She'd even heard of a man getting hit by a car while pretending to be Bigfoot. People with nothing better to do preyed upon good people like her father. Their pleasure in creating a farce made Gail sick.

She'd catch those punks. All of them, starting here in Loch Ness.

Flynn seemed to be preoccupied with his phone. He held the speaker to his ear as if hearing a message, then stood like a man on a mission. "Seems like we're not finding anything else here tonight."

Gail checked her watch. Two o'clock. Boy, did time fly. "I'll bring up my drop camera."

Tom turned from the rail and shut off his camera. "I'll collect the footage from all the cameras and start reviewing it."

"Good." Flynn raised the anchor, tapping his fingers.

Why was he so eager all of a sudden to get back when they'd just made such a big discovery? Who could have called? Gail watched Flynn's profile as he steered the boat from the center of the lake to the dock by their cabin. She enjoyed watching the way the wind played with the tips of his honey-blond hair or the way he worked with his hands — big hands rough and callused from working outside on a ship. All the things that made her cheeks hot.

Had she fallen asleep on his shoulder? How embarrassing!

She'd been hard on him, and not entirely truthful. When she'd said she didn't feel anything, she had felt something, but it wasn't for Nessie. It was for him. That scared her more than whatever lurked in those depths.

She missed her father's naturally open-minded attitude, his penchant for the unknown, and his ability to imagine, to dream outside all the barriers scientists had set. He possessed a limitless heart. Flynn had it all, and then some.

The boat hit the dock, and Gail picked up her suitcases, already packed. She was relieved to set foot on hard earth. Tom jumped over the railing, equipment in hand, and set off for the cabin without a word.

What an ape.

"Want some help?"

Gail whirled around. Flynn stood behind her, offering his hand.

"Sure. Thank you." After she'd been so mean, tearing everything he believed to shreds, she couldn't believe he'd still help her. Yet here he was.

"Quite a night, eh?" Flynn smiled. There was a small freckle on his left cheek underneath his eye. Gorgeous. Why did he have to be so charming?

"It was… eventful." And uneventful at the same time.

"I'm interested to see how those pictures came out." He jiggled one of the suitcases. "Could have a winner."

"I'll look them over first thing tomorrow."

"And you'll tell me first if you find anything, right?"

She attempted to hold back a smile. Who else would she call? The president of L-PIB? She already had her grant money and they
were
supposed to be working together.

"Sure."

They reached the cabin. Flynn climbed the steps and set her suitcases down in her room. Gail walked to the kitchen, rummaging around in the fridge. A jar of mayonnaise, a chunk of cheddar cheese. Ginger ale. Man, this place needed a woman's touch.

"If you're looking for something to eat, there are some frozen meals in the freezer." Flynn stood in the doorway.

"Thanks. You want one too?"

"No. I already ate." He fidgeted with his phone. "I'm going to call it a night. See you tomorrow."

"Good night." Gail smiled, but he'd already started up the stairs two at a time. Checking the freezer, she located a mac and cheese meal. The expiration date wasn't that old. She popped the frozen entrée in the microwave, feeling a little lonely.

The woods must have unnerved her. Or the giant pool of dark water a stone's throw away. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her body as she waited the two minutes for the meal to cook.

Had she driven Flynn away? That had been her initial intention. Had she come across as too harsh? He was such a nice guy, and cute, too. Would it hurt if they were friends?

Yes.
Flynn believed in the Loch Ness monster, for Pete's sake.

Still, she wondered what it would be like to hang out and talk about other things. Like how he'd started his cruise business or how he'd picked out his boat. What was his family like? There was so much she didn't know and wanted to.

Unlike Tom. She couldn't care less where that pig came from.

Gail finished her mac and cheese and climbed the stairs. The light was still on in Flynn's room, and a sudden, illogical need surged up inside her to knock on the door. Maybe she could apologize for her severity?

Gail put her hand up to the door. His voice stopped her from knocking just as she pulled back her hand and formed her fist. Was he talking to Tom? If so, she'd rather pass. She'd seen enough of that man today.

The door to Tom's room was ajar, so she tiptoed down and peered into the darkness. A long, drawn-out snore followed by a snort came out.

Nope. Unless the Loch Ness monster was sleeping in Tom's room, Flynn wasn't talking to Tom. Disgusted, Gail sneaked back to Flynn's room.

She pushed away a thought of Tom sleeping
with
the Loch Ness monster and listened more carefully to Flynn's voice through the door. He sounded different, more tender.

"We came so close tonight. I'm telling you, we'll find Nessie by the end of the summer. We can have a party and celebrate. Maybe go out if you're feeling up to it. I'll have proof to show you any day now."

Silence fell while whoever was on the other end responded. Gail's interest piqued.

"Don't worry about me. It's totally safe. And I'm being careful, okay?"

More silence. Who was Flynn talking to? Certainly not a business relation.

"Yeah, nighty nite, hon. I've got a few tours this weekend, but I'll make sure to drop by when I can."

Hon?
Gail's stomach dropped to the floor. Flirty Flynn had a girlfriend? And she was a believer just like him?

Movement from inside his room caused her to draw back and shuffle down to her room. Just as his door opened, she shut hers and locked it for the night. No way was she going out there now.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.
How could she have ever thought this charming crytozoologist was into her? Especially after how she'd acted. She'd practically pushed him away at knifepoint.

Good thing. She would have looked like a fool.

Gail settled onto her bed and wrapped herself in the cotton comforter, feeling so vulnerable the emotion threatened to tear her apart. One thing she couldn't afford to be was illogical. All it ever did was bring her pain.

Stick to the hard facts. Science will never hurt you.

Yet the dreamer inside squirmed as though her body was too tight and the sparkly unicorn lover had to be let out. She had too much of her father in her and she knew it.

Which was why she had to be careful. She couldn't end up like him.

Tracks

"Come on, sport, the trail's up ahead."

Gail stumbled on a root and fell face-first into the leaves. She swallowed a mouthful of dirt and bugs — she was so sure the crunchiness was bugs — and coughed, pulling herself up on her knees. Why couldn't they go to a normal place on the weekends, like the movies? Or the mall?

"Aw. You okay, sport?" Her dad pulled her up, brushing pine needles off the front of her favorite pink sweatshirt.

"Uh huh." She spit out the dirt, trying to look brave. "I'm right behind you."

"You always are." He took her hand, which embarrassed her even though there wasn't anyone around. She was a teenager. She was almost old enough to drive. She didn't need her father to hold her hand.

She stumbled again and her father held her up, pulling her forward.

Well, in this forest, maybe she did need his help. Anything was better than another mouthful of dirt and bugs.

"Just a little ways farther." Her father had that eager twinkle in his eyes, the one he had when he watched programs on the SyFy channel. She liked seeing him happy, and his eagerness was contagious. Maybe they would find something.

They crested a hill, which lead to more hills and more trees. Would the White Mountain forest ever end? Her feet ached. The fancy lounge area at the Mount Washington Hotel seemed a lot less boring and much more comfortable.

"The sighting happened just beyond those boulders up there." He pointed to a ridge that looked almost impossible to climb. "They say the Sasquatch just jumped out from behind that stand of trees then ran in the opposite direction down that ridge.

She squelched a raging surge of doubt. She wanted so much for her dad to be right, but the older she got, and the more outings they had with no evidence, the more she questioned his beliefs. "How long ago was the sighting?"

"Two months ago." He took some pictures. "Go stand by that tree. I need a size comparison."

"I'm not as tall as Bigfoot, dad." And two months ago? That was like forever. The thing was way long gone by now. If the legend even existed.