The Pacific Giants (14 page)

By the time an old-fashioned wooden fishing boat arrived at the island, Vanessa looked like a small bundle of wet rags washed up on the beach. Her pulse was thready and her breathing so shallow that her chest moved imperceptibly.

She came to briefly when she felt hands pulling at her. Through her lashes she saw the face of a man looming over her. Had Mr. Fox come to get her? Terror flared in her eyes, but even in her weakened state she registered that it wasn't Mr. Fox and felt a rush of relief. It was a face she recognized, but she didn't know whose.

Vanessa tried to move her lips, but when she felt herself being lifted gently and heard Lee's soothing
voice whispering in her ear, she finally let go. She was safe now. She felt herself falling deep beneath the surface into a peaceful place.

Lee wrapped her jacket around Vanessa and talked softly to her as Tom Tankard carried Vanessa to the boat. Although Vanessa had stirred at first, she appeared totally unconscious now and couldn't be roused.

Lee was on autopilot. They had to get Vanessa back to the guesthouse and get her warmed up as quickly as possible. Lee continued to talk to Vanessa and stroked her head, did all the practical things she was supposed to do, but all the time her heart was breaking.

Lee hadn't been able to find Mr. Fox when the call had come through from Dr. Mitchell. This time the signal hadn't been lost, but had just stopped moving, he told her. It was highly suspicious that it was stationary on a beach. With a sinking heart, Lee knew that she would go and find just the tag again, but she couldn't rest until she was sure. In the end the only person she could find with a boat had been a very reluctant Tom Tankard.

Vanessa now lay along the bottom of the boat,
and Lee cradled her head. Dear God, it was like a rerun of Loch Ness. Only worse. This time Vanessa's dad wasn't even with them. Lee kissed Vanessa's forehead, willing her to stir. Lee steadied herself with the thought that at least Vanessa was alive and didn't seem hurt and that was all that mattered for the moment.

As they pulled up to the beach and Mrs. Bouche and Wayne came hurrying down to the water's edge, Lee bit back her irritation at the sound of Wayne's loud voice.

“What happened to her? Is she dead?”

His voice seemed to be enough to penetrate Vanessa's consciousness. She stirred and moaned.

“What's wrong with her?” Wayne persisted.

“Stop it, Wayne!” Lee said shortly.

When Lee looked down at Vanessa, she felt a wave of relief flood to her very fingertips. Vanessa was smiling! It was a small and feeble one, but it was a smile all the same.

On 21 July 1943 Mr. and Mrs. Spenser and their friend Mrs. Fisher saw Caddy in the water at Grantham's Landing. They said that it had a head like a python, had five or six coils, and was 30 to 40 feet long.

Vanessa slept heavily through the night and into the afternoon of the next day. She woke very slowly, drifting in and out of sleep, aware of the people around her sometimes and gripped by the writhing coils of the serpent at others. Her relief, when she finally came
around, at finding herself in bed wearing her familiar white nightdress was so intense that she broke down and sobbed.

“Vanessa, Vanessa, it's OK,” Lee said, coming through the bedroom door as if she had been shot from a cannon. She threw her arms around Vanessa and hugged her hard.

“Everything is OK now, you're safe. The doctor says you're fine, really. You just need rest.” Lee held her at arm's length and looked into her eyes. “As soon as you're better, we're getting off this island and going home. I promise.”

“No, no,” Vanessa wailed through her sobs. “The whale. It was all cut up on the boat. In a fridge thing. It was horrible, Lee. The blood was all over me.” She grabbed hold of Lee's hands, scratching her with a nail without even noticing.

“It's Mr. Fox, Lee. He's one of the whale hunters,” she said ferociously. “You have to find him.”

It took Lee a considerable amount of time to calm Vanessa down. She sat on the side of the bed and stroked her hair, deeply worried. What on earth had happened to Vanessa? Why had she been on that deserted island at all?

But Lee decided that she wouldn't ask any questions. She would let it come from Vanessa in her own time.

It didn't take long for the whole story to come tumbling out, and Lee was appalled: the crab boat, the cut-up whale with the tag attached, Vanessa jumping overboard.

Lee put her hands over her eyes and let out a deep groan.

“My God, Vanessa, if you hadn't taken that tag, we would never have found you.”

“Taken the tag?” Vanessa echoed looking puzzled. And then her face cleared. “Oh, you mean you tracked me down by GPS like a whale? That was lucky, then.”

“I thought I was going to find a tag on the beach, but I found you!” Lee looked pained. “You nearly scared me to death, Vanessa,” she added quietly.

“Sorry,” Vanessa said meekly. “I only took it so you'd believe me about the whale hunters and Mr. Fox.”

“I can't bear to think what might have happened if we …” Lee didn't finish her sentence but buried her face in Vanessa's hair and hugged her so hard that Vanessa began to think she might suffocate.

“I'm fine now, though, Lee. Honestly, I'm OK,” Vanessa said, pulling away to catch her breath. “You said ‘we' just now. Who was with you? I remember a man's face. It wasn't Mr. Fox, though.”

“No. It was Tom Tankard,” Lee replied.

The answer was so unexpected that Vanessa sat straight up in bed.

“Yes, that's who it was!” she exclaimed. “But how on earth did he get there?”

“Well, I couldn't track Mr. Fox down. Nor could Dr. Mitchell. So I just had to find someone else with a boat.”

Vanessa snuggled back down under her covers. “But he hasn't been out on a boat since Ray's accident, they said.”

“True. But when I told him about the whales being killed by illegal hunters he was outraged. After that he still took a bit of persuading, but eventually he caved in and agreed to help me. And thank God he did.” Lee hesitated, remembering the look on Tom's face on the beach. “He was pretty shocked when we found you. Said you had called to his house one day, but then he clammed up.”

“Right,” Vanessa agreed noncommittally. She
didn't want to get into that conversation at the moment. “You do believe me about the whales being cut up and Mr. Fox being involved, don't you?” Vanessa asked instead. But before Lee could answer, Vanessa gave a loud gasp and slapped her forehead dramatically. “Oh my God, Lee, I'm being so stupid. My camera, where's my camera?” she demanded. “There are photos of Mr. Fox on the beach with the captain of that crab boat. The one that had the whale on it. If you zoom in you can see Mr. Fox has a GPS tracker in his hand—I'm sure he was selling it. There are pictures of the sliced-up whale too. That would be enough proof for Dr. Mitchell, wouldn't it?”

To Vanessa's surprise, Lee didn't look at all excited. Instead she turned her head a fraction, avoiding Vanessa's eyes.

“What is it, Lee?”

“Your camera was in your backpack, Vanessa. I'm sorry, but the salt water will have destroyed it. There was a book too, and it was ruined.”

Vanessa collapsed back onto her pillows and closed her eyes, too disappointed to speak. Her camera, and Jack's last copy of the book about Caddy, destroyed! She felt sick to her stomach.

The presence of strong jaws and sharp teeth suggest a carnivorous lifestyle. There is much debate as to whether Caddy is more likely to be a reptile or a mammal.

Later in the afternoon, Vanessa got dressed. Although she had almost recovered physically from her adventure, she felt very depressed. She lay on her bed and stared at the flaking paint on the ceiling. She didn't want to talk to anyone, not Frankie and certainly not Wayne.

At about four o'clock in the afternoon, Lee came into Vanessa's bedroom to tell her that Tom Tankard and Professor Noire had come by to see how she was.

“Tom and Jack together? That's surprising!” Vanessa said, sitting up and looking interested.

Then she remembered the horrible task ahead of her—she had to tell Jack about his book. She felt so bad. It was out of print now, and that had been his only copy!

“I'll be down in a moment,” she said to Lee.

Vanessa dragged herself reluctantly down the stairs.

When she opened the door into the sitting room, she was surprised to see Tom chatting away to Lee. He looked more relaxed than she'd ever seen him.

Jack greeted Vanessa warmly. “Glad to see you're still in one piece,” he said with a grin.

“Just about. Thought I was Caddy food there for a while,” she said to him under her breath.

Jack's eyebrows shot up.

“I've only heard a little bit of the story from Tom. Obviously there is much more.”

“Yes,” Vanessa replied. “And I've something awful to tell you.”

Jack's kind eyes watched her.

“I had your book in my bag when I jumped over the side of the trawler,” Vanessa explained.

“Jumped over the side of the trawler?” Jack repeated, shocked.

“Yes,” Vanessa continued, “and now the book is ruined.”

There was only a couple of seconds' pause before Jack threw back his head and started to laugh.

Vanessa looked at him in surprise, as did everybody else in the room.

“What?” Vanessa asked, slightly hurt by his reaction.

“What's so funny?”

“You are,” he replied, still chuckling. “You're a born cryptozoologist—mad as a March hare. Why would I be bothered about a book when you almost died, Vanessa?”

Vanessa grinned. “I suppose. Thanks,” she said simply.

She glanced over at Lee and Tom, who were talking earnestly again.

“I heard you came with Tom,” Vanessa said lightly to Jack. “I didn't know you two were pals.”

“We're not,” said Jack. “I saw Tom walking on the road and I offered him a lift—a neighborly gesture which he typically refuses. Except this time he accepted. Imagine my surprise!” Jack looked amused. “Anyway, I got an even bigger surprise when Tom told me about finding you half-dead on an island, Vanessa, and said that he was on his way to visit you. Naturally, I couldn't resist calling in to see you, although I won't stay long. You look like you need to rest,” he added with concern in his eyes.

“I'm fine, physically. It's the damage to your book and my camera that's really bothering me,” Vanessa moaned.

“Oh, forget the book,” Jack said breezily, “and tell me about your camera.”

“It has some photos I really need. They prove that the whales are being hunted by those fishermen and that Mr. Fox is involved too.” Vanessa let out a long sigh. “But the camera got wet and the photos are destroyed. Apart from the tag, they were the only evidence I had.”

Jack suppressed a smile. “Wow! Cut-up whales, illegal hunters, jumping ship—that's some adventure. But just so you know, Vanessa,” he said casually,
“although the camera may be damaged, the memory card will be OK. It's like an airplane's black box; it's pretty indestructible.”

Vanessa blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of his words.

“You mean …” Vanessa's flow was interrupted by Mrs. Bouche wheeling in a rattling trolley filled with teacups and plates of scones.

“It will be easier if I show you,” Jack said to Vanessa.

“Do you really think you can get my photos back?” Vanessa said doubtfully.

“Yes. Do you have a laptop here?” Jack asked.

“Lee, Lee, is your computer in your room?” Vanessa yelled excitedly, knocking into the tea trolley and taking the stairs two at a time without waiting for an answer.

“In my computer bag,” Lee shouted after her, looking bewildered. “Sorry, Frankie. She's still a bit excitable after yesterday.”

Lee busied herself trying to rescue the few scones which were not now sitting in a pool of tea. She hoped that Vanessa wasn't going to make a scene in front of everyone about Mr. Fox and the photos. It was
something she was intending to investigate, but she wanted to do it quietly in case Vanessa had gotten the wrong end of the stick. It wouldn't be the first time.

In February 1954 a group of about thirty people watched Caddy basking on the surface some way from the shore at Nanaimo.

They all stood around the computer while Jack inserted the memory card and brought up the photos. There were lots of pictures—mainly of home, but a few taken on Duquette Island.

“Which one, Vanessa?” said Jack.

“That one,” Vanessa said, pointing at a thumbnail, and Jack made it full screen.

They all stared at the picture. It was Mr. Fox and another man on a beach.

“That's the captain of the crab trawler,” Vanessa said, pointing him out.

It wasn't exactly incriminating.

“Can you zoom in, Jack? There. See that thing Mr. Fox is holding? It's one of those GPS tracking things. I think he was selling it to the captain that day.”

“What was the name of the crab boat, Vanessa?” asked Lee.

“I don't know,” Vanessa wailed. “I can't believe I didn't notice and I never thought to ask the girl in Jo-Jo's. She was a bit odd, really. Not sure she would have told me anyway.” Vanessa stopped and blushed a little. She was straying off the point and everyone was looking at her.

The sound of the front door banging made them all jump. They could hear Wayne's voice chattering away but not the person he was with.

The door opened and Wayne sauntered in, followed closely by Mr. Fox, who looked mildly surprised but totally unfazed.

“We're just looking at some pictures of you, Eddie,” Lee said, cool and unsmiling.

Vanessa was surprised. She had never heard Lee call him anything other than Mr. Fox before.