The Loch Ness Legacy by Boyd Morrison

he was on his way back. He should be here later this afternoon.”
    “Mmmm,” was all Grant said. If Tyler hadn’t revealed the real danger just yet, then Grant wasn’t going to either. “How long have you been in town?”
    “A couple of days. I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.”
    “How so?”
    “Well, first of all I wanted to make sure Tyler was taking care of himself. You know him. Always ready to get back into action before he should. I was worried he was staying in France to head up Gordian’s part in the investigation.”
    “Uh, no,” Grant said, “he thought it would be better to relax there before taking the long flight home.”
    “Right,” Alexa said, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “And then he flies straight to California?”
    “Important business. But he promised to ease up for a couple of weeks once he gets back.” Grant took another swig. “So what’s the other bird?”
    “I was supposed to meet with a man who lives here. André Laroche. Do you know him?”
    Although Tyler had told him over the phone about Laroche’s potential involvement with the Eiffel Tower, it was another piece of info he’d let Tyler reveal to her. “The name’s familiar.”
    Alexa leaned back and put her feet up on the coffee table. “He’s a timber millionaire. Owns a huge mansion on Mercer Island. You guys know some of the Microsoft and Amazon billionaires, so I thought you might have run across him. I had a meeting planned with him, but his assistant called to say he wasn’t available all of a sudden.”
    “Did she say why?”
    “No, and that’s unusual. Marlo is always a sweetie, but she was very curt about it.”
    “What were you supposed to be meeting about?”
    “He hired me about a year ago. I’m back because of a video I shot this past April.”
    “What video?”
    Alexa rolled her eyes. “Tyler hasn’t told you? What a shocker. He’s probably embarrassed.”
    “He never mentioned it, but I doubt it’s because he’s embarrassed.”
    “I’m the laughing stock of the scientific community. I’m embarrassed, why shouldn’t he be?”
    “About what?”
    “About the Loch Ness video. Surely you saw it online sometime in the last week.”
    Grant shrugged. “I’d only consume the news if I could take it in pill form.”
    “Too depressing?”
    “Nothing I can do about it. I figure if it’s important, someone will tell me.”
    “Well, I’ve got something to tell you. Better yet, I’ll show you.”
    Alexa hopped up and scampered across the floor on her toes. She returned moments later carrying a laptop and plopped herself down next to him.
    “Boy, you do smell. I’ll live, but we’ll have to get you into a shower soon.” She opened the laptop and clicked on the browser, bringing up a YouTube page titled, Loch Ness Monster Discovered?
    Grant could see a few comments underneath. “Fake!” the first said. The second said, “Spielberg has nothing to worry about.” The one below that, “How do we even know that’s Loch Ness?” It already had over three hundred thousand views.
    “The Loch Ness monster? You found the Loch Ness monster?”
    “That’s what Laroche thinks.”
    “And you posted this online?” he asked.
    “Are you kidding? Without any other evidence? I have a Ph.D. in biology and I’m hoping to get a teaching position somewhere. Do you think it would really help my case to become known as a Nessie hunter?”
    Grant understood. Even with a degree from a prestigious university like Northwestern, she would be hard-pressed to find a position if she had a reputation as a crank.
    “Then how did the video get online?”
    “I’m guessing my colleague posted it.”
    “Who’s that?”
    Alexa burbled out a breath between her lips. “Mike Dillman, a videographer who was with me at the loch that day. It was supposed to be a short-term gig. I didn’t really think anything would come of it, but it was a lot of money and would tide me over while I was writing