“Sure,” Splinter said. “We’ve got nothing to hide.”
Peel nodded to Child, who got up and left the room. They sat there looking at each other, not speaking. Five minutes. Ten. After twenty minutes of silence, Child reentered the room with a blonde female police officer who looked put-out. She took a seat at the end of the table and pulled out her pen with a flourish, and sighed. The cop said, “Before we start, can I have a word with you in private, Ms. Brisbee?”
Lenah looked at Splinter and Will. “Whatever you have to say you can say in front of them,” she said.
The cop sighed. A long, exasperated sigh that said people are so stupid it hurts my head. “Your call,” she said. “Ms. Brisbee are you, or have you at any point, been held against your will?”
“No, ma’am,” Lenah said.
The cop looked at Splinter, who stared right back at her.
“We were concerned you were an unwilling participant,” the cop said.
“Nope. Just dumb, I guess.”
The officer said nothing.
“Could you start again. From the beginning?” Peel asked.
It was Splinter’s turn to sigh, but he told it all again, from first to last, pausing so the cop and Child could take notes on their forms. When Splinter finished, the cop said, “Why didn’t you come in right away?”
“We kinda did,” Lenah said.
“You kind of didn’t,” said the officer. Her nameplate read Bostic.
“Did you miss hearing and reading comprehension day at the academy?” Splinter said.
Bostic’s cheeks turned red, but she said nothing.
“I explained that to you. We were trying to get proof, but things didn’t go as planned,” Splinter said.
“And they’re here now. What’s the problem?” Will said.
“The problem is your story is nuts. Crazy,” said Peel. “You have any proof? A picture? Anything?”
Splinter, Will and Lenah exchanged glances.
“Didn’t think so,” Peel said. He gathered his papers, preparing to leave.
“Which is exactly why we didn’t rush in,” Lenah said.
“What changed?” asked Child.
“We’ve got this,” Splinter said. He handed a piece of paper with the dart frequency on it to Peel.
“And this is?” he said.
“The tracking signal for a dart I put in the thing’s ass,” Splinter said.
“Really,” Peel said. He leaned back and brushed lint off his pants. His patent leather shoes were dull, unlike Child’s which might laser a hole in the wall if they reflected the sun just right.
“Really,” Splinter said.
Peel handed Child the paper and without a word the young coastie left the room.
Peel said, “Did you know another piece of the missing child washed-up in Faber Cove? You’ve been seen over there recently.”
Splinter said nothing.
Bostic shifted uneasily. “Where were you the night of—”
“Excuse me?” Splinter said. “Are you implying I had something to do with the boy’s death?”
“Not implying. Just asking questions, and let’s face it, you’re not exactly a high character witness,” the cop said.
Will coughed, and Lenah looked his way, but the fog was rising, the anger taking over. “What the fuck do you know about it, flatfoot?”
“I could arrest you right now and bring you downtown for fleeing the scene of a crime,” the officer said.
“You and what army?” Splinter said.
Her hand dropped to her gun, and Peel said, “Officer Bostic, is that really necessary?”
She took her hand off her sidearm, but didn’t take her eyes off Splinter.
Anger rose in him. All he’d done was try and help, and what did he get in return? Suspicion and disrespect. Just like the cop on the beach.
“What we've got here is a failure to communicate,” Splinter said.
Lenah chuckled.
“Aren’t you guys cute. Cool Hand Luke. Good flick, but can we get serious here?” said Peel.
An awkward silence ensued as they looked at each other, everyone unsure how to proceed.
The door opened, and Child entered, taking his seat next to Peel and whispering in his ear.
“It’s not nice to tell secrets. Especially with people sitting in the room,” Splinter said.
“No secret,” Peel said. “They got a faint signal from your tracking dart. We were able to boost the signal and run it through the computer. It’s about seven miles off shore, in a hundred feet of water and it isn’t moving.”
“Been in the same spot for the last ten minutes, and if your description is accurate, I’d say the tracker isn’t on your… fish,” Child said.
Lenah’s chin fell to her chest and Will sighed.
“Damn,” Splinter said. “I know I hit it.”
“Must have fallen out. You know how tough the thing’s hide looked,” Will said.
Officer Bostic chuckled.
“Something funny?” Will asked.
The cop said nothing.
“I’m retired PD, officer. Chief Hanley is my golf buddy, so before you do or say something that gets your ass busted down to crossing guard, perhaps we should split up this party,” Will said. “Do you have any more questions for us?”
Bostic started to speak but her radio went off. She snapped it from her belt and put it to her ear, but it was so loud everyone in the room heard the call.
There had been a crocodile attack at Blue Hole Creek, and a young girl had been killed.
Bostic bounced up from her seat and tossed a card at Lenah. “Don’t leave town. After my sergeant looks at these statements, we’ll be in touch for a follow up.” She shuffled out of the room.
Peel said, “That was pleasant. I need to get out of here. Want to take a ride over to the croc attack scene? See what’s what over there? It could be your monster.”
“We’d already know if it was. The report wouldn’t have said crocodile,” Splinter said. “In fact, there’d probably be no report at all.”
Peel smiled like he was humoring a toddler.
27
The twenty-two-foot SAFE boat with twin 150HP Honda outboards skimmed across the bay, the bow lifting and falling as it cut through the light chop. Half the sun sat on the horizon and Splinter felt like he hadn’t slept in days. He was dead on his feet and he didn’t know how much longer he could go. Lenah didn’t look much better. After their field trip they had to rest.
Mangroves lined the shoreline as Peel piloted the SAFE boat through narrow channels. Blue Hole Creek wasn’t far, and they’d be there in a matter of minutes. Splinter couldn’t shake the feeling that Peel had brought them for a reason because the Coast Guard typically didn’t make a habit of toting around civilians.
Splinter said, “So why’d you really want us here?”
Peel chuckled. “You think I have an ulterior motive?”
“Don’t know, but I follow the soldier’s most basic rule: never volunteer. For anything.”
Peel laughed again. “How do I know you never followed that rule?”
Splinter said nothing.
They hit a big wake from a fishing trawler and the SAFE boat skipped and bounced over the chop. Splinter gripped the command console to keep his balance.
“I know you didn’t follow that rule because I know who you are,” Peel said. He pushed down on the throttle and motors whined and the boat picked up speed.
“That’s cosmic. Who am I? I’d really like to know,” Splinter said.
“I made some calls when I saw you on the news. My gut told me we’d meet at some point. Not sure why, but here you are,” Peel said.
Lenah’s brow furrowed, and Will shifted his weight from foot to foot. Splinter said nothing.
“And why are we here?” Will asked.
“There’s someone I want you to meet. He’ll probably be at the scene.”
“Who?” Lenah said.
“Not for
me to say really, and actually, I don’t know,” Peel said.
“You want us to meet the guy, but you’re not sure who he is?” Splinter said.
Now it was Peel’s turn to say nothing.
Peel arced the SAFE boat right around an outcrop of mangroves and entered Blue Hole Creek. Avalon State Park stretched to the east, and beyond, the sound of crashing waves sounded over the dunes. Two police boats, a harbor patrol boat, and a coastie SAFE boat clogged the creek, and several men and women stood on the shoreline standing around a circle of red plastic flags. Peel piloted the boat past the clog of boats and further into the creek, where he spun the wheel and pulled back on the throttle as the SAFE boat crunched onto a rocky beach.
Peel jumped from the boat followed by Splinter and the others, and they crossed the beach to meet the group of uniformed men and women. When they got to the knot of people, Peel said, “How goes it?”
A coastie in a dark blue work uniform broke off from the group and briefed them. “How’s it look?” the coastie said to his superior officer.
In the center of the red flags lay a blue tarp covering the body, and to the side the corpse of the biggest crocodile Splinter had ever seen lay baking in the sun. Easily fifteen feet long, the giant croc’s mouth was open in death, huge teeth covered in blood filling the gaping maw.
“You got the thing?” Will said.
The coastie looked away, but said, “So says harbor patrol.”
“And you believe them? How could they know this was the one without an autopsy? Did they see this exact croc attack whoever’s under that tarp?” Peel said.
“No, and no,” said the young coastie. He had dark hair and brown eyes, and his nameplate read Higgins.
“Doesn’t matter,” said Peel. “What worries me is these creatures don’t normally attack without provocation.”
“I’m telling you,” Splinter said. “Whatever is out there is causing all marine species in the area to be aggressive.”
“And you know that how?” Peel said.
“Open your eyes and look around,” said a voice from over Splinter’s shoulder. He turned to see a man standing on the beach. He wore a blue suit with a red tie and fancy shoes caked with mud.
“You are?” Will said.
“This is who I wanted you to meet,” Peel said.
“Indeed,” said the stranger. “Mind if they come with me back to the mainland?”
“Not at all,” Peel said. He turned to Splinter and the others and said, “You know where I am.” Then he walked away.
“Come with me, please,” the man said.
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell us who you are and what you want,” Will said.
“Easy Officer Dodge, I’m not the boogie man or the enemy.”
“Then who are you?” Splinter said.
The man sighed. “Name’s Harry Silva. I work for the government.”
“In what capacity?” Splinter said.
“Let’s just say I investigate abnormalities,” Silva said.
“What agency are you with?” Lenah asked.
“All of them,” Silva said.
They’d arrived at his boat, which was a gray Navy patrol boat with a large harpoon gun mounted in the bow.
“You going whaling?” Will said.
“Hardly,” Silva said.
One by one they boarded Silva’s boat and he directed them into the pilothouse where they took seats around a table.
“I suppose you’ve figured out why I wanted to talk to you?” Silva said.
“Our monster?” Lenah said.
“Yes,” Silva said.
“What do you know of it?” Splinter said.
“More than you, I think, though I’ve only seen the creature once from a distance,” Silva said.
Splinter jerked forward in his seat. “You’ve seen it? You believe us?”
“I have, and I do,” he said.
“Then why isn’t the ocean crawling with Navy and Coast Guard? Peel pretended he had no idea what we were talking about,” Will said.
“He doesn’t believe, I don’t think. Would you believe if you hadn’t seen the beast? I didn’t. I believe in what I can see, taste, touch, or smell. Photos can be doctored, evidence faked,” Silva said. “Plus, Florida’s economy depends on tourism and fishing. If I created a panic with no plan on how to find the beast, what good would that do?”
“So you just ignore it?” Splinter said.
“You have to remember the ocean is a big place.”
“You know what the thing is?” Lenah asked.
“Not exactly,” Silva said. He reached behind him and took a brown envelope from a shelf. He undid the metal clasp and pulled out a short stack of photos. He laid them on the table before him and Lenah gasped. “Yes, impressive, isn’t it?”
The pictures were of the creature.
“What you’re looking at are pictures of what appears to be an extinct order of reptile known as pliosaurs. There were two major subspecies that we know of, each having a different size neck and tail. This particular creature doesn’t fit any mold we know of, but it appears to be a mutant kronosaurus, the biggest known sub species of pliosaurs. Somewhere along the line crocodiles, or some other similar reptile species, mixed and evolved with a distant relative of the prehistoric beast. Kronosaurus were considered the lions of the sea at one point and were in direct competition with another ancient sea creature you may have heard of, megalodon. These apex predators date back to the early Cretaceous, over one hundred million years ago.”
Will and Splinter exchanged glances.
Silva said, “I see you’ve heard some of this?”
“Not really,” Will said. “But we did gather some information and make some wild guesses.”
“Your beast is similar to the kronosaurus in that it has a large flat head with a tail that ends in a caudal fin, which the creature uses to swim. The jaw muscles are very strong, and its teeth are sharp, razor edged needle cones with a slight curve protruding from a long jaw like a modern-day crocodile. These beasts were larger and stronger than the kings of the land, including tyrannosaurus-rex, and until megalodon came along they ruled the seas. Here, look for yourself.”
Silva shuffled the pictures, putting a shot of the creature taken from above. A satellite photo, Splinter thought.
Silva pointed at the head and said, “See these two holes? It’s hard to see in these pictures, but those are the creature’s eye sockets. A full grown kronosaurus head was flat-topped with powerful jaws, and each upper and lower jaw contained twenty-five to thirty teeth.”
The pilothouse fell silent.
“Its body is sleek, but its hide is somewhat rough like a croc’s on its back, but smooth along its sides and underbelly. Its body ends with a powerful tail,” Silva said.
“Sounds like our boy, except for the tail. Our creature has a long tail like a croc,” Will said.
“Like I said, I think we’re dealing with a mutant of some type, not an actual kronosaurus, and there could be different types out there,” Silva said. “Kronosaurus was believed to be a very fast swimmer, so catching a glimpse of it would be hard.”
“How old do you think this thing is and where the hell has it been hiding?” Lenah said.
“Don’t know, but however old it is the beast shows clear anatomical adaptations that make it different from any animal ever cataloged,” Silva said.
Silva sifted through the photos until he got to a sideview that was taken from a submarine cruising on the surface. In the foreground the metal deck of the sub could be seen, and the creature ran alongside it.
“Again, it’s hard to see, but look closely there and you’ll see what appear to be gill slits,” Silva said.
Splinter said, “No doubt. I saw gills as well. How can that be?”
“This creature has adapted to its environment. Not to be corny and quote Jeff Goldblum, but life found a way, and mutations most likely took place over thousands of years and many generations as the
se beasts lived in the depths out in the sea trenches and rift valleys,” Silva said. “The dinosaurs went out with a bang, but prehistoric reptiles hung on much longer, and their extinction was more gradual due to a steady decline of sea temperatures.”
“But if this thing is part croc, how can it live in the depths without sunlight? Don’t reptiles need sunlight?” Lenah asked.
“They do, but the hydrothermal vents at the deepest parts of the seas are believed to provide chemicals, bacteria, and these creatures may rely on chemosynthesis, not photosynthesis,” Silva said.
“You believe all this? That these creatures have been living at the bottom of the sea for thousands of years?” Will said.
“I believe in what I can see, smell, touch, and hear. What do you believe?” Silva said.
Splinter said nothing.
“Tell me your story. Leave out no details,” Silva said.
So once again Splinter told the tale, Silva nodding his head, and Lenah and Will occasionally making an addition or correction.
“I agree about the tsunami. It’s just too much of a coincidence that the creature showed up right after,” Silva said.
“And all the fish?” Lenah said.
“Indeed. All connected,” Silva said.
“This all sounds impossible,” Will said.
“But it’s not. The extinction event that killed the dinosaurs changed the planet dramatically, and suddenly kronosaurus would have been searching for warm water, and headed into the deeper, warmer parts of the world’s oceans, where superheated water from hydrothermal vents warm the ocean to the point where the kronosaurus could survive and maintain its body heat.”
“That’s some pretty thin shit,” Will said.
“Maybe. How do you explain what you saw?”
Nobody spoke. Waves lapped against the hull, seagulls squawked, and wind whistled through the open hatch.
“The question is, what do you plan to do about it?” Will said.
Silva put another picture on top of the pile. It was a cellphone camera shot of the tsunami as it came over the water toward the shoreline. In its center was a set of huge jaws, revealing rows of teeth.
“So far I haven’t rung the panic bell. It’s a shame you were unable to tag the beast. That would have been a big help.”
“What now?” Lenah said.
Shadow Of The Abyss Page 17