Free The Pacific Giants by Jean Flitcroft

Columbia,” Ronan read out.
    â€œFantastic. And the sightings? Where has he been seen? In the sea along the west coast?” asked Vanessa.
    â€œNo. This monster lives in a big lake—Lake Okanagan.” Vanessa was puzzled. A lake?
    â€œIs Lake Okanagan on one of the gulf islands then?” she said.
    Ronan gave a loud, unpleasant snort of laughter, which seemed to be amplified by the thousands of miles between them. “You’re the one in Canada, aren’t you?” he retorted.
    â€œPlease, Ro. Just flick through the folder and see what towns are nearby. See if you can find a map.”
    She could hear him flipping through the pages. She imagined him sitting at the bottom of the stairs at home, the midnight blue carpet under his bare feet,the awful striped wallpaper in the hall that they had all wanted to change for years, but hadn’t, and probably never would now.
    â€œIt’s a large deep lake in the Okanagan Valley,” Ronan read. “Oh, here we go. It’s 240 miles east of Vancouver, a five-hour drive if you take the—”
    â€œBut that’s nowhere near the coast at all.”
    â€œWait, there’s a second file for Canada,” Ronan said eagerly. “The Sasquatch—a hairy beast that lives in the mountains!”
    â€œOh, I know about him,” Vanessa said dully. “OK, thanks for trying, Ro.”
    â€œThat’s it?” Ronan said. “You’re not going to tell me what this is all about?”
    Vanessa bit her lower lip. What should she say?
    â€œWhat exactly are those files of Mum’s, Vanessa?”
    â€œYou know what they are, Ronan. They’re Mum’s research into cryptids all over the world. Her monster stories, Luke used to call them. Remember?”
    â€œBut they were bedtime stories, Vanessa, weren’t they? Just stories she made up?” Ronan sounded puzzled.
    Vanessa felt a sudden wave of sadness wash over her. She missed her mum so much—her stories, thewonderful big bear hugs she gave, the frown she wore when she was concentrating, her infectious laugh, and the way she used to rub Vanessa’s feet when they watched TV together. She couldn’t say anything for a moment.
    â€œVanessa?” Ronan said when she didn’t answer.
    There was a sudden kerfuffle at Ronan’s end, people talking in the background, and then she heard her dad’s voice booming down the line.
    â€œOh, Nessa, how great to hear from you! You’ve been away far too long.”
    Vanessa laughed.
    â€œIt’s only been a few days, Dad.”
    â€œWell, the house just isn’t the same without you, love.” She could hear the warmth in his voice and pictured him beaming into the phone.
    â€œTell Lee that I’ve emailed her that information she wanted—just some legal stuff she asked me about,” he explained. “That was a bit tough for you yesterday, Vanessa,” her father added.
    Vanessa froze.
    â€œFinding the whale fin on the beach. Lee was upset that she’d brought you along.”
    Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. Of course hecouldn’t have known about the cryptid. Nobody did. Only her.
    â€œIt’s fine, Dad, honestly,” Vanessa said. “I’ve told Lee not to worry. I’m not a baby, you know.”
    â€œGood girl. That’s the spirit. That Wayne character behaving himself?” her father added sternly.
    Lee must have told her dad about Wayne and the pinching. She felt embarrassed now. What a fuss she had made!
    â€œHe’s no problem, Dad, honestly. He’s a year younger than Ronan—a baby, really.”
    A baby monster
, she felt like adding.

CHAPTER 20
    In the 1930s Archie Wills, the editor of the
Victoria Times
, ran a competition to name the creature. The name
Cadborosaurus
was picked because the early sightings were in Cadboro Bay and the Greek root “saurus” means lizard or reptile. After that the monster became