Free Monster: Tale Loch Ness by Jeffrey Konvitz

Conservatives, and the Liberals."
    "Are you a member?"
    "No, but I'm a Nationalist. Everyone in Scotland is a Nationalist."
    "What does the party stand for?"
    "What do you think it stands for, Mr. Bruce? An independent Scotland! Scotland for the Scots!"
    "Makes sense."
    "Darn right it makes sense."
    Having finished his sandwich, he laid his plate on the coffee table. "How do these Nationalists feel about the oil companies?"
    "They don't like them much."
    "Why is that?"
    " 'Cause the oil companies bespoil the land. 'Cause they bring in foreign workers when it's the Scottish worker who should be in employ, and they take out Scottish oil and give it to the British government, which is controlled by the English. We get no benefit. Or almost none. The government in London bleeds Scotland dry, and when there's no oil left, it will let Scotland rot in the sun!"
    "You don't really believe that, do you?"
    Mrs. Munro was indignant. "Get a history book, Mr. Bruce. Read it! Then tell me whether I should believe it or not."
    "Would you think the Nationalists disliked the oil companies enough to try to sabotage their installations?"
    "I wouldn't know anything about that kind of thing, Mr. Bruce. I wouldn't even try to make a guess."
    "I have one more question."
    Mrs. Munro breathed deeply.
    "What is that, sir?"
    "Do you think the Loch Ness monster is a member of the Scottish Nationalist Party?"
    Mrs. Munro stopped in her tracks and shook her head incredulously. "Geminii hired me out to a crazy man. A loon. Mr. Bruce! Monsters don't join political parties. They don't vote. Even if they exist, they don't do such things."
    "Does it exist?" What a ridiculous question, he thought. Thank God Red hadn't heard it!
    "I don't know."
    "You must have an opinion."
    "I believe in goblins. There are goblins in the mountains."
    "That's very interesting. But I'm not asking about goblins. Just monsters. Does it exist?"
    She stared. Then nodded.
    "Thank you, Mrs. Munro," he said, walking out of the room.

Chapter 6
    The limousine glided quietly along the two-lane highway, heading east out of Inverness.
    William Whittenfeld sat in the back seat reviewing the contents of a folder—a pair of lists that Pierre Lefebre had given him that afternoon. A security man was perched next to the driver. A tape cassette played softly.
    Whittenfeld examined one list, then the other. The first contained the names of company opponents, the second the names of radical Scottish nationalist groups. In addition, there were detailed notes and recommendations as well as a special document, denoted important , describing the modus operandi of a group known to the authorities as the New Jacobite Coalition, a virulent nationalist organization that had broken away from the Scottish Nationalist Party several years before.
    Geminii had received three threatening letters from New Jacobite operatives within the last week, and although the Jacobites had historically confined their activities to the southern cantons of Scotland, the letters clearly indicated that the coalition had arrived in Inverness in force. An inquiry by Lefebre had uncovered evidence indicating that Jacobite operatives worked almost exclusively under the protective umbrellas of existing organizations—trade unions, merchant associations, business groups, and the like—but so far Lefebre had been unable to pinpoint the identity of any operatives, let alone the man who had written the letters. And a question certainly remained whether or not this group was involved in the Columbus conspiracy at all since Lefebre had uncovered no information as of yet creating an inference one way or the other.
    The group deserved watching.
    The limousine turned off the main road. Nearby, he could see the lights of the Inverness Airport. Beyond was the Inverness Firth. Ahead, the Culloden Moor.
    Whittenfeld placed the folder in an attaché case as the limousine swept between gate posts. Beyond the posts stood the Culloden House. It had