Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith

techniques paleontologists used.
    Henry realized the scientist was brilliant on his subject. He really knew what he was talking about. An interesting human being. Impressive. He was beginning to respect the man as much as he liked him.
    As they lingered in the kitchen, drank coffee and talked, Henry learned more about the scientist himself. He was thirty-three, not much younger as Henry had thought. Out of college for years, he’d worked other places and had traveled to digs on different continents; as he’d said, he’d been working at John Day’s for two years. He wasn’t married, or engaged, or involved with anyone at the moment. Had lofty goals to be a director at John Day’s and to eventually lead the most prestigious paleontological expeditions around the world. He knew what he wanted. But underneath, Henry sensed a basic loneliness, underlying everything the young man said or did. It was an invisible shadow, but there.
    Henry began to look at Justin differently. He was an intelligent man who lacked the knack of making close friends. He’d known men like that, mostly cops.
    God, he contemplated more than once, if only his daughter had fallen in love with an ambitious man like Justin instead of that jerk Chad.
    They were still gabbing when Ann got home from work. Henry introduced Justin and was pleased when his wife seemed to take an instant shine to the scientist. Before Henry knew it, she’d invited him to supper. Then he recalled that Laura and Phoebe were coming, too.
    What a conniving woman he’d married.
    ***
    “So I’m going down there tomorrow sometime and talk to the old man about what he was supposed to have seen.” Ann had been retelling the story about Sam Cutler and the mysterious water creature he’d claimed had rammed his boat.
    Like Zeke, Henry knew Sam Cutler, too. He’d gone out on Sam’s boat with tour groups, many times. Sam was a good guy, but spun a lot of tall stories and exaggerated things somewhat. His boat’s compartments were stuffed full of tattered science fiction paperbacks. The old codger had a heck of an imagination.
    “Do you believe he saw a monster in the water?” Henry asked softly.
    “How do I know, honey? I haven’t talked to him yet.”
    He glanced at Justin, whose interest was captured. He had this feverish glaze in his eyes.
    To Henry, as well, the tale seemed to have an uncanny coincidence. Why now, of all times, were people reporting these sightings in the lake? Unless…. No, it had to be someone’s idea of a practical joke. How many could be in on it? One person could have created the tracks, another mutilated the animal carcasses and another was swimming around in the lake in a monster suit? The thing that baffled him was why would anyone want to go through that much trouble? For attention? Publicity? He couldn’t guess.
    But he sure as hell didn’t believe it was a real monster.
    “By the way,” Ann turned to catch Justin’s eye, “have you already told the place you work for about the bones up near the rim?”
    Justin pulled his eyes away from Laura long enough to answer, “Ah, not yet. In a few days, perhaps. There’s no hurry. Truth is, I want to keep the discovery to myself for a while, before the crowd arrives. Once I let my colleagues know, there’ll be a whole flock of scientists here.”
    Ann hadn’t noticed her husband had fallen silent since she’d mentioned Sam Cutler’s story. She was too busy observing Justin’s reaction to Laura, and vice-versa.
    All evening the young man had been watching her daughter closely, smiling at her and engaging her in conversation. The repartee between the two appeared natural and unforced from the first minute they’d laid eyes on each other. Usually Laura was withdrawn and uncommunicative, but not with Justin. After an hour or so the two were talking up a storm and Laura seemed happier than she’d been in months. She was excited about going back to school, confided the situation to Justin, and he