Cabyll-Uisge - Novella

Part 1

Sunlight glistened off the water with the reflection of the surrounding trees adding to the multi-colored surface. Wanda looked out over the calm surface and shook her head. She should be in her office working on her current projects. Instead, she was looking at a conundrum. What happened here? And why? Why she was there was still beyond her comprehension. She was hundreds of miles from her home looking at a riddle that wasn't very funny. Yes, she knew the why of physically being there, but the reason behind the why was still a mystery to her.

"What is the plan?"

The silence broken, she turned around to address the question of her assistant, Wendell. He had been her assistant for three years. She had never had anyone work with her that knew her so well. Bringing him with her only made sense. Having no clue what to do next made her even more grateful he came; he could be a great sounding board and a never ending pool of moral support.

"Touch base with the local authorities first."

He rolled his brown eyes. "That won't be hard. He's right behind me." Wendell pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

Her eyes moved past Wendell to the edge of the trees where a path led from the highway. Stepping out was a large man who had to have been related to the local bigfoots. His shoulders were three times the size of the average man. His face was symmetrically shaped with high cheekbones and perfect lips that pulled into a smile when his dark eyes met hers.

Wanda couldn't help but swallow hard. The man before her in a gray police uniform was perfect eye-candy.

"You must be, Dr. Yates." He held out his hand to her.

Wanda mentally screamed at herself and forced her mind to get back into academic mode. She had to be professional here. Getting doe eyed at the man wouldn't help her solve the mystery.

"Yes, and you are Officer Goodwin?" Her hand was lost in his. A chill ran up her arm.

"Yes, ma'am. Got your message day before yesterday. Decided just to meet you out here."

She gave him a polite smile. "Thank you. You could have sent a deputy."

"No deputies. Just me."

"Only one of you?" She raised one eyebrow.

"Yes. With a town of only three hundred, not much need for more than me. If we need more help, I let the county sheriff get a piece of the action." He walked toward the edge of the water and looked around. With his foot, he kicked a pebble. "You folks think something happened here?"

Wanda's fascination with the man quickly turned to irritation. Being questioned was something that always plucked at her nerves. "All I know is that two of our people came here to do some research and they haven't been heard from since."

"Probably headed out when they were done."

Wendell gave her a warning glance she ignored as she turned to face the officer. Anger was quickly taking over. Wendell had seen it before and knew what was coming. Good looking or not, the man was questioning her sensibility. "They never reported in at any time after their initial arrival. Standard protocol of the institute is to have them report every evening with the status of the day."

"Why were they here in the first place? And what company do you work for?"

She put her hands on her hips. "I thought they stopped by your office when they got into town."

Goodwin turned with a smile. "Yes, but I'd like to hear what you have to say about their assignment."

With a long look, Wanda answered, "We work for Sloan Scientific Research, focusing on anomalies in nature. We investigate the cause and then work with partners to see how, as a society, we can benefit from it. There have been several reports of strange incidents here. We were checking into it while taking water samples and pictures." Working at Sloan for the past six years, she had moved up to Director of Projects and was able to assemble her own team. It was part of that team she was looking for. When she left the small town, she expected to have them with her.