Jake expressed condolences for the loss of his son and the ships’ crews and gratitude for Romanos’s offer to help combat the threat. Jake broadly laid out what he’d learned about the highly sophisticated pirate operation and his search for the man who ran it all.

“Who is he?” asked the shipowner.

“We don’t know. The United States is hopeful that you might help us identify him.”

“Who?”

“The man atop the whole enterprise.”

Romanos said nothing.

“We’d like to assemble a list of who knew about the Lindos’s and the Rhodos’s routes before—”

Jake heard rapid footsteps behind him and turned to see a woman a few years older than himself. She was wearing a black silk blouse over white linen pants and her dark hair was pulled back tight.

She was stunning.

And she was furious.

“Who are you?” she snapped.

Jake stood to introduce himself, but the shipowner’s assistant was already there. She started firing off more questions before anyone could answer.

“Who is this?” she said. “What does he want?”

“Forgive me,” said the assistant. “He is from the U.S. State Department.”

“I’m with the Maritime Security Division,” Jake said. “Mr. Romanos contacted us several months ago and offered to assist with an investigation we’re conducting.”

“And you just let him in?” she said to the assistant.

“I thought it would be good for him—” The assistant glanced at Romanos.

“Let me see your identification.”

Jake handed over his State Department credentials. The cover story had been thoroughly backstopped and the information would be corroborated by State Department headquarters if anyone checked.

And she checked.

She pulled out a mobile phone and searched the internet for the State Department’s main number—not willing to trust the number printed on Jake’s ID. A ten-carat canary yellow diamond engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight as she held the phone to her ear and verified Jake’s employment.

“Come with me,” she said to Jake once she’d finished.

It was an order, not an invitation.

She led him back through the house to a home office.

Jake began to apologize. “I’m sorry if—”

“I am Athena Romanos. My father had a stroke four months ago and suffers from advanced vascular dementia. He is a kind and generous man, and many people have tried to take advantage of him since his stroke.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Romanos,” Jake said. “I didn’t know.”

“You should have known. What do you want?”

“Your father called—”

“I know about the call. I was the one who insisted he make it after my brother disappeared.”

“We were hoping your father could help with the investigation.”

“So the authorities are asking the victim to solve the crime?”

Jake didn’t appreciate the confrontational attitude.