“And we also know…” Should I tell him this? Yoshio wondered. Yes. Why not? “We also know that the crash of the flight was not an accident.”

Jack-san’s eyes narrowed. “A bomb? But nobody’s said anything about—”

“We have proof. Traces of explosive on what little floating debris we could find. We have chosen not to reveal what we know.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because we do not wish the people who planted the bomb to be aware of our knowledge, or that we have any involvement in this… situation.”

“You mean…?” Jack-san’s narrowed eyes widened now. “You’re telling me the plane was blown up because of Ronald Clayton?”

“We believe that to be true, yes.”

“But who? Why?”

“We have evidence that the bomber was Sam Baker, whom you have already met.”

“I have?”

“I believe you broke his nose last week.”

“Oh, him.” Jack-san nodded. “Sam Baker… he bomb the lawyer too?”

“Yes. He is employed by Iswid Nahr.”

“Who’s he?”

“It is not a person—it is an organization based in Saudi Arabia.”

“Ah,” Jack-san said, nodding. “And I’ll bet our friend Kemel is one of their top guns.”

“Gun? No, he is a middle-level member.”

“So what are they? Terrorists?”

“No, not at all. Iswid Nahr is an oil trade group.”

“Like OPEC.”

“Yes, but so very opposite. OPEC seeks to manage the flow of oil, tighten the spigot of production in order to secure price stabilization. Iswid Nahr wants to open that spigot wide. Its name translates as ‘Black River.’ It wishes Saudi Arabia to export oil at very maximum levels. Their thinking is that this will discourage development of foreign oil sources and keep the West—as well as my country—so very dependent on Middle East oil.”

“Oil guys?” Jack-san said. “What’s in this for them?”

“That is the question I was sent here to answer. Obviously Kemel Muhallal’s mission here is to secure the Clayton technology at any cost.”

“Obviously. But doesn’t that go against your theory that this Iswid whatever blew up Clayton’s plane?”

“I assure you that it is so very more than theory.”

“Yeah, but think about it: If Kemel wants this ‘technology,’ why would he and his group blow up the guy who invented it?”

“Perhaps because the inventor was intending to sell it to us instead of to them.”

Jack-san stared out the window. “Yeah, but to blow up a whole plane just to stop one man… two hundred forty-seven people dead…”

“Nearer to two hundred and sixty now,” Yoshio said. When Jack-san gave him a puzzled look, he added, “You must count the arsonist, the lawyer, and Miss Clayton’s first investigator. Also the pair that I removed at the Clayton house. Plus whoever you killed last night. Do you know how many?”