Ann dropped the rock, and her jaw followed suit. “How could you have known that? I just received a copy of his autopsy report this morning. It confirms exactly that.”

“It was on account of Eberson’s condition. His extremities were bloated, and his skin was blistered and blackened. The bloating isn’t unusual in a drowning victim, but the blackened skin was odd. We found a dead sailor aboard the freighter in Chile who exhibited even more extreme characteristics. Chilean authorities say he died from thermal damage believed to be caused by microwave irradiation.”

“The same cause,” Ann said. “Eberson’s pathologist failed to identify a possible source of the irradiation. How could they have died in that manner?”

“Aside from falling asleep on a microwave antenna dish, it’s hard to say. I asked a number of my scientists and we came up with a weak yet possible theory.”

“I’d like to hear it.”

“There’s been a number of crowd-control devices fielded in the past few years that use microwave beams to lightly burn the skin of people in its path. Our Army has deployed one they call the Active Denial System, or ADS, often referred to as the ‘pain ray.’ The systems are not meant to be lethal, but we’ve learned that simple modifications could make them deadly.”

“Could they be used at sea?” Loren asked.

“They are currently truck-mounted, so they could easily be placed on the deck of a ship. The ADS system has a range of up to seven hundred meters. People inside a ship would be immune, but anyone on deck or accessible through a window, such as on the bridge, would be susceptible. A powerful enough design might even damage the communications systems. It’s also possible they might simply use it against a larger vessel as cover for an armed boarding party.”

“You think something like that was used on both vessels?” Ann asked.

“They could have used it to stun the crew of the Tasmanian Star to steal its monazite,” Pitt said, “and against the Cuttlefish to kill Heiland, Manny, and Eberson in order to steal the Sea Arrow test model.”

“They would have obtained the model directly from the Cuttlefish if Heiland hadn’t blown up the boat,” Ann said. “Any clue to the attacking vessel?”

“We’re searching, but haven’t found anything yet.”

“Then we don’t seem to be any closer to identifying who these people are.”

Pitt gave her a sly look. “On the contrary, I intend to find out within the week.”

“But you have no idea where to find them,” Loren said.

“Actually,” Pitt said, “I intend to let them find me. Just like baiting a trap with cheese to lure the mouse, only our cheese is a rock called monazite.”

He pulled a world map out of his coat pocket and spread it on the table.