The lighted torch flew over Pitt’s back and landed in the sand. The man’s expression went from shock to pain and terror. His face congested and flushed crimson as he was thrown backward and collapsed. Pitt quickly knelt over him and searched his pockets. There was nothing, no weapons, no identification. Not even a few loose coins or a comb.

“Who sent you, pal?” Pitt demanded, grabbing the man by the neck and shaking him like a Doberman with a rat.

The reaction was not what Pitt expected. Through the torment and agony; the man gave Pitt a sinister stare-a stare, Pitt thought, curiously like a man who had gotten the last laugh. Then the dark-skinned man grinned, showing a set of white teeth with one missing. His jaw dropped open slightly, and then appeared to clamp down. Too late Pitt realized that his adversary had bitten into a lethal rubbercoated cyanide pill. It had been concealed in the man’s mouth as a false tooth.

Foam seeped from the man’s lips. The poisonous pill was very powerful and death came quickly. Pitt and Eva watched helplessly as the strength melted from the man’s body. The eyes remained open, blank and glazed in death.

“Is he—?” Eva broke off and then tried again. “Is he dead?”

“I think it’s safe to say he’s expired,” Pitt said without a shred of remorse.

Eva held Pitt’s arm for support. Her hands felt cold under the African heat and she was shivering from shock. Her eyes were stricken. She had never watched anyone die before. She began to feel sick but somehow managed to control her stomach.

“But why kill himself?” she murmured. “For what purpose?”

To protect others connected with your failed murder attempt,” Pitt answered.

“He’d willingly take his own life to remain silent?” she asked with disbelief.

“A loyal fanatic to his boss,” Pitt said quietly. “I suspect that if he hadn’t taken cyanide on his own, he’d have had help.”

Eva shook her head. “This is insane. You’re talking a conspiracy.”

“Face facts, lady, someone went to a lot of trouble to eliminate you.” Pitt stared at Eva. She looked like a small girl who was lost in a department store. “You have an enemy who doesn’t want you in Africa, and if you expect to go on living, I suggest you take the next plane back to the States.”

She looked dazed. “No, not while people are dying.”

“You’re tough to convince,” he said.

“Put yourself in my place.”

“Better yet, your colleagues’ shoes. They may be on a hit list too. We’d better get back to Cairo and warn them. If any of this is tied to your research and investigation, their lives are also in danger.”

Eva looked down at the dead man. “What do you intend to do with him?”

Pitt shrugged. “Throw him in the Med with his friends.” Then a devilish smile rode his craggy face. “I’d love to see the face of their ringleader when he learns his assassins have gone missing without a trace and you’re still walking around as if nothing happened.”