"Are you Dirk Pitt?"

"Yes, and you're . . . ?"

"Kelly Egan. I'm so sorry to have caused you-"

"No trouble at all," he interrupted. He motioned to a desk with a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of milk. "Not exactly a gourmet dinner, but about the best the cook could do with what's left of our food supply." He held up a woman's blouse and shorts. "One of our scientists guessed at your size and kindly loaned some clothes. Eat and then take a shower. I'll come back in half an hour. Then we'll talk."

When Pitt returned, Kelly had showered and already finished off a pile of ham-and-cheese sandwiches. The pitcher of milk was all but drained, too. He sat down in a chair opposite her. "Feeling like you belong to the human race again?"

She smiled and nodded, looking like a schoolgirl who had been caught at mischief. "You must be wondering why I didn't leave the ship?"

"The thought crossed my mind."

"I was afraid."

"Of what? The man who attacked you and your father? I'm happy to report that he joined the other victims of the ship who drowned."

"There was another one," she said hesitantly. "A ship's officer. He seemed to be an accomplice of the red-haired man who tried to kill me. Together, they attempted to steal my father's case, and I believe they meant to murder him. But something went wrong during the struggle, and all they succeeded in doing was push him over the railing into the water-"

"Taking the case with him," Pitt said, finishing the sentence.

"Yes." Tears came to Kelly's eyes as she relived her father's death. Pitt reached in a pocket and handed her a handkerchief. After wiping the tears, she stared at the cloth. "I didn't think men carried these anymore. I thought everyone used tissue."

"I come from the old school," he said quietly. "You never know when you may encounter a blue lady."

She gave him a very strange look and smiled faintly. "I haven't met anyone quite like you."

"My type has never developed a herd instinct." He returned to the subject at hand. "Can you describe this officer?"

"Yes, he was a tall black man, African-American I suppose, since the ship belonged to a domestic shipping line and most of the crew were from the United States."

"Odd that they waited until a ship's fire to make their move."

"It wasn't the first time Dad was harassed," she said angrily. "He told me of being threatened on several different occasions."

"So what is so important that your father had to die for it?" said Pitt, gesturing at the case sitting on the deck at her feet.

"My father is"-she paused-"was Dr. Elmore Egan, a brilliant man. He was both a mechanical and a chemical engineer."

"I'm aware of the name," said Pitt. "Dr. Egan was a widely respected inventor, wasn't he? The creator of several different types of water propulsion engines? As I recall, he also formulated a highly efficient diesel fuel that is widely used in the transportation industry."