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Zen-like perspective on things.”
    “You should take some time off. That will give you loads of perspective.”
    “I’m not giving up, Melis.”
    “Neither am I. My Zen only goes so far. Marinth may be over four thousand years old, but I want to find out all her secrets in my lifetime. But it doesn’t hurt to stop and take a breath . . . or a vacation.”
    “I’ve never been good at vacations.”
    “Take one. Go someplace frivolous. It’s been a difficult time for you, Hannah. Your brother’s only been gone two months, and you haven’t properly grieved for him.”
    “I’ve grieved for him. I grieve for him every day of my life.” Hannah looked down. “Because I can’t bury myself in my work to forget when he was my right hand on these kinds of jobs.” She smiled faintly. “He was looking forward to coming with me on this one.”
    “I was looking forward to seeing him. Conner was a good man.”
    “Yes, he was.”
    “You don’t blame yourself, do you?”
    Hannah was surprised at the bluntness of the question, but then again, Melis had never been one to hold back. “No. Even though it happened on one of my jobs.”
    “You were supervising the retrofit of an old Russian nuclear submarine for a U.S. museum exhibit, right?”
    Hannah nodded. “I’m sure you heard all about it. There was a lot of history connected to the sub that we didn’t know about. It seems that there were men who were willing to kill to find what was aboard that sub. If I had been inside Silent Thunder that night, I wouldn’t be here now either.”
    “All the men responsible are now dead?”
    “Yes. It didn’t bring Conner back, but it’s a relief to know they won’t hurt anyone ever again.”
    Pete and Susie broke the water’s surface near them, playfully clicking and chattering.
    Hannah looked at the dolphins and smiled. “They always know when someone needs cheering up, don’t they?”
    “As much as I’d like to give them credit for that, this time your Mr. Daley would be right if he said they probably just wanted a snack.” She picked up a plastic bucket of salmon and held it up toward Hannah. “Would you like to do the honors?”
    “Sure.” Hannah took two of the fish and tossed them out to Pete and Susie, who immediately devoured their treats.
    Melis put down the bucket. “While I’m probing you on subjects you would rather not discuss, what about Kirov?”
    “You’re right. I’d rather not discuss it.”
    “Tough. I’ve been holding back my curiosity on all this for the past two months. Now I want some answers.”
    Hannah sighed resignedly. Of course Melis wasn’t going to let her off the hook. “Okay, what answers?”
    “Well, I know that someone named Kirov who had a connection to you signed on for this project as a security chief, but he never showed up.”
    She shrugged. “Then you know as much as I do. Kirov has intelligence-agency contacts, and they used their influence with AquaCorp to get him the gig.”
    “Then why didn’t he show up?”
    “I have no idea. He hasn’t been in touch with me.”
    “Wonderful. I see that your taste in men hasn’t improved since your divorce.” Melis glanced at the deck of the Copernicus, where Hannah’s team was still working with the minisub. “Okay. We’ll forget about him. What about Matthew? He absolutely adores you, you know.”
    “Matthew? Are you serious? He has women falling for him in every port city in the world.”
    “But he doesn’t fall for any of them. At least, not the way he does for you. He acts like a schoolboy whenever you’re around him. A schoolboy who speaks with an incredibly charming Australian accent. And one who happens to be ripped. I’ve been sitting here hoping he’ll take his shirt off, but I don’t think it’s happening.”
    “Maybe you’re the one who needs to hook up with him.”
    “Not an option. I already have the perfect man. At least, the perfect man for me. Jed is everything I want or need. Matthew is