DAY 17. AT SEA. AFTERNOON.
Few passengers looked at the tall, white bearded man who sat smoking beside the railing on the outside deck. Those who noticed his unkempt appearance, grey complexion, and nicotine stained fingers, perhaps assumed that he suffered from a hangover after the festivities of the previous night. There was little tolerance for smokers among the other passengers, and they were corralled into this one open area, where their noxious fumes could float out to sea.
After lunch, SuTseng coaxed Martin into talking with Meredith, and the three of them sat at a small table with cold drinks. The humidity was oppressive. Close by, Timmy splashed repetitively in the shallow end of the pool, staring into the distance. Meredith’s gaze kept returning to him. On an impulse Martin ros
