'Crap,' growled Anawak. 'Greywolf was only too happy to shoot his mouth off. I thought everyone heard it.'

On the other hand, had Ford been asked for an interview? Or Fenwick? Palm was an expert on orcas – had any news crews or reporters been in touch with him? And what about himself? It wasn't so long ago that Scientific American had cited him in an article on cetacean intelligence, but no one had come banging on his door.

Belatedly he was struck by the absurdity of it all. In any other circumstance – terrorist attacks, plane crashes or natural disasters – anyone resembling an expert was dragged in front of the cameras before the day was out.

Yet they were working steadily in silence.

Come to think of it, even Greywolf hadn't given vent to any outbursts since that interview in the paper. Until then he had seized every opportunity to push himself forward. The hero of Tofino had been dropped.

'That's a one-sided perspective,' Li said smoothly. 'Clearly we're in an extremely unusual predicament. Nothing like this has ever happened before. So of course we're anxious to prevent hordes of self-appointed experts jumping to conclusions. I mean, apart from anything else, we'd never be able to set the record straight. Besides, I don't see any threat we can't handle.'

'So you're saying it's under control?'

"That's certainly our goal.'

'Some people would say that you're failing.'

'In that case I'd like to know what they expect. The military is hardly going to attack the whales with warships and Black Hawks.'

'The number of casualties is rising by the day. The Canadian government has restricted the emergency zone to the coast of British Columbia-'

'The restrictions apply to pleasure-boats only. Ferries and freighters have not been affected.'

'The past few days have seen a spate of reports about missing vessels. Perhaps you could comment on that.'

'Let me make this quite clear. Those reports concern fishing-boats. Small motorboats,' said Li, in a tone of martyred patience. 'Every now and then a ship goes missing. We're looking into the incidents. Needless to say, we're doing everything we can to search for survivors. But in the meantime we shouldn't assume that every unexplained incident is the result of an attack. I hope people will see that.'

The interviewer adjusted his glasses. 'Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that a recent incident involving a freighter belonging to Inglewood, the Vancouver-based shipping line, resulted in the sinking of a tug.'

Li pressed her fingertips together. 'I assume you're referring to the Barrier Queen!

The interviewer looked briefly at his notes. 'That's right. There's very little information available on what actually happened.'

'Too right,' agreed Anawak. He'd forgotten to chase it up with Shoemaker since the crash.

'The Barrier Queen,' said Li, 'had a problem with her rudder. A tug sank during a botched attempt to fix a tow line.'

'Then if I understand you correctly it wasn't attacked. You see, according to my information-'

'Your information is obviously wrong.'

Anawak stiffened. What the hell was she talking about?

'All right, General, two days ago a Tofino Air seaplane crashed into the ocean. Could you tell us a little more about that?'

'A seaplane crashed. That's correct.'

'Reports suggest it collided with a whale.'

'The incident is under investigation. Please forgive me for not commenting on each individual case. My work is at a higher level, as I'm sure you'll understand.'

'Of course.' The interviewer nodded. 'Perhaps we should talk about your work, then. What exactly does your job entail? How would you describe the committee's brief? Presumably it's a case of responding to events…'

Li's face twitched. 'Emergency committees are there to act as well as react. We meet the situation head on, tackle it and see it through. Early detection, clear and comprehensive planning, prevention and evacuation are key to our success. But, as I mentioned before, we're on unfamiliar ground. So far, we haven't been as good at detecting and preventing incidents as we'd normally expect. Everything else is covered, though. You won't find a single boat out there in danger from the whales. Essential items of cargo from at-risk vessels are being diverted to nearby airports. Larger vessels are sailing under military escort. We're maintaining constant aerial surveillance and we're ploughing large sums of money into scientific research…'

'But you've ruled out military action.'

'We haven't ruled it out. We said it was unlikely.'

'Environmental groups are claiming that the change in the animals' behaviour is due to human intervention. Noise, toxic waste, shipping. . .'

'We're doing all we can to find out.'

'What progress has been made?'

'Let me spell this out clearly: until we're in a position to pass on concrete information, we refuse to engage in speculation. Nor will speculation be tolerated from any other quarter. Fishermen, industrialists, shipping lines, whale-watchers, pro-whaling activists and any other would-be vigilantes will be dealt with severely. This situation must not be allowed to escalate. When animals attack, it's because they're feeling threatened or they're ill. Either way, it would be foolish to use violence against them. We need to find out what's causing the problem so that we can deal with its symptoms. And until then we'll stay out of the water.'

'Thank you, General.' The newsreader turned to face the camera. 'That was General Commander Judith Li of the US Navy, who was recently appointed military chief of staff to the Allied Emergency Committee representing Canada and the United States. And now for today's other stories…'

Anawak turned down the volume and called Ford. 'Who the hell is Judith Li?' he asked.

'Oh, I haven't met her in person,' said Ford. 'She's always on the move, flying about the place.'

'I didn't know Canada and the US had formed a joint committee.'

'You can't know everything, Leon. You're a biologist, remember?'

'Have you talked to the press or anyone else about the attacks?'

'We had a number of media enquiries, but nothing ever came of them. The television people seemed keen to get you.'

'Why the hell didn't anyone-'

'Leon.' Ford sounded wearier than he had that morning. 'Li pulled the plug on it. It was probably for the best. The minute you start working for a state or military organisation, you're expected to keep your mouth shut. Anything you hear or do is classified.'

'So how come they let the two of us keep talking?'

'We're in the same boat.'

'But that general's talking crap! All that stuff about the Barrier Queen-'

'Leon,' Ford yawned, 'were you actually there when it happened?'

'Oh, don't you start.'

'I'm not. Like you, I don't doubt your Mr. Roberts was telling the truth about what happened. But think about it. First, there's an invasion of mussels – odd creatures, with no taxonomic history, covered in ominous gunk – then an assault by whales on a tow line. And that's your story. Plus there's that incident in the dock, with you getting slapped in the face, not to mention Fenwick and Oliviera finding more of the gunk in the whale brains. Now, do you fancy telling that to the public?'

Anawak was silent. 'So why can't I get in touch with Inglewood?' he asked.

'No idea.'

'You must know something. You're scientific adviser to the Canadian response team.'

'Exactly! Which is why I'm drowning in dossiers right now. For Christ's sake, Leon, I don't know. They're not letting on.'

'Inglewood and the response team are in the same boat.'

'Well, I'd love to discuss it further with you, Leon, but right now I've got those darned videos to deal with, and it's going to take longer than I thought. One of the guys is laid up in bed. Diarrhea, apparently. Perfect. There won't be anything for you to look at before tomorrow.'