 How did Pembroke get to Puerto Pacifico?
Frank Pembroke sat behind the desk of his shabby little office over Lemark's Liquors in downtown Los Angeles and waited for his first customer. "Good day, sir," said Pembroke with an amiable smile. Opening the desk drawer, which was almost empty, Pembroke removed an automatic pistol fitted with a silencer. The series of events leading up to Pembroke's present occupation had commenced on a dismal, overcast evening in the South Pacific a year earlier. Bound for Sydney, two days out of Valparaiso, the Colombian tramp steamer Elena Mia had encountered a dense greenish fog which seemed vaguely redolent of citrus trees. Standing on the forward deck, Pembroke was one of the first to perceive the peculiar odor and to spot the immense gray hulk wallowing in the murky distance. Then the explosion had come, from far below the waterline, and the decks were awash with frantic crewmen, officers, and the handful of passengers. Only two lifeboats were launched before the Elena Mia went down. Pembroke came as close to being a professional adventurer as one can in these days of regimented travel, organized peril, and political restriction. He had made for himself a substantial fortune through speculation in a great variety of properties, real and otherwise. Life had given him much and demanded little, which was perhaps the reason for his restiveness. Loyalty to person or to people was a trait Pembroke had never recognized in himself, nor had it ever been expected of him. Lacking such loyalties, Pembroke adapted quickly to the situation in which he found himself when he regained consciousness. He awoke in a small room in what appeared to be a typical modern American hotel. The wallet in his pocket contained exactly what it should, approximately three hundred dollars. His situation could have been any small western American seacoast city. In his full-gaited walk, he was soon approaching the beach. One in particular, an attractive woman of about thirty, tossed back her long, chestnut locks and gazed up intently at Pembroke as he passed.
 The aliens placed Pembroke in Puerto Pacifico after destroying his ship.
 Pembroke traveled to Puerto Pacifico on a ship called the Elena Mia.  Pembroke traveled to Puerto Pacifico on a Colombian ship called The Valparaiso.  Pembroke arrived in Puerto Pacifico on the lifeboat he used to escape the sinking ship.  The aliens placed Pembroke in Puerto Pacifico after destroying his ship.