“How has the hotel been about it?”
“The hotel has been terrific. They are as upset as I am and have a whole private team on it. They’re also busy watching all the security tapes they have for the lobby and the front entrance.”
“Well, I hope to God they find something and find it soon,” Laurie said. “I’m sorry we’re not there.”
“Me, too. I’m a wreck with worry.”
“At least we got the urine samples we came for,” Laurie said.
“I hope you’re not too disappointed that at this point, I couldn’t give a flying crap about the urine samples.”
“I understand completely,” Laurie added. “I feel the same. I just mentioned it because we’ll be coming back to New Delhi first thing tomorrow morning, and we’ll see if we can help you get the local police more involved. Wait, Jack wants to speak with you.”
“Listen, Neil,” Jack said when he got the phone. “What we have to do tomorrow is get ourselves over to the U.S. embassy and get in touch with one of the consular officers. He or she can then get us together with a regional security officer. They know how to deal with the local police. What you’re dealing with is probably no more than a station house officer. What we’re going to have to do is get the FBI invited to join in. The FBI’s hands are tied until they are invited.”
“When will you both get back here?”
“While you were talking to Laurie, I checked. The first flight leaves here at five-forty-five. We should be at the hotel before you’re awake.”
“Don’t count on it. I’m not sure I’m going to sleep at all.”
Jack gave the phone back to Laurie.
“I heard that,” Laurie said. “You have to sleep. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Don’t you worry.”
After saying good-bye, Laurie disconnected. She looked at Jack. “This is a major disaster.”
“I’m afraid so,” Jack agreed.
Chapter 37
October 20, 2007
Saturday, 3:00 a.m.
New Delhi, India
By three a.m. the bungalow was finally completely quiet. Only an hour earlier, Veena had heard the flat-screen TV in the living room, suggesting that someone couldn’t sleep. But whoever it had been had turned it off and had disappeared back to their room.
Avoiding turning on a light, Veena felt for the pillowcase full of clothes she’d put on her night table when she’d turned her lights off at midnight. When her hand touched it, she picked it up, then moved to her bedroom door. Luckily, Samira was spending the night with Durell. Samira had been one of her worries, and for the three hours Veena had lain awake in bed, every time she’d heard a noise she’d worried that it was Samira returning to spend the rest of the night in her own bed, across from Veena’s.
Another worry was the key. If it wasn’t where she hoped it was, all bets would be off.
Veena cracked her door. The house was silent and remarkably well illuminated from the nearly full fall moon. Moving silently, carrying her shoes in one hand and the pillowcase in the other, Veena moved from the guest wing, where the nurses’ bedrooms were, into the main part of the house. She tried to stay in the shadows. When she neared the living room, she slowed and glanced in warily. She knew all too well that when you’re living with sixteen people and five servants, you can run into someone in the public spaces at any given time, day or night.
The living room was empty. Encouraged, Veena silently raced down the carpeted hall to the library. Like the living room, the library was dark and empty. Without wasting a moment, Veena dashed to the fireplace. Putting down the pillowcase and her shoes, she took down the Indian-craft papier-mâché box. Since the top fit so snugly, it took a few minutes of effort to get it open enough for her to get her fingernails in the crack. When it did open, it made a popping sound loud enough to cause Veena to freeze. For several minutes she listened to the pulse of the house. It stayed normal.
Lifting the lid and placing it on the mantel, Veena held her breath while slipping her hand into the box. To her relief, her fingers immediately hit up against the oversized key, inspiring her to say a little prayer to Vishnu. Slipping the key into her front pocket, Veena took the time to replace the box’s lid and return the box to its exact location.
With her shoes and pillowcase back in her grasp, Veena moved out of the library and darted back down the hall, heading now for the conservatory. It was then that she heard the thunk of the refrigerator door closing. Reflexively, she ducked into the hallway’s shadows and froze. And it was a good thing she had. A moment later, Cal emerged into the hall with a fresh Kingfisher beer. He walked past Veena and headed toward the guest wing.
With such a close call, Veena panicked. Although she’d tried to act as normal as she could all evening, she’d known Cal had been suspicious and had even asked her if she were alright on more than one occasion. Later, after she’d excused herself and said she was going to bed, he’d even come to her bedroom with a flimsy excuse. And with him heading in that direction now, she had to assume he was bent on checking her yet again.
As soon as he had disappeared from view, Veena was off again. Now she was up against a time constraint. In the conservatory, she quietly let herself out into the garden, where she put on her shoes, then sprinted across the lawn. She met the driveway just before it entered the trees, and once in the trees, she had to slow to a walk in the darkness. A few minutes later, she reached the garage.
She unlocked the upper door and left it open to take advantage of the flashes of moonlight that filtered down through the trees as the night breezes rustled their leaves. At the base of the stairs it was nearly total darkness, with only a bit of moonlight visible when Veena looked back up to the open door.
She used the key to rap on the door. “Miss Hernandez,” she called out. “It is Nurse Chandra.” Only then did she struggle to open it. The door swung in to utter blackness. “Miss Hernandez,” Veena called again. “I’ve come to get you out of here. This is no trick, but we must hurry. I have clothes and shoes for you.”
Veena felt a hand touch her chest. “Where are the shoes?” Jennifer asked. She was leery, even though Veena said there was no trick.
“I have the shoes and the clothes in a pillowcase. Let’s go upstairs and at least take advantage of the moonlight.”
“Okay,” Jennifer said.
Veena turned and mounted the stairs, moving toward the faint, flickering silver-gray light. She could barely hear Jennifer coming behind with her bare feet. As Veena emerged into the cool night, she glanced back at the house. “Oh, no!” she voiced. Through the trees she could see there were now lights on. A second later, she heard something that made her blood run cold. She heard Cal’s voice yell her name out into the night.
Jennifer loomed out of the stairway, peeling off the bathrobe in anticipation of putting on the clothes that Veena had brought.
“There’s no time for the shirt and pants,” Veena blurted. “But you must have something on your feet.” She struggled to get the tennis shoes out of the pillowcase and handed them to Jennifer. Jennifer pulled the bathrobe back on and snatched the shoes from Veena.
“Why the rush?” Jennifer hastily questioned.
“Cal Morgan, the head man, has somehow realized I’m gone. If he hasn’t already, he’ll soon figure out that I meant all along to come out here and free you.”
Jennifer pulled on the tennis shoes. “Where should we go?”
“Back through the trees away from the house. There’s a fence, but it’s fallen down someplace. We have to find it, and we have to put some distance between us and this bungalow or we’re both going to end up back in that basement.”