“I believe you are ill-advised not to take this special opportunity. There will be no cost. We are doing this as a favor to you and your grandmother.”
“As I said, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I appreciate efforts on my behalf, but I would have preferred an autopsy. The answer is no.”
“Then I must inform you that the Queen Victoria Hospital has gone to the courts, and we imminently expect, around noon tomorrow, a writ of authority from a magistrate to remove, send to Varanasi, and cremate your grandmother, Mr. Benfatti, and Mr. Lucas. I am sorry that you have pushed us to this extent, but your grandmother’s body, as well as those of the others, is a threat to the institutions’ well-being.”
Jennifer’s head rebounded slightly with the force of the disconnect. She handed the phone back to Sumit and thanked him. To Neil she said, “She hung up on me. They are going to get legal permission to remove Granny tomorrow and have her cremated.”
“Then it’s a good thing your friends are coming in tonight.”
“You can say that again. If I were here on my own, I have no clue what I’d do.”
“Then it’s a good thing. . . .” Neil said, teasing Jennifer by actually repeating his comment the second time as she’d rhetorically asked him to do.
“That’s quite enough!” she said with a suppressed laugh, giving his arm a shake with both hands.
“Why don’t we head up to our rooms and change into some exercise clothes.”
“That’s your best suggestion so far,” Jennifer said, and they both headed for the elevators.
Chapter 27
OCTOBER 18, 2007
THURSDAY, 2:17 P.M.
NEW DELHI, INDIA
Inspector Naresh Prasad entered the health ministry building and noted the difference between it and the one that housed the New Delhi police department. Whereas peeling paint and a certain amount of trash were the norm in his building, the health ministry was comparatively clean. Even the security equipment was new, and the people manning it seemed somewhat motivated. As usual, he had to leave his service revolver at the entrance.
Exiting on the second floor, Naresh walked down the long, echoing hall to where he knew the relatively new medical tourism office was. He entered without knocking. The contrast between his office and Ramesh Srivastava’s was even greater than that between their respective buildings. Ramesh’s offices were freshly painted and had new furniture. The fact that Ramesh was part of a significantly higher level of civil bureaucracy was apparent in most everything, including the equipment on the secretaries’ desks.
As he fully expected, Naresh had to wait for a certain amount of time. It was part of the mechanism bureaucrats used to exert their superiority over colleagues, even if they were available. But Naresh didn’t mind. He expected it. Besides, there was a waiting area with a new couch, a rug, and magazines, even if the reading material was outdated.
“Mr. Srivastava can see you now,” one of the secretaries said fifteen minutes later, pointing the way toward her boss’s door.
Naresh heaved himself to his feet. A few seconds later, he was standing in front of Ramesh’s desk. Ramesh didn’t invite him to sit down. The man had his fingers intertwined, elbows on his desk. His watery eyes regarded Naresh irritably. It was obvious there was to be no small talk on this occasion.
“You said on the phone you wanted to see me because there was a problem,” Ramesh said sulkily. “What’s the problem?”
“I got on Miss Hernandez first thing this morning. I didn’t get there early enough to tail her to breakfast at the Imperial, so I don’t know whom she met there. But right after that, not too much after nine, she came back to the Amal and then took a hotel car, apparently to go sightseeing.”
“Do I have to hear all this?” Ramesh complained.
“If you want to know how the problem happened,” Naresh said.
Ramesh made a rotating motion with his index finger for Naresh to continue.
“She stopped briefly at the Red Fort, but it didn’t appeal to her. Next she went to the bazaar, parked at the Jama Masjid, and hired a cycle rickshaw.”
“Can’t you just tell me the problem?” Ramesh complained again.
“It was at that moment that I came into the parking area just after someone in a new E-Class Mercedes. I vaguely noticed him because he’d been tailing her as well from the Red Fort.”
Ramesh rolled his eyes at Naresh’s lengthy rendition.
“He took off after Miss Hernandez, which I thought curious, so I redoubled my efforts and ran after both. From then on everything happened in the blink of an eye. He didn’t hesitate. He ran up behind Miss Hernandez and pulled a gun. It was right in the middle of the crowded bazaar, with people all around. He was going to shoot, no questions asked. I had two seconds to decide whether to intervene. All I could hear was your telling me not to let her become a martyr. Well, that’s what she was about to become, so I shot and killed the would-be killer.”
Ramesh’s mouth slowly dropped open. Then he slapped a hand across his forehead and leaned on his elbow while he shook his head in short arcs. “No!” he cried.
Naresh shrugged. “It all happened so fast.” Naresh reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper. On it was written
Without removing his head from his hand, Ramesh reached out and picked up the paper. He read the name. “Do you know who this guy is?” Ramesh blurted. He raised his eyes and looked irritably at Naresh.
“I do now. It is Dhaval Narang.”
“That’s right. It is Dhaval Narang, and do you know whom he works for?”
Naresh shook his head.
“He works for Shashank Malhotra, you bungling idiot. Malhotra was getting rid of the girl. It would have been ascribed to thieves. The martyr issue is only if we, the Indian civil services, killed her, not Malhotra.”
“What should I have done? I was trying to follow your orders. Why didn’t you tell me Malhotra was going to take care of her?”
“Because I didn’t know. At least I didn’t know for sure.” Ramesh rubbed his face vigorously. “Clearly, now everything’s worse. Now she’s warned she’s been targeted. Where is she?”
“She went back to her hotel.”
“What happened at the site?”
“The shot caused a general panic. She fled with everyone else. I stayed at the site to help the local constables restore order and get the victim’s ID.”
“Did she come back and talk to the police and to you?”
“She came back and was accompanied by an American man. I don’t know where or how they teamed up. But she didn’t talk to the police, which is somewhat strange. I thought about pulling her in, but I wanted to talk to you first.”
“That just shows how suspicious she is.”
“Maybe she will just leave after such an experience?”
“Wouldn’t that be nice, but not according to her grandmother’s case manager or the CEO of the hospital. For whatever reason, this young woman is motivated no matter what happens.”
“Well, what do you want me to do?”
“Have you had any luck in regard to finding out who is the source providing the material to CNN?”
“I put two people on it this morning. I haven’t spoken with them since.”
“Give them a call while I call Shashank Malhotra. Also, there was another death but at the Aesculapian Medical Center. Once again, CNN got it extremely early.”
