Chapter 31
OCTOBER 19, 2007
FRIDAY, 9:45 A.M.
NEW DELHI, INDIA
Inspector Naresh Prasad was bored and uncomfortable. He’d had his tea, and he’d read the newspaper cover to cover. He had been sitting in the driver’s seat of his Ambassador for almost three hours, with no sign of Jennifer Hernandez and no word from the concierge desk. Although he was certain he’d probably bump into her the moment he left the car, he did it anyway, leaving his door ajar.
Standing outside, he stretched, then bent over and almost touched his toes. It was the best he could do. The Sikh doorman waved and smiled. Naresh waved back. Still no Miss Hernandez. He looked back in the car. Although he knew he should show appropriate patience and get back in the car, he couldn’t get himself to do it. It was too hot in the car with the sun beating down.
He glanced back at the hotel. What was she doing? Why hadn’t she come down? But then he realized he was just assuming she’d not come down, and he was assuming that if she had, then Sumit would have notified him as per his offer to keep him informed. All at once, Naresh decided it was time to find out if she’d been spotted.
Closing his car door, Naresh crossed under the porte cochere, constantly on the lookout for Miss Hernandez. He entered the hotel and, still careful, he went to the concierge desk.
“Good morning, Inspector,” Lakshay said. Sumit was busy with a guest.
“She’s not appeared?” Naresh demanded, as if it were somehow the fault of the concierges.
“Not as I’m aware. Let me check with my colleague.” Lakshay tapped Sumit’s arm to get his attention. Lakshay discreetly whispered behind a raised hand.
“No, my colleague concurs. We’ve not see Miss Hernandez today.”
“Can you think of a reason to call her in her room?” Naresh demanded. “I want to know if she is there.”
“I cannot,” Lakshay said.
“Give me the phone,” Naresh demanded. “How do you get the operator?”
Once he had the operator, Naresh asked to speak to Jennifer Hernandez. It took only a few rings. A sleepy voice answered.
“I’m sorry,” Naresh said. “I think I have a wrong number.”
“That’s okay,” Jennifer said, and hung up.
Naresh did likewise. She was in her room sleeping, and he wondered what to do.
Sachin Gupta had his driver, Suresh, enter through the employee entrance. There was a gate and a gatehouse. Sachin rolled down the passenger-side window. He could tell the gatekeeper was impressed with the scrupulously clean black Mercedes.
“We’re here to see Bhupen Chaturvedi,” Sachin said. “He’s in maintenance. He forgot his medicine this morning, and we’re bringing it to him.”
The gatekeeper closed his door. Sachin watched him make a call. A few moments later, he reopened the door. “You can park over against that wall,” he said. “Bhupen will meet you on the loading dock.”
Sachin thanked the man but then directed Suresh to drive directly to the loading dock. As they pulled up, Bhupen was already there waiting. He directed them to back the car into the neighboring garage that was reserved for maintenance. The identification card he was holding got tossed on the dash. As one of the maintenance supervisors, he was dressed in a crisp dark blue uniform, including a baseball-style cap. He was a medium- complected stocky man with a thick neck. He and Sachin had been friends through high school.
“Are you okay with this?” Sachin asked. “It’s going to result in a big blowup and an investigation: American tourist snatched from five-star hotel!”
“What I want to know is whether you brought the money,” Bhupen asked.
Sachin produced a sizable roll of rupees and tossed it up to Bhupen, who hastily pocketed it.
“I would think you would be the one worried, driving in here with this fancy car,” Bhupen said.
“There are thousands of these black E-Class Mercedes in Delhi, and the plates are fake. By the way, what’s the medicine I am supposed to have brought you?”
“My asthma inhaler.”
“So what’s the situation with the girl? Is she here at the hotel now?”
“Right after you called this morning, I checked. She’d remained in her room. The security chain was still in place. Her jet lag must have caught up with her.”
“That’s a bit of luck. So I guess we’ll do it like we did the last time.”
“That’s right. I already have the dolly with the big tool chest on the floor. Her room is close to the service elevators. Did you bring your own duct tape?”
Sachin held up a new roll. He also pulled out vinyl gloves, which he handed out to his two minions. Bhupen had his own.
“Are we ready?” Bhupen asked.
“Let’s go,” Sachin said.
They used the service elevator. No one spoke; there was a certain excitement that had everyone on edge. Emerging onto the ninth floor, they found they were not alone. Down at the passenger elevator was a group of four guests, but by the time Sachin and the others had grouped themselves around the door to room nine twelve, the guests were gone. Bhupen had brought the dolly from where he’d left it in the service-elevator lobby.
Making certain the hall was clear, Bhupen put his ear against the door. “It sounds like she might be in the shower. That would be perfect.” Taking out his master key card, and after checking the hallway again, he opened Jennifer’s door. Almost immediately the safety chain restricted how far it would open. Everyone could hear the unmistakable sound of the shower. “Perfect,” Bhupen whispered. Putting his shoulder against the door and then leaning back, he brought his shoulder against the door in a powerful lunge, hitting the door sharply and without hesitation. All four screws holding the safety chain housing to the doorjamb trim pulled out cleanly. The next second all four men were crowded into the room’s tiny foyer and the door was reclosed.
The bathroom was to their immediate left. The door was ajar by three inches, and a certain amount of steam was issuing forth. Sachin pointed to Suresh, the giant, to change places with him. Sachin wanted Suresh to lead going into the bathroom. Sachin would be next, followed by Subrata.
Wrapping his large hand around the edge of the door, Suresh suddenly swung it open and leaped into the room. Within the bathroom was significantly more steam, which he tried to wave out of his face as his momentum carried him into the center of the room.
But the rush was not necessary. The shower stall was at the far back of the room, and thanks to the rushing noise of the water and the dense steam, Jennifer had yet to detect their presence.
Sachin pushed past Suresh and yanked open the shower door. Suresh reached forward into the torrent of water and steam and grabbed whatever he could, which turned out to be an upper arm. Using all his strength, he lifted and pulled, yanking Jennifer out into the bathroom proper. She screamed, but the scream was cut short as the three men fell onto her and a hand was clasped over her mouth.
Jennifer tried to struggle, but it was in vain. She tried to bite but wasn’t able to get anything into her mouth, which was swiftly stuffed with a cloth. The roll of duct tape was spun around her head, holding the gag in place. The duct tape went around her torso, wrists, and several places on her legs. A few seconds later the three men stood up, gazing down at their handiwork.
On the floor of the bathroom was a hog-tied, naked wet girl whose terrified eyes were darting from one of her three assailants to the others. It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
“She’s a beauty,” Sachin said. “What a waste.”
Out in the room they could hear Bhupen maneuvering the dolly into the room.
