He didn’t seem all that flustered to have me glaring at him. In fact, maybe he felt I’d solved his problem of finding me. I was so intent on watching his reaction that I’d failed to notice the slight man sitting across the table from him. When Harlan invited me to join them, I finally looked his way. It was Ramu.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“What the hell’s going on here?”

“Have a seat,” he said. “And keep your voice down. We’re in a public place.”

I chose to sit next to Ramu. That way I could look Harlan in the eye as he gave me some bullshit reason why he’d followed me to Poona. And to Ash Pethe’s dinner party and Bombay Gym, too. But even as I concentrated on Harlan, I couldn’t help noticing that Ramu was quite nicely dressed. And I wasn’t so upset that I failed to realize how unusual it was for a domestic servant to be in a luxury hotel coffee shop. I certainly didn’t begrudge him the privilege, but I knew posher Indians would.

“You know Ramu,” said Harlan.

“Of course I do. Namaste, Ramu.”

“Hi, Dan,” he answered, and I did a double take.

“Yes, he speaks English,” said Harlan. “Quite well, actually. I should explain. Would you like something to eat first?”

“No.”

He folded his hands. “Very well. You must be wondering a couple of things right about now. First, why am I here with your servant? Second, why does Ramu suddenly speak excellent English?”

I nodded.

“Good. We’re off to a fine start. Ramu, why don’t you tell Dan, here, who you really are?”

“With pleasure,” he said. “Actually, my name’s not Ramu at all. It’s Ranjit. I’m an investigating officer of the CBI. Central Bureau of Investigation.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m quite serious.”

“Then who does that make you?” I asked Harlan.

“DEA.”

“DEA? The Drug Enforcement Administration?”

He nodded.

“Holy shit,” I said shaking my head to clear the cobwebs. “I’m losing my mind. What’s this all about?”

“We’re interested in your friend Willy Smets,” said Harlan.

“Wait a minute. Wha—what are you doing in India? In Poona? With an Indian cop? Since when are the U.S. and India so chummy?”

“One question at a time,” said Harlan. “I’m the Special Agent in Charge of our New Delhi bureau. We work with CBI and various state CIDs—Criminal Investigation Departments—on narcotics interdiction.”

“Since when?”

“A couple of years now. We’re trying to stem the diversion of illicit opium to drug traffickers. Specifically, we’ve been looking at Willy Smets for about a year. As things turned out, Ranjit was investigating him for other crimes. His superior put us in touch, and we’ve been working together for the past eight months.”