I assured her that her secret was safe. Janice watched the censor, the undersecretary, and Frank for a long moment before turning back to me.

“I’d like to keep an eye on the babu,” she said. “My Hindi’s good, and my Marathi’s even better. He’ll never suspect I understand. Will you talk to Mr. Muller for me? Maybe move my desk closer to his?”

“You’re full of surprises today. I’ll talk to Frank.”

Once the police and the undersecretary of Information and Broadcasting had decamped, Frank called me into his office. The babu had been installed at a desk near the telex terminal and was giving his tea preferences to Vikky, the chaiwallah, who was collecting stray cups for cleaning.

“That son of a bitch is going to be in our hair from now on,” Frank said, glaring at him through the glass window of his cabin. “What the hell are we going to do about him?”

“First, we’re going to move Janice’s desk next to his,” I said. “She’ll tell us how good his English is. With any luck, he doesn’t speak a lick.”

“Where does Janice fit in?”

“She speaks Hindi and Marathi. Didn’t you know that?”

Frank shook his head.

“Well, she does. Let’s have her eavesdrop on his calls and conversations. She’ll tell us what we have to worry about.”

Frank rocked in his chair, weighing my advice. He lit a cigarette. “How the hell did Janice learn Hindi and Marathi?” he asked.

“She’s been here five years. Maybe she takes classes.”

My flat wasn’t nearly as welcoming as the President Hotel. No one to open the door for me. No one to smile and greet me by name. No one to make me feel special, even if it was only a mirage. Something I was paying for.

Under the door, I found a note from Inspector Lokhande. An order to drop by the station again the next day, Saturday, at eleven. I crumpled the paper and tossed it into the dustbin. If he wanted my statement, he could come to me.

The first thing I did was take care of my film. I hid it in the battery compartment of one of the two radios I’d found in the flat when I arrived. The thing took D batteries, which were about the size of the roll. The radio wouldn’t work, of course, but there was the other one if I needed it, and I felt the film was reasonably secure in its hiding spot.