“Maybe you should give our friend Mrs. Varini a call and make sure she can’t claim a misunderstanding and do something without your expressed approval. When the next of kin are grieving, it’s easy to bully them. Ironically, it’s usually about doing an autopsy, not about not doing one.”

“I think I’ll take your advice. Last night I wasn’t myself.”

“Are you done with lunch?” Jennifer asked. “I’m going to head back to the hospital. I was going to go to the embassy, but I think I’ll put that off. I want to pose a few questions to the case manager, like why she lied to me. I’ll let you know if I learn anything startling.”

Having already signed their respective checks, the women stood, and several busboys ran over and pulled out their chairs. The restaurant was now full, forcing them to weave among a crowd of people waiting for tables. Out in the lobby, they said their good-byes with a promise to talk later. Just as they were about to separate, Jennifer thought of something else. “I think I’m going to look into the CNN connection if possible. Would you mind terribly finding out from your New York friend exactly when he saw the segment about your husband, New York time?”

“I’d be happy to. I’d planned to call him back. I know he felt terrible about having broken the news.”

They were about to separate again when Lucinda said, “Thank you for encouraging me to come out of my room. I think this was a lot healthier, and I’m afraid I wouldn’t have if left to my own devices.”

“It was my pleasure,” Jennifer responded. She was holding her phone in preparation for calling her car and driver.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

OCTOBER 17, 2007
WEDNESDAY, 1:42 P.M.
NEW DELHI, INDIA

How long will you be, madam?” the driver asked. He was holding the car door as Jennifer climbed out. During the ride from the hotel to the hospital she had managed to fall asleep for some twenty minutes or so, and now felt distinctly worse than she had when she’d started. Still, she wanted to talk with Kashmira Varini.

“I’m not sure,” Jennifer said, looking up at the hospital. She’d just gotten the idea to go up to the fourth floor where she’d been told her grandmother’s room had been and see if she could find the day nurse who’d been assigned to her case. “But it won’t be long, not the way I feel.”

“I’ll try to stay here,” the driver said, pointing down at the ground, “but if the doormen chase me, you’ll have to call my mobile.”

“No problem,” Jennifer said.