Laurie thought about the request, trying to decide what was best for Jennifer. “At some point I reserve the right to tell her, if I thought it were in her best interest.”

“Fair enough,” Neil said. “But I’m here because she came to me and asked me to come with her. My first response was to say no. I had too much on my plate to drop everything and go to India. Then she walked out on me. I thought we were done. I mulled over it for a few hours, couldn’t get in touch with her, then decided to come after all.”

“Was she pleased?”

Neil shrugged. “Well, she didn’t tell me to leave.”

“That’s all you got for coming halfway around the world?”

“She’s prickly. But it’s a good thing that I did come. Today, in the Old Delhi bazaar, trying to catch up to her to let her know I was here, I came upon a man trying to accost her in the worst possible manner. He seemed too well dressed to be your stereotypical thief.”

“What do you mean he tried to accost her in the worst possible manner?”

“I mean with a silenced handgun, like he was an assassin.”

Laurie’s jaw dropped open. “What happened?” she demanded.

“We have no idea what this guy’s intentions were, because out of the blue, almost right in front of me, another guy who we later realized was some kind of plainclothes policeman blew the first guy away at point-blank range.”

“What happened next?” Laurie asked. She was horrified. She’d warned Jennifer about too much amateur sleuthing, and it seemed that she’d been right.

Neil told her, how Jennifer had been thrown from the cycle rickshaw, how she’d bolted with the masses, and how he’d managed to find her hiding in a butcher shop.

“Good Lord,” Laurie murmured. She brought a hand up to her face to cover her mouth.

“It was quite a day,” Neil said. “The rest of the day we hid in the hotel. I didn’t even want her coming out here tonight, but she was adamant.”

“Jack!” Laurie called out suddenly, shocking Neil. She’d seen him emerge from the crowd and look in their direction. Laurie waved. “Come back, Jack.”

“This changes everything,” Laurie said to Neil, as Jack made his way over.

“The concern is,” Neil added, “that this possible attempt on her life is because of her activities in relation to her grandmother’s death.”

“Exactly,” Laurie said, waving for Jack to hurry.

“Neil has just told me a very scary episode that happened today,” Laurie said to Jack as he joined them. “Something that I believe is going to change our visit.”

“What?” Jack asked.