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.

“Okay,” Sachin said. “Let’s get her in the box and out of here.”

The three men grabbed various body parts, lifted, and then with some difficulty got Jennifer out of the bathroom. She tried to struggle, but it was useless. Out in the room, Bhupen had opened the lid of the large toolbox.

“Put her down,” Sachin instructed. He looked into the box, then disappeared back into the bathroom, returning with two thick Turkish bathrobes. Bhupen grabbed one and draped it around the inside of the box.

“Perfect,” Sachin said. He gestured toward Jennifer and the three picked her up again. Jennifer tried to struggle anew. Terrified, she tried to keep herself from being put in the box by bending at the waist, but the effort was in vain. She also tried to cry out, but the gag reduced her shouts to muffled grunts. Bhupen closed the lid.

“Let me check the hall,” Bhupen said. He was back instantly. “All clear.”

They maneuvered the dolly out into the hall while Suresh went in and turned off the shower. Suresh then closed the door to the room before catching up to the others. Bhupen pushed the dolly with the toolbox.

“It would be nice if we could guarantee a free elevator all the way down,” Sachin said.

“We can,” Bhupen said. He took out an elevator key and held it up. “It just has to be empty when it arrives.”

The elevator was empty, and after wheeling the dolly into the car, Bhupen used his key to make it go to the basement without stopping. Jennifer thumped a few times but was then still. They exited in the basement and took the tool chest into the maintenance garage. It took only a few minutes to switch Jennifer and the bathrobes from the box to the Mercedes’s trunk. She again tried to resist but only briefly.

When they exited the employee lot, the gatekeeper didn’t even look up from his newspaper.

“I’d say that was one of our more efficient jobs,” Sachin boasted.

“Flawless,” Subrata agreed.

Using his mobile phone, Sachin dialed Cal Morgan’s number. “We have your guest,” he said, when Cal answered. “We’re on our way. This is a bit sooner than we expected. I hope you have the money. It was not a cheap assignment.”

“Terrific,” Cal said. “Don’t worry. Your money is waiting for you.”

Twenty-seven minutes later, Cal was waiting in the driveway when Sachin’s Mercedes pulled in. He held up his hand, and Suresh pulled to a stop right next to him.