Jack responded first, getting to his feet and crowding the Dom out of the doorway. “We’re just finishing up. We’re doctors. We wanted to make sure these two were truly dead. But we’re done.”

Jawahar, Laurie, and Arun pushed out of the temple right behind Jack.

Although the Dom were initially confused by Jack’s statement, it didn’t last long. “Body thieves!” he yelled out at the top of his lungs, and tried to grab onto the front of Jack’s shirt.

“Run!” Jack yelled in response. Laurie did not need further invitation. She threw herself into the stairway, her legs churning. Jawahar came next, followed by Arun.

Jack gave a karate-style chop to the first Dom’s grasping arms, only to have the second latch on to him from the side. At that point Jack used a closed fist, hitting the second Dom square in the face. In the background it looked like Dom were coming out of the stonework. Jack followed with another closed-fist body shot to the first Dom, who buckled. In the next instant Jack was on the stairs.

When he reached the narrow alleyway at the base of the stairs, it took him a moment to see Arun, who’d stayed in sight to wave him on. Jawahar was taking them in the opposite direction that they’d come. Jack ran toward Arun, who’d recommenced running. Behind them they could hear a very vocal horde of Dom coming down the stairs.

In fabulous physical shape, Jack quickly overtook Arun, but then they both ran into Laurie and Jawahar, who’d gotten bogged down in pedestrian traffic. The dark, empty, very narrow lane had butted into a larger but more crowded alley complete with a prone cow chewing its cud. Laurie almost fell over the animal in her haste.

For another five minutes the group pushed and shoved their way to put more distance between themselves and the angered Dom. When they were confident they were no longer being chased, they stopped, each with his or her chest heaving from exertion—everyone, that is, except Jack. They looked at one another, and partially from the anxiety the episode had engendered, they laughed.

After they had recovered their breath, Jawahar led them through the labyrinthine lanes back to Vishwanath Gali, the shopping street that had initially taken them to the Dasashvamedha ghat. There Jawahar managed to hire two cycle rickshaws, which transported them back to the Taj Ganges hotel.

“What I want to do more than anything else,” Laurie was saying as they approached the front desk to get their room keys, “is take a long shower.”

“Are you Dr. Laurie Montgomery?” the desk clerk asked before Laurie had a chance to say anything. His tone was exigent, immediately catching Laurie’s attention.

“I am,” Laurie responded with concern.

“You have several urgent messages. The caller has called three times, and I’m supposed to ask you to respond immediately.”