“I understand completely,” Laurie added. “I feel the same. I just mentioned it because we’ll be coming back to New Delhi first thing tomorrow morning, and we’ll see if we can help you get the local police more involved. Wait, Jack wants to speak with you.”

“Listen, Neil,” Jack said when he got the phone. “What we have to do tomorrow is get ourselves over to the U.S. embassy and get in touch with one of the consular officers. He or she can then get us together with a regional security officer. They know how to deal with the local police. What you’re dealing with is probably no more than a station house officer. What we’re going to have to do is get the FBI invited to join in. The FBI’s hands are tied until they are invited.”

“When will you both get back here?”

“While you were talking to Laurie, I checked. The first flight leaves here at five-forty-five. We should be at the hotel before you’re awake.”

“Don’t count on it. I’m not sure I’m going to sleep at all.”

Jack gave the phone back to Laurie.

“I heard that,” Laurie said. “You have to sleep. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Don’t you worry.”

After saying good-bye, Laurie disconnected. She looked at Jack. “This is a major disaster.”

“I’m afraid so,” Jack agreed.

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

OCTOBER 20, 2007
SATURDAY, 3:00 A.M.
NEW DELHI, INDIA

By three a.m. the bungalow was finally completely quiet. Only an hour earlier, Veena had heard the flat-screen TV in the living room, suggesting that someone couldn’t sleep. But whoever it had been had turned it off and had disappeared back to their room.

Avoiding turning on a light, Veena felt for the pillowcase full of clothes she’d put on her night table when she’d turned her lights off at midnight. When her hand touched it, she picked it up, then moved to her bedroom door. Luckily, Samira was spending the night with Durell. Samira had been one of her worries, and for the three hours Veena had lain awake in bed, every time she’d heard a noise she’d worried that it was Samira returning to spend the rest of the night in her own bed, across from Veena’s.

Another worry was the key. If it wasn’t where she hoped it was, all bets would be off.