Foreign Body (42 page)

Closing his car door, Naresh crossed under the porte cochere, constantly on the lookout for Miss Hernandez. He entered the hotel and, still careful, he went to the concierge desk.

"Good morning, Inspector," Lakshay said. Sumit was busy with a guest.

"She's not appeared?" Naresh demanded, as if it were somehow the fault of the concierges.

"Not as I'm aware. Let me check with my colleague." Lakshay tapped Sumit's arm to get his attention. Lakshay discreetly whispered behind a raised hand.

"No, my colleague concurs. We've not see Miss Hernandez today."

"Can you think of a reason to call her in her room?" Naresh demanded. "I want to know if she is there."

"I cannot," Lakshay said.

"Give me the phone," Naresh demanded. "How do you get the operator?"

Once he had the operator, Naresh asked to speak to Jennifer Hernandez. It took only a few rings. A sleepy voice answered.

"I'm sorry," Naresh said. "I think I have a wrong number."

"That's okay," Jennifer said, and hung up.

Naresh did likewise. She was in her room sleeping, and he wondered what to do.

Sachin Gupta had his driver, Suresh, enter through the employee entrance. There was a gate and a gatehouse. Sachin rolled down the passenger-side window. He could tell the gatekeeper was impressed with the scrupulously clean black Mercedes.

"We're here to see Bhupen Chaturvedi," Sachin said. "He's in maintenance. He forgot his medicine this morning, and we're bringing it to him."

The gatekeeper closed his door. Sachin watched him make a call. A few moments later, he reopened the door. "You can park over against that wall," he said. "Bhupen will meet you on the loading dock."

Sachin thanked the man but then directed Suresh to drive directly to the loading dock.

As they pulled up, Bhupen was already there waiting. He directed them to back the car into the neighboring garage that was reserved for maintenance. The identification card he was holding got tossed on the dash. As one of the maintenance supervisors, he was dressed in a crisp dark blue uniform, including a baseball-style cap. He was a medium-complected stocky man with a thick neck. He and Sachin had been friends through high school.

"Are you okay with this?" Sachin asked. "It's going to result in a big blowup and an investigation: American tourist snatched from five-star hotel!"

"What I want to know is whether you brought the money," Bhupen asked.

Sachin produced a sizable roll of rupees and tossed it up to Bhupen, who hastily pocketed it.

"I would think you would be the one worried, driving in here with this fancy car,"

Bhupen said.

"There are thousands of these black E-Class Mercedes in Delhi, and the plates are fake.

By the way, what's the medicine I am supposed to have brought you?"

"My asthma inhaler."

"So what's the situation with the girl? Is she here at the hotel now?"

"Right after you called this morning, I checked. She'd remained in her room. The security chain was still in place. Her jet lag must have caught up with her."

"That's a bit of luck. So I guess we'll do it like we did the last time."

"That's right. I already have the dolly with the big tool chest on the floor. Her room is close to the service elevators. Did you bring your own duct tape?"

Sachin held up a new roll. He also pulled out vinyl gloves, which he handed out to his two minions. Bhupen had his own.

"Are we ready?" Bhupen asked.

"Let's go," Sachin said.

They used the service elevator. No one spoke; there was a certain excitement that had everyone on edge. Emerging onto the ninth floor, they found they were not alone. Down at the passenger elevator was a group of four guests, but by the time Sachin and the others had grouped themselves around the door to room nine twelve, the guests were gone. Bhupen had brought the dolly from where he'd left it in the service-elevator lobby.

Making certain the hall was clear, Bhupen put his ear against the door. "It sounds like she might be in the shower. That would be perfect." Taking out his master key card, and after checking the hallway again, he opened Jennifer's door. Almost immediately the safety chain restricted how far it would open. Everyone could hear the unmistakable sound of the shower. "Perfect," Bhupen whispered. Putting his shoulder against the door and then leaning back, he brought his shoulder against the door in a powerful lunge, hitting the door sharply and without hesitation. All four screws holding the safety chain housing to the doorjamb trim pulled out cleanly. The next second all four men were crowded into the room's tiny foyer and the door was reclosed.

The bathroom was to their immediate left. The door was ajar by three inches, and a certain amount of steam was issuing forth. Sachin pointed to Suresh, the giant, to change places with him. Sachin wanted Suresh to lead going into the bathroom. Sachin would be next, followed by Subrata.

Wrapping his large hand around the edge of the door, Suresh suddenly swung it open and leaped into the room. Within the bathroom was significantly more steam, which he tried to wave out of his face as his momentum carried him into the center of the room.

But the rush was not necessary. The shower stall was at the far back of the room, and thanks to the rushing noise of the water and the dense steam, Jennifer had yet to detect their presence.

Sachin pushed past Suresh and yanked open the shower door. Suresh reached forward into the torrent of water and steam and grabbed whatever he could, which turned out to be an upper arm. Using all his strength, he lifted and pulled, yanking Jennifer out into the bathroom proper. She screamed, but the scream was cut short as the three men fell onto her and a hand was clasped over her mouth.

Jennifer tried to struggle, but it was in vain. She tried to bite but wasn't able to get anything into her mouth, which was swiftly stuffed with a cloth. The roll of duct tape was spun around her head, holding the gag in place. The duct tape went around her torso, wrists, and several places on her legs. A few seconds later the three men stood up, gazing down at their handiwork.

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.

"Miss Hernandez will be staying in the garage at the back of the grounds. Can I ride with you to show you where it is?"

"For sure," Sachin said from the front passenger seat. "Hop in the back."

Cal climbed into the car. "Go straight beyond the house," he said to Suresh, pointing out through the windshield. As Suresh accelerated, he added, "I have to give you credit. This is a lot faster than I had anticipated. I thought it might take several days at a minimum."

"We were very lucky. She slept in for us. As a bonus, we brought her very clean."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see in a minute. Do we take the left up here or the right?"

"The left," Cal said. "The garage is in the middle of that stand of trees."

A few minutes later, Suresh pulled up to a four-bay stone garage with dormers on the second floor. The place was shut up as tight as a drum.

"It doesn't look like it has been used in years," Sachin said. There were foot-high weeds growing in the pebbled area in front of the garage doors.

"I'm sure it hasn't," Cal agreed. He brandished an oversized key. "The basement is like a medieval dungeon. Here's the key."

"How appropriate. How long do you want your guest to remain here?"

"I'm not sure. It's really up to her. I will give you a call."

"It will be easiest at night."

"I assumed as much," Cal said.

They all climbed out of the car. Cal went to a stout side door. He used the key. Beyond the door was a stone stairwell. Just inside was an old-fashioned electrical switch with a rotating knob. He turned it, and the lights went on in the stairway. "Let me get the lights on below as well," Cal said. He hastened down the stairs. At the bottom was a second stout door exactly like the first. It took the same key, and Cal opened it and turned on the inside lights. Behind, Sachin came down the stairs as well.

"What was this used for in Raj times?" Sachin asked.

"No clue." Cal went to the sink to make sure there was water.

The room had a damp, cool feel and smelled like a root cellar. A few cobwebs hung from the ceiling. There was one large room with a sink, and two smaller bedrooms with cots, covered with thin, bare mattresses. There was also a small bathroom containing an old-fashioned toilet with its water-storage tank six feet in the air. The furniture was made of simple, unfinished wood without embellishments.

"Okay," Cal said. "Let's bring her down."

"There's a slight problem. She has no clothes except for a couple of bathrobes."

"How come?" Cal asked.

"She was in the shower when we invited her."

For a moment Cal worried about how to get some clothes for Jennifer but then decided it wasn't necessary.

"She'll have to make do with the bathrobes," Cal said.

Returning to the car, Sachin asked Subrata to open the trunk. As the lid was raised, Jennifer squinted in the sunlight. Her eyes reflected a combination of anger and terror.

Sachin had Suresh and Subrata lift her out and carry her down the stairs. Sachin and Cal followed. Cal carried the bathrobes.

"Where to?" Sachin asked.

"On the couch," Cal said, pointing. "And remove the tape."

It took a lot longer to get the duct tape off than it did to get it on, and it was painful in places, but Jennifer did not complain until they removed the gag.

"You fuckers," she snarled the moment she could talk. "Who the hell are you people?"

"That kind of attitude doesn't bode well for your visit," Sachin said to Cal.

"She'll settle down," Cal said confidently.

"Like hell I'll settle down," Jennifer spat. When Suresh removed the last piece of tape from her legs, she leaped to her feet and bolted toward the stairs. Suresh managed to get a hold of her arm, and she reeled around and scratched him with her fingernails. He backhanded her viciously and knocked her down. It was apparent she was dizzy when she sat up; she was swaying slightly and didn't get right to her feet. Her expression was momentarily blank but quickly cleared.

"She might not be the most pleasant guest," Sachin said.

Cal draped one of the bathrobes over her shoulders. "Actually, you don't have to stay here long," he said to Jennifer. "We only want to talk to you, and then you can leave. I'll even tell you what we need. Somehow you have become suspicious of the three medical deaths that occurred Monday night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday night. Something has made you skeptical of the diagnosis on all three. We'd like to know what it is. And that's it." Cal spread his hands and raised his eyebrows. "That's all we want. As soon as you tell us, we'll take you back to the hotel. I wanted to give you a heads-up so you could be thinking about it."

Jennifer glared at Cal. "I'm not going to tell you shit."

"What do you think?" Jack asked. He stepped back. He, Laurie, Neil, and Arun were in the Queen Victoria Hospital basement cooler. With some difficulty, all four of them had gotten Maria Hernandez dressed in the clothes that Neil had brought from the Amal Palace Hotel. Jack had just added the pièce de résistance: his Yankees baseball hat. He had placed it so that the visor was slanted downward and covered most of Maria's face to camouflage her other-worldly color.

"I don't know," Laurie said.

"Hey, she's not going to a beauty pageant," Jack said. "She's only got to get by the guard at the end of the hall."