“And I’m guessing if he did catch any of your people, they’d be in a heap of trouble—that might point right back to you,” Adam added darkly.
“You would be correct,” Mr.Chowdhury replied with a significant look at his royal companion.“If any of you are noticed following him, you might simply pretend you meant to ask him for some sort of assistance.”
“Which an Indian person wouldn’t likely do, I suppose,” Ellie elaborated uncomfortably.
“No,” Mr.Chowdhury agreed with telling succinctness.
“Of course, we’ll do it,” Constance asserted brightly.“We’re more than happy to aid in whatever way we can.Aren’t we, Stuffy?”
“I can’t claim to be very experienced with this sort of thing, but—yes,” Neil confirmed, mustering up a look of determination.
Adam looked to the maharaja and his solicitor.“So how do we find him?”
“He’s in charge of security for the procession,” Mr.Chowdhury replied.“He will be here personally to oversee it.He’s not the sort that leaves things to underlings.”
“Likes to keep himself in the thick of it,” Vijay added grimly.
Ellie’s skin crawled with notions of what ‘in the thick of it’ might look like to a man who tortured the families of his suspects.
Mr.Chowdhury plucked a page from his briefcase, handing it to Ellie.“Here’s his photograph.”
She held an image of a man of roughly sixty, trimly built, with a stiff military bearing.He was dressed in an Indian Army uniform, epaulets loaded with the crowns and stars of his rank.A ruthlessly cropped mustache accented his lip under a hawkish nose and sharp cheekbones.His eyes looked pale against a complexion weathered by years of tropical campaigns.
“Find him and track him.Determine where he’s planning to stay for the night,” Mr.Chowdhury instructed.“I’ve looked into the usual spots, but nothing’s come up under his name.He either hasn’t made plans, or he’s determined to keep them confidential.”
“Perhaps because he’s engaging in a spot of outright thievery,” Vijay returned dryly.“If we know where he’s hiding out, we can make a play for the manuscript then.”
“Find the guy.Follow him to his rat hole,” Adam summarized after a quick study of the print in Ellie’s hand.“Got it.”
“But where will you be?”Constance asked.
“I’m a bit too recognizable to go jaunting about the festival with you.”Vijay’s reluctant tone indicated that he would have preferred to plunge into the action.“And there are important reasons why I must be seen to be doing exactly what I’m expected to at the moment—which is gadding about with the upper crust as though I haven’t a care in the world.”
He punctuated the remark with a significant look at his solicitor.
“I will wait for you at the Hotel Jayadeva on Badasirei Road,” Mr.Chowdhury instructed.“The rooms will be listed under the name Kazi.”
“Auntie, you’d best stick with me,” Vijay said.“Word’s got out that I had my private carriage down to Madras, and you’re the excuse.I’d rather Borthwick doesn’t think I’m involved with Connie and her friends just yet.”
Padma turned an eagle eye to the four of them.“Can I trust that you might manage this task without getting yourselves into too much trouble?”
Constance treated her grandmother to a blindingly confident smile.“Whatever would make you think we’d get into trouble?”
Mr.Mahjoud sighed eloquently.Padma arched a wry brow.
Constance thrust her hand through Neil’s arm.“Come on, Stuffy.”
Neil held back with a nervous look.“My luggage… please just leave it for me to manage?”He winced awkwardly.“It’s… best if no one else opens it.”
Vijay shrugged at the request, clearly puzzled.A maharaja with an enormous personal staff must have found it hard to fathom why anyone would want to burden themselves with unpacking their own things.
Mr.Chowdhury glanced at his watch, then snapped it shut.“You have your instructions.Find Borthwick and follow him.Return to me as soon as you know where he has gone.”He fixed them all with a quelling, authoritative glare.“Do not involve yourselves any further than that.”
A pair of uniformed constables turned the corner.They stopped, looking out over the packed crowd.
Vijay treated Constance to another quick hug.“We’ll catch up properly soon, I promise.Best of luck—and stay safe!”
Mr.Chowdhury took Vijay’s arm in a gesture that looked both quietly deferential and subtly proprietary, steering him into the luxury hotel that abutted the street.
