After a short talk over drinks and an early supper, Jack decided to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for the action he was sure was coming soon. Bernadette loved lingering over coffee and exchanging information with other women about their lives in the way men seldom do.
Anita said she didn’t know whether her maybe-significant other would ever ask her to marry him, but she was going to stay with him until he threw her out. Then she would sneak back. Kathy and Bernadette laughed at that. Bernadette told the others she had felt much the same way about Jack’s father. At times she hoped she would get pregnant. It never worked out. He once told her being close to him was dangerous, and he couldn’t bear being responsible for her getting hurt. A woman he had loved once had been killed because she was with him.
Bernadette brought them back to the business at hand. “Do you realize we are three women, very tough women at that, aided by a former Marine and cop and do not forget our very capable detective, going against al-Qaeda in an arena they know much better than we do? We are outnumbered and outgunned. All we have going for us is they probably don’t know we are here and ready to catch them off guard. Oh! We also are the good guys and the law maybe is on our side.”
Kathy stretched and said, “Before I comment on such a dismal state of affairs, I need another drink. Maybe by tomorrow my sex drive will be back. Four days of humping a pack at a run or near run is better than a cold shower for taking sex out of my mind.”
Anita laughed and said, “Except for one night on the trail after our fire fight. I was very envious.”
Bernadette smiled and said, “Take love wherever and whenever you can get it.” Several hours later they drifted off to bed, leaving their security in the hands of Arjun’s troops, who were quietly patrolling the compound.
The next morning after having slept for ten hours, Jack was in the kitchen at 7:00 preparing breakfast of fruit, poached eggs, toast, coffee and a porridge that proved to be less than a major hit with the motley crew answering his call to breakfast. After the better part of a week in Nepal, no one was down with the traditional stomach bug. They all were in good physical shape. Now he had to keep them that way.
He was looking forward to Arjun’s arrival. He hadn’t expected much from the detective Kathy had hired two weeks ago, but this guy was good, probably because he came from a warrior race. The Sikhs, weapons, fighting and technical equipment just seem to go together.
Sharply at nine, Arjun showed up for coffee. Bernadette served him coffee the way he liked it with lots of sugar and cream. They all gathered around the dining room table.
Arjun started by telling them about his call to a friend at police headquarters in New Delhi. Although a little reluctant, his friend sent an immediate signal to the border police in Raxaul Bazaar with a copy to Patna. Four hours later Arjun Singh received a call from his contact in the New Delhi Police Headquarters, who gave him details of the police raid in Raxaul Bazaar. He ended the call by thanking Arjun for the tip, resulting in a successful raid on a narco-terrorist ring.
On the strength of his tip about a drug smuggling ring using Bahadur’s bungalow, the police contingent arrived bearing a search warrant. Before the police could force an entry to the house, a fire fight broke out lasting several minutes. One man was captured and identified as an al-Qaeda operative that the Indian and Nepalese police had placed on a high priority search list several months ago. Everyone else in the house was killed, and also a young constable was killed in the raid. The police confiscated a sizeable quantity of heroin, as well as a small arsenal of illegal weapons. Arjun said his contact alluded to the finding of documents and a large amount of foreign currency. Indian police were in touch with Nepalese authorities to investigate Bahadur Thapa, the owner of the bungalow. The police have the baggage of three people and will find the names to match the baggage.
“Now, let me tell you what more I later learned from my contact with the Delhi police. The Nepalese police have been to the river camp operated by Thapa. They made several arrests and confiscated computers, computer files and paper files. Drug dogs confirmed drugs, probably heroin, had been at the camp in quantities beyond the use of the inhabitants.
“The police learned Thapa, and three white foreigners, one man and two women, with Thapa’s primary river pilot, left the camp and went up the Narayani five days ago in a river boat called the River Runner. No one has seen them or the boat since. By tomorrow the Nepalese police will be searching for your group.
“I am in your employ and since I have a law degree, I can also be your local attorney for the fee of one rupee. While American law is different from Indian legal traditions, I do not have to disclose what a client has told me unless it is to report a pending crime. To help you, I need to know what we face and what I can tell to the Delhi police that will help us. Do you agree to that?”
Jack said, “Arjunji, yes, we agree. We know we need you and will have to trust you if we expect your help. I assume the financial situation is acceptable to you.”
“Yes, the financial arrangement is more than satisfactory. Ms. Grayson has worked that out with me. Now, let me report on the surveillance of Abdul Ali Fahad.”
Arjun started by saying, “We now have another target to follow. Last night after 8:00, your friend Abdul Ali Fahad left the hotel in his car. His driver dropped him on the outskirts of the main market area. After walking around for several minutes, he went into a Tibetan craft shop. He was in there for an hour. He came out and went to the same place where his driver had dropped him off. His car was waiting there, and he went back to the hotel. An hour later, one of the ladies of the night paid him a visit. She was there for an hour. He did not leave the hotel again last night.
“I doubted Abdul Ali Fahad was in the Tibetan craft shop at night for an hour talking to the owner or manager of the shop, so two of my people, a man and a woman, waited outside. Twenty minutes after Fahad left, a man who appeared to be an Arab came out and walked to a small bungalow in the Kalimati area of Kathmandu. Anita, your Nepali linguist will tell you “Kalimati” means black earth. I’m told the topsoil in that area extends downward for several yards. But to get back to my report. My team stayed outside until the lights went out two hours later. Today they went back and took some pictures of the bungalow and the general area surrounding it.
“My real estate contact checked the address. An Arab with the name Hakim Al-Lami rents the place. We cannot tell if this is a real name or an alias. I know some people in Kathmandu who helped me in some past investigations in this city. They are very good and very discreet. I gave them the job of keeping track of this person and getting some pictures. Thanks to the wonders of digital photography, we should have pictures of the bungalow within an hour. I must tell you while we are covering your suspect very closely, it is highly unlikely we can have him arrested, based on the information we have now and what I think we are likely to get in the next few days.
“We can’t prove these people have broken any Nepalese laws or Indian laws. I cannot realistically expect the police of either Nepal or India to take any action whatsoever. They are here legally. Abdul Ali Fahad and Hakim Al-Lami are not on any watch list. They move freely between India and Nepal on a regular basis. My only recommendation is you plan on extending this investigation until we have enough evidence, or leave Nepal and India very soon and send a report of your suspicions to American authorities. I am sorry, but that is the way it is. Do you have any questions?”
Kathy asked, “Arjun, you have followed many people in your work. Did this Fahad person act as if he were checking to see if he was being followed, or did he manage his movements so he could tell if anyone was following him?”
“He seemed to take precautions about not parking his car in front of his destination or perhaps he did not want his driver to know where he was going. He uses the same car and driver all the time. I think this man knows about surveillance, but he used none of the usual ways to detect anything. He seemed preoccupied and not worried. He may know the Nepalese police use a very effective practice to keep track of suspected persons.”
Kathy leaned forward in her chair and said, “And what is the practice?”
“Very simple. The foot police on duty at the bridges and intersections write the license numbers of diplomatic cars and cars of other people of interest when they see them pass and note the time and the direction of travel. They either send the data in by radio or turn it in when shifts change. Back at their headquarters it is pieced together. A passive system but it can be very effective. If that is all, I should be going. The speed of this investigation is picking up. I would not be surprised to find the meeting you are concerned about could take place tonight or tomorrow.”
Arjun drank the last of his coffee, said he would be back at tea time, and would check on the status of pictures that hadn’t arrived.
Facts and Fictions 