Page 42 of Rising Tiger

They were getting into dangerous territory. Harvath knew Ritter’s real purpose in Jaipur, but he wasn’t cleared to share it with Vijay.

“The State Department has already spoken with his office back in the U.S. They confirmed that this trip was a long-planned vacation and that he had no meetings set up. Sometimes it’s just nice to get away from work.”

“Fair enough,” Vijay replied. “Maybe his dining companion was an old friend? Or an acquaintance who had said, ‘If you’re ever in Delhi, look me up.’?”

“Could be. Or for all we know, it was a brand-new person he’d met after having arrived.”

“Someone who may have lured him to the restaurant in order to kill him?”

Harvath knew who Ritter had eaten dinner with. He was an assistant to the foreign secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs—the agency responsible for India’s foreign affairs. If, and it was a bigif,he turned out to have been involved with Ritter’s murder, he wasn’t going to be hard to track down.

For the time being, Harvath wanted Vijay focused on the killer and steered him in that direction.

“All options are on the table, but I’d like to focus on the killer. When we find that person, we’re going to get answers to a lot of questions.”

“Whenwe find that person,” Vijay repeated. “There are one-point-four billion people in India. Over four-point-three million of them reside in Jaipur. I admire your confidence. I only wish I shared it. Very few murders like these ever get solved.”

A critical skill for a spy was the ability to develop sources and build networks. It was something Harvath was exceedingly good at. What he had learned over the years was that it wasn’t about gaining their trust—not at the beginning, but rather putting your trust in them.

“There’s something you don’t know about Eli Ritter,” Harvath admitted. “Two things, actually.”

As Vijay brought the Jaguar to a stop at a red light, he looked at his passenger. “Okay,” he replied, cautiously. “I’m listening.”

“He used to work for the State Department. Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. His job was to level the playing field forAmerican businesses overseas and to encourage foreign investment in the U.S. economy.”

“Sounds like a cover position.”

Harvath smiled. “You’ve been reading too many spy novels.”

“What’s the other thing I don’t know about him?”

“He and I knew each other. We were friends.”

The light turned green and it took a honk from another vehicle to shift Vijay’s attention back to the road. As he accelerated he said, “First, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

“Second, if there’s anything else you want to tell me, now would be a good time. I can’t help you, not really, if I don’t have a full picture of what’s going on.”

Direct, smart, and to the point. The more time he spent with Vijay, the more he liked him. He took no enjoyment from keeping him in the dark. “You know what I know.”

“Very well,” said Vijay. “I understand. We’ll leave it there for now. In the meantime, my job is to assist you, in any way I can, so what other questions do you have for me?”

“There was a witness to the shooting, correct?”

“Two, actually. A shopkeeper and his wife. I assume you would like to speak with them?”

“Yes,” said Harvath. “I’d also like to see any forensic evidence, as well as Ritter’s body. How soon can we do all of that?”

“We can visit the shopkeeper and his wife tonight. Accessing the morgue and the DST’s evidence room would be easier during business hours, but I can make some calls if you want. Just understand that you’d be pulling people away from their Diwali celebrations. They’ll be more cooperative in the morning.”

“Then that part can wait. Let’s retrace Ritter’s steps, have dinner, and see the shopkeepers.”

“Good plan,” replied Vijay as he pulled up a route on his phone. “I’ve mapped out where all of the security cameras caught Ritter between the park and the restaurant. If at any point you want to stop and get out of the car, just let me know.”

Harvath flashed him a thumbs-up and then reached behind the seat for the CD wallet.

Pulling out Average White Band’s second album,AWB,he held it up so Vijay could see it. “Can I play this without us having another argument?”

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