‘How did Ben take it?’ asked Roshan.
Ian frowned. ‘How would you have felt if you were him?’
‘What are we going to do now?’ asked Siraj.
‘What can we do?’ asked Ian.
‘A lot,’ Isobel stated. ‘Anything rather than sit here roasting our behinds when there’s a murderer out there trying to kill Ben. And Sheere.’
‘Anyone against?’ asked Seth.
They all answered, ‘No.’
‘Very well, Colonel,’ said Ian, looking pointedly at Isobel. ‘What are your orders?’
‘First, somebody should find out everything there is to know about this accident at Jheeter’s Gate and the engineer,’ said Isobel.
‘I can do that,’ offered Seth. ‘There must be newspaper cuttings from the time in the library of the Indian Museum. And books, probably.’
‘Seth is right,’ said Siraj. ‘The fire at Jheeter’s Gate caused a great scandal in its day, and a lot of people still remember it. There must be records on the subject. Goodness knows where, but they must exist.’
‘Then we’ll have to search for them,’ Isobel said. ‘They could be a good starting point.’
‘I’ll help Seth,’ said Michael.
Isobel nodded vigorously. ‘We must find out everything we can about this man, his life, and also the amazing house which is supposed to be somewhere near here. Tracing it might lead us to the murderer.’
‘We’ll look for the house,’ suggested Siraj, pointing at himself and Roshan.
‘If it exists, we’ll find it,’ Roshan added.
‘Fine, but don’t go inside,’ warned Isobel.
‘We didn’t intend to,’ Roshan reassured her.
‘What about me? What am I supposed to do?’ asked Ian. He couldn’t think of a task that would suit his particular skills as easily.
‘You stay here with Ben and Sheere,’ said Isobel. ‘For all we know, Ben might start getting crazy ideas into his head before we even realise it. Stay by his side and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. It’s not a good idea for him to be seen out on the streets with Sheere.’
Ian agreed, aware that his was the most difficult task of the whole lot.
‘We’ll meet in the Midnight Palace before it turns dark,’ Isobel concluded. ‘Any questions?’
The friends looked at one another and quickly shook their heads.
‘Good, let’s get going.’
Seth, Michael, Roshan and Siraj set off at once to carry out their respective tasks. Isobel stayed behind with Ian, quietly watching them leave through the heat haze rising from the scorched dusty streets.
‘What are you planning to do, Isobel?’ asked Ian.
Isobel turned to him and smiled mysteriously.
‘I have a hunch,’ she said.
‘I trust your hunches as much as I trust earthquakes,’ Ian replied. ‘What are you plotting?’
‘You mustn’t worry, Ian.’
‘When you say that, I worry even more.’
‘I might not get to the Palace by this evening,’ said Isobel. ‘If I haven’t appeared, do what you have to do. You always know what has to be done, Ian.’
He sighed. He was worried. He hated all this mystery and the strange glint he noticed in his friend’s eyes.
‘Look at me, Isobel,’ he ordered. She obeyed. ‘Whatever your plan is, forget it.’
‘I know how to take care of myself, Ian,’ she said with a smile.
Ian, however, could not return the smile.
‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ he begged. Isobel laughed.
‘I’ll do one thing you would never dare to do,’ she whispered.
Ian stared at her, mystified. Then, her eyes still shining enigmatically, she moved closer to him and brushed his lips gently with a kiss.
‘Take care, Ian,’ she said softly. ‘And don’t go dreaming …’
That was the first time Isobel had kissed him, and as he watched her disappear through the wilderness of the courtyard, Ian couldn’t help feeling a sudden and inexplicable fear that it might also be the last.
Almost an hour later Ben and Sheere emerged, their faces inscrutable but strangely calm. Sheere walked over to Aryami, who had spent all the time alone on the veranda, away from the discussions of Ian and his friends, and sat down next to her. Ben made straight for Ian.
‘Where is everybody?’ he asked.
‘We thought it would be useful to investigate this individual Jawahal,’ Ian replied.
‘So you’ve been left to babysit?’ Ben’s forced humour didn’t fool either of them.
‘Something like that. Are you all right?’ Ian motioned towards Sheere.
His friend nodded.
‘Confused, I suppose,’ Ben said at last. ‘I hate surprises.’
‘Isobel says it’s not a good idea for you two to go out and about together, and I think she’s right.’