to be because of something like that .
But Joshua decided not to jump the gun. Before thinking about the next steps, he had to establish the identity of the person on the placard beyond doubt and he had to do it as quickly and as discreetly as possible. He could think of only one way and he zoomed in on it before long.
After spending a few more minutes in the balcony formulating a plan of action, he slipped back into the suite. Ignoring the fact that it was well past midnight, he flipped open his pocketbook and started pushing the buttons on the telephone.
8
H is throat sore and the hollows of his gastric apparatus raging like an inferno, Lakshman picked up the phone. He was in no mood to talk to anyone but talking was a lot easier than the alternative, i.e. listening to Urmila at this time of the day.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi Lax, this is Joshua.’
Lakshman was rendered speechless for a moment. His friendship with Joshua went back over twenty-five years, to the time they were both grad students at Georgia Tech, and he couldn’t remember Joshua once breaching etiquette, calling so late in the night. ‘Hello Josh!’ he said once he found his voice. ‘I thought you must be at the airport now, going through security check.’
‘No, not quite. I’m back in the hotel now. Had to change my plans at the last minute. Something came up.’
‘Anything serious?’
‘Yeah . . . I have a situation . . . and need a favour from you.’
‘Come on, there’re no favours between us, Josh. What do you want me to do?’
‘I’m trying to trace a guy named Jeffrey Williams. It seems like a J. William or J. Williams was staying at the Oceanic. I’d like to check if it’s the same guy.’
‘Why don’t you just call up the front desk and ask them?’
‘No, the thing is, it’s a little . . . sensitive. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m snooping around – it’s a long story; I’ll tell you later. But suffice to say, that’s what is still keeping me here.’
Lakshman didn’t feel like probing further, in part because it was so late in the night but more because the bitterness in his mouth and burning sensation in his throat stifled his curiosity. ‘Okay, what do you want me to do exactly?’ he asked.
‘Just call up the front desk and ask them to connect you to J. Williams. If they put you through, just hang up; you don’t need to talk to him. He’s not my man.’
‘Got it,’ said Lakshman. ‘I’ll call them now and call you right back.’
‘If it’s all the same to you, why don’t I call you back myself, say, in five minutes? I don’t want you calling the front desk repeatedly like a crank caller and alarming them.’
‘All right.’
‘Thanks for doing this, Lax.’
‘No problem, Josh.’
Lakshman hung up. He helped himself to a little water and then dialled the Oceanic.
‘Can you connect me to Mr Williams, please?’
‘Do you know his room number?’
‘No.’
Lakshman could hear the muted clattering of keys.
‘May I have the full name, sir?’ the operator asked after a short pause.
‘Jeffrey Williams.’
‘He has checked out, sir.’
‘Checked out? Really?’
‘Yes sir. You want to reach the same person who came for the IIT conference, right?’
Lakshman didn’t know what to say. He mumbled, ‘Yeah,’ and waited for the operator.
‘He checked out of the hotel a few days after the conference, sir. I’m sorry.’
‘Okay. No problem. Thank you.’
Lakshman relayed the information to Joshua when he called after a few minutes.
‘Are you saying Jeffrey Williams came to attend the research conference at your campus?’ Joshua said incredulously.
‘Yeah, that’s what the operator seemed to be saying,’ Lakshman said.
‘You mean the same conference you organized and invited me to but I couldn’t make it? Are you sure?’
‘As much as I can be. No other conference was held on campus in the last few months, that much I’m sure of,’ Lakshman said. ‘We had
But Joshua decided not to jump the gun. Before thinking about the next steps, he had to establish the identity of the person on the placard beyond doubt and he had to do it as quickly and as discreetly as possible. He could think of only one way and he zoomed in on it before long.
After spending a few more minutes in the balcony formulating a plan of action, he slipped back into the suite. Ignoring the fact that it was well past midnight, he flipped open his pocketbook and started pushing the buttons on the telephone.
8
H is throat sore and the hollows of his gastric apparatus raging like an inferno, Lakshman picked up the phone. He was in no mood to talk to anyone but talking was a lot easier than the alternative, i.e. listening to Urmila at this time of the day.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi Lax, this is Joshua.’
Lakshman was rendered speechless for a moment. His friendship with Joshua went back over twenty-five years, to the time they were both grad students at Georgia Tech, and he couldn’t remember Joshua once breaching etiquette, calling so late in the night. ‘Hello Josh!’ he said once he found his voice. ‘I thought you must be at the airport now, going through security check.’
‘No, not quite. I’m back in the hotel now. Had to change my plans at the last minute. Something came up.’
‘Anything serious?’
‘Yeah . . . I have a situation . . . and need a favour from you.’
‘Come on, there’re no favours between us, Josh. What do you want me to do?’
‘I’m trying to trace a guy named Jeffrey Williams. It seems like a J. William or J. Williams was staying at the Oceanic. I’d like to check if it’s the same guy.’
‘Why don’t you just call up the front desk and ask them?’
‘No, the thing is, it’s a little . . . sensitive. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m snooping around – it’s a long story; I’ll tell you later. But suffice to say, that’s what is still keeping me here.’
Lakshman didn’t feel like probing further, in part because it was so late in the night but more because the bitterness in his mouth and burning sensation in his throat stifled his curiosity. ‘Okay, what do you want me to do exactly?’ he asked.
‘Just call up the front desk and ask them to connect you to J. Williams. If they put you through, just hang up; you don’t need to talk to him. He’s not my man.’
‘Got it,’ said Lakshman. ‘I’ll call them now and call you right back.’
‘If it’s all the same to you, why don’t I call you back myself, say, in five minutes? I don’t want you calling the front desk repeatedly like a crank caller and alarming them.’
‘All right.’
‘Thanks for doing this, Lax.’
‘No problem, Josh.’
Lakshman hung up. He helped himself to a little water and then dialled the Oceanic.
‘Can you connect me to Mr Williams, please?’
‘Do you know his room number?’
‘No.’
Lakshman could hear the muted clattering of keys.
‘May I have the full name, sir?’ the operator asked after a short pause.
‘Jeffrey Williams.’
‘He has checked out, sir.’
‘Checked out? Really?’
‘Yes sir. You want to reach the same person who came for the IIT conference, right?’
Lakshman didn’t know what to say. He mumbled, ‘Yeah,’ and waited for the operator.
‘He checked out of the hotel a few days after the conference, sir. I’m sorry.’
‘Okay. No problem. Thank you.’
Lakshman relayed the information to Joshua when he called after a few minutes.
‘Are you saying Jeffrey Williams came to attend the research conference at your campus?’ Joshua said incredulously.
‘Yeah, that’s what the operator seemed to be saying,’ Lakshman said.
‘You mean the same conference you organized and invited me to but I couldn’t make it? Are you sure?’
‘As much as I can be. No other conference was held on campus in the last few months, that much I’m sure of,’ Lakshman said. ‘We had
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