The Kashmir Trap. Mario Bolduc

connection to the group that attacked Parliament?” Max asked.

      “That’s what Dhaliwal’s team thought at first: Harakat-ul-Ansar — they’d intercepted some of their activists a few days before; or maybe Jaish-e-Mohammed — they’re also very active in New Delhi. The police had their inside informants, moles, in fact, and at least a general notion of the jihadis’ comings and goings, but embassies and consulates weren’t on their hit list.”

      “A change of strategy, maybe?” Max asked. “I mean, who’d have thought that Lashkar-e-Taiba would one day launch an attack on Parliament?”

      “Sure, especially with ammonium nitrate–based explosives. They’re a favourite with terrorists,” said Jaikumar.

      “Not to mention kidnapping,” Max added.

      The policeman was surprised to find Max so up-to-date on what, until now, had been kept from the media, and equally surprised to discover he knew about David’s wounds from before the bomb attack, something the investigators found intriguing, needless to say.

      “What, in fact, happened between the time David and his driver left the High Commission —”

      “Witnesses put it at about 4:30 p.m.,” cut in Jaikumar.

      “— and the car bomb six hours later by the banks of the Yamuna on the other side of town?”

      Baffled, Jaikumar shrugged. “The police are leaving no stone unturned, and Lal Krishna Advani, the minister of home affairs, is following the investigation closely. You know Inspector Dhaliwal is from Gandhinagar, in Gujarat, the same state Advani represents in Parliament, and he keeps him constantly up to date, verbally, of course, as one does with politically dangerous files like this.”