Colin shook his head, his elation slowly dissipating. They were going round in circles. 'Last night, I went through all the material we have. I couldn't find any reference to a mother in any of the locations where the edicts were found.'

A feeling of dread took hold of Colin. Would they ever be able to solve this mystery? And, even if they did, would they be in time to save Vijay and Radha?

35.

Day 10 Patna White and Colin strolled down the road where their hotel was situated. The previous day had passed without any further breakthrough in their attempts to decipher the riddle. Even today, they were no closer to solving the puzzle. They had just three hours left to find the right answer for Farooq. A shop they were passing caught Colin's eye. He stopped and pointed to a row of colourful brochures on the shop counter.

'Travel brochures.' Colin began thumbing through them. The shop was a little travel agency. 'These are local tours. Looks like there's lots to be seen around here.' He was desperately looking for a way to take his mind off the problem of the clues. Perhaps if he was able to stop thinking about the problem he might get some new ideas that would lead to a breakthrough.

He picked up some more pamphlets and flipped through them, now genuinely interested. 'Seems like Barabar isn't really on the tourist circuit,' he observed. 'There's no reference to the caves in any of these brochures.'

White looked like he didn't understand but he, too, picked up a brochure and looked at it.

'Tours of Bihar and Jharkhand,' he read out the title of one. The owner of the travel agency, observing what seemed to be two American tourists browsing through his itineraries, hurried to the main counter.

'Very good sights to see, sir,' he began, addressing Colin. 'Not very far from here, sir.' He glanced at the brochure Colin was perusing. 'Interested in ancient history, sir? You come to right place.' His sharp eyes had observed Colin scrutinising the brochures, searching for a mention of the Barabar caves.

'Lots of ancient sites, sir,' the travel agent continued, thinking he was homing in on the kill. 'Hazaribagh plateau. Not far from here. Many old sites; Banadag megaliths, ancient burial stones of the Kolarian tribes, Bawanbai Hills. Ancient manmade hill, according to the legends.'

He paused to see if his words were having any effect. Not satisfied with what he saw in their faces, he persisted. 'North Karanpura valley. Stone tool culture. Rock paintings. Very old. Karanpura valley. More rock paintings.' Pausing, he looked at his two prospective customers again.

'There's more, much more,' he continued, obviously feeling that he hadn't impressed the American tourists sufficiently with his sales pitch. 'Sitagarha Hill.' He passed a brochure to White from the back of the acrylic brochure rack. 'Important Buddhist site. 300 bc. Sacred hill. Forms the figure of a Mother Goddess. Worshipped by the Birhor tribals.'

White smiled and took the brochure from him.

Colin froze. He reached out and grabbed the brochure the agent had handed to White.

'What...?' White began but stopped as he saw the expression on Colin's face. 'You got something?'

Colin didn't hear him. He was engrossed in reading the contents of the brochure. When he had finished, he looked at White, a big smile on his face. 'Thank you.' He passed a `500 note to the travel agent. 'Thank you very much! You don't know how helpful you've been.'

'No mention,' the puzzled travel agent replied, wondering what he had done to earn the money. However, he accepted it with grace even though he was disappointed that the two prospects wouldn't convert to paying customers.

'Time to get back to work.' Colin turned around and, for the first time since Vijay and Radha had been kidnapped, the shadows and worry lines had disappeared from his face.

36.

Day 10 The Ashoka Palace Hotel, Patna Shukla, White and Colin were gathered in Colin's room. Vijay's laptop occupied the desk in the room and papers were strewn all over the bed.

On returning to the hotel, Colin had disappeared into his room, and they hadn't heard from him until a few minutes ago, when he called the other two men to join him in his room.

'We have a hope,' Colin beamed, 'to save Vijay and Radha.'

A look of anticipation flitted across Shukla's face and White nodded.

Colin held up the pamphlet they had earlier picked up from the travel agent. 'The travel agent talked to us about Sitagarha Hill.' Colin opened up the brochure and began reading from it. 'According to this, Sitagarha Hill is the site of an ancient Buddhist settlement. Located in the Hazaribagh plateau, a stone-carved stupa and iron relics have been excavated along with stone pillars and heavily engraved stone blocks. Artefacts from the site have been dated to 300 BC.'

He paused. 'I did some research on stupas. They are hemispherical shrines, usually built over a relic of the Buddha. And listen to this.' His face shone with excitement. 'The sacred hill of Marang Buru, also called Juljul, forms the recumbent landscape figure of a reclining Mother Goddess. On the south face is a 65-foot-long stone face, called Mahadeva by the Birhor tribals. Mahadeva is a term alternately used for Lord Shiva and Buddha. The Birhor tribals still worship this hill as their Mother Goddess.'

Shukla's face radiated hope as he guessed the direction in which Colin was heading.

'So you think this hill, in the shape of a reclining Mother Goddess, is the "Mother" that the verse refers to?' White had also understood the connection Colin was trying to make.

Colin nodded. 'What else?' He pulled out the map of India with the locations of Asoka's edicts. 'Look at this.' He drew a straight line from the Barabar caves to Dhauli, where the carving of the elephant stood.

They gazed at the red line on the map. The line passed through the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

'Don't you see it?' Colin drew a rough circle on the map, which the line passed through. 'I've checked around twenty different maps of eastern India just to be sure. The line passes over the Hazaribagh plateau. Remember what the riddle said.'

They recalled the last cryptic verse on the ball of rock they had found at Barabar.

From the chambers that echo,

As we lift our eyes to the south

To the harbinger of the Lord's birth

In a dream

Passing over the Mother

Who lies amidst the forests green, reposing,

Holding within her bosom,

Hidden for Millennia,

The Secret of the Nine.

'According to the brochure and the Internet,' Colin continued, 'the Hazaribagh plateau is home to dense tropical forests. I think these are the forests green. And the hill of the reclining Mother Goddess is the Mother, reposing within the forests. I believe that is where we will find the location where the secret of the Nine is hidden.'

They looked at each other. It had to be more than mere concidence.

'You could be right.' Shukla's eyes shone with the prospect of saving his daughter and discovering a secret hidden for thousands of years. 'The text in Beger's diary, the one written by Surasen describing his discovery, also talked about the secret being hidden within a hill for centuries.'

'All this time we've been thinking that the secret, whatever it is, had been removed from its original location and hidden away somewhere else by the Nine.' White shook his head, smiling. 'It's been in the same place all along. Exactly where it was found. In a cavern within this hill.'

The air tingled with electric anticipation. Suddenly, the secret of the Nine seemed to be more than a myth; more than a fantasy. Finally, it appeared to be within their reach.

Colin's face grew sober as he realised that this discovery would now belong to Farooq. They had to pass on this information to him they if wanted their friends back safe.

He looked at his watch. 6.00 p.m. Half an hour to go before Farooq called. They had just about made it.

There was a knock on the door. All three men turned to look at it.

'Intelligence Bureau. Please open up.' The voice was authoritative.

Colin looked puzzled. 'Who's that?'

'The Indian equivalent of Homeland Security in the US,' Shukla explained. 'You better open up fast. It's probably a case of mistaken identity.'

Colin looked at White, who looked uneasy. 'You alright?'

'Yeah,' White muttered. 'Just nervous about Indian cops. Heard a lot of stories about them. None of them good.'

'Don't worry, it's probably nothing.' Colin opened the door.

Three men stood there. Colin instantly recognised the man who led the group. It was the same policeman who had come to Jaungarh Fort to get a sketch made of Farooq and Imtiaz.

'Can I come in, please?' Imran nodded to Colin, as he produced an identity card from the Intelligence Bureau.

'Sure,' Colin looked confused as he stepped aside to allow Imran to enter. 'Didn't you say you were with the Gurgaon police when you visited us at Jaungarh?'

Imran allowed the shadow of a smile to play on his lips. 'Actually, I didn't say who I was with. I was working undercover. If your definition of undercover includes an IB officer playing a local policeman!'

Colin introduced Shukla and White. 'Is this regarding the case?' he asked. 'We really don't have much more to tell you.'

'Oh, yes you do.' Imran's face was grim. 'I know about Vijay and Radha. Trouble is, you don't know about Farooq Siddiqui. He is a very dangerous man. He is linked to Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba. We have been on his trail for a while, but we didn't want to move in on him until we knew exactly what he was after. Now we know.' He told them about the threat issued by LeT to bomb the G20 summit.

Greg White's face was ashen and Shukla too was white with terror. His daughter was being held captive by one of the most dreaded terrorist groups in the world.

'And I know that you were engaged by Bheem Singh to come to India,' Imran addressed White, 'So I'm sorry to inform you that he, too, was mixed up with Farooq in this web of intrigue. What's worse, Bheem Singh was one of the ringleaders. But we don't have to worry about him now.'

'You've arrested him?' White's face had turned a darker shade of grey. He wasn't taking the news very well.

Imran shook his head. 'Unfortunately, no. There is much he could have told us. But he's dead.'

He decided to come to the point. 'I know that Farooq has been in touch with you and wants you to decipher some sort of verse for him,' Imran continued. 'We tapped Vijay's phone and we've been listening in on the conversations he's been having with you. Now, here's what I want you to do.'

He looked around at the group. 'Have you deciphered the verse?'

Colin nodded.

'Good.' Imran smiled grimly. 'Now, when Farooq calls in around 30 minutes from now, I want you to tell him the answer to the verse but only after a very long negotiation.'

'How will that help?' Colin enquired.

'We've located his hideout,' Imran explained. 'It will take us 45 minutes to reach. I need you to keep him engaged in conversation. So negotiate for Vijay and Radha's release. Put forward terms and conditions. Give him a detailed explanation of how you solved the mystery. Anything. Just keep him talking. Please. It will give us time to reach there.' He held Colin's gaze. 'This is our only chance of getting Vijay and Radha out of there alive. Believe me, Farooq has no plans to free them. Once he gets the information he needs, your friends will die.'

Colin pondered this for a few moments, exchanging glances with Shukla and White. Both men nodded. This seemed to be the only way out.

'Fine.' Colin exhaled sharply. 'We'll do as you've asked. Please get them back.'

Imran nodded grimly. 'I'll do my best.' Inwardly, he wasn't so confident. He had a plan, but it depended on so many other factors, there was no way to be sure what would happen.

As Imran left the room, White said, 'I'm sorry but I need to go lie down for a while. I hope you don't mind.'

'Sure, no problem,' Colin said, half distracted, as White left the room. Shukla stayed, still looking pale and petrified.

A thought briefly crossed Colin's mind but he pushed it away. There was no doubt the news about Bheem Singh had come as a shock to the archaeologist. But it seemed to him that White looked more angry than unwell! But that didn't make sense. Colin shook his head. He was imagining things. He had more important things to worry about right now.