by Mario Bolduc
“Phew, he’s okay,” he said after checking it.
Max squinted against the sun, which came in behind him through the open door. A silhouette. The driver was Jayesh in a QPF uniform.
“Sorry about the punch-up, yaar …”
Max closed his eyes. Now he could die in peace.
“Come on, we’ve gotta get out of here. Let’s go!”
He felt someone lift him up by the arms, then by the waist, lifting his feet clear off the ground. What next? Siddharth Srinivasan’s Daybreak 34, the “Dark Demon,” more gaudily decorated than a temple in Tamil Nadu, with pictures of goalie José Théodore along with the god Hanuman. Deepa was bitching at her husband about the samosa he was eating instead of grapefruit. A turquoise kurta. “Come on, Jayesh!”
To the music of Kishore Kumar, he had to change out of uniform before they reached the U.S. border. One more passport, yet another, was ready for his friend. Max couldn’t even pronounce his own name this time.
“Bennington, New Hampshire,” explained Jayesh. “A khumbamela, a feast in the honour of Shiva. Every Hindu from the East Coast will be there, just like every year.”
Reincarnation, eh? Max had to believe in it now, didn’t he? Actually, he’d never done much else.
So, a Hindu on a pilgrimage. Sure, why not?
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the following, who helped me during the writing of this novel: Feroz Mehdi, project head at Alternatives, for ensuring that references to India and Indian culture are accurate and adequate, including names and expressions in Hindi; Sergeant François Doré, of the Direction des communications — Sûreté du Québec (Québec Police Force), for describing the work of officers in the Service des enquêtes sur les crimes économiques (Economic Crimes Squad); Dr. Gilles Truffy, for revising the text to ensure the exactitude of medical aspects; Reeta Chowdhari-Tremblay, for supplying precious information on Indian society; Christine Boucher and Francine Landry, for comments and suggestions during the writing and revising stages of this book.
Many thanks to everyone at Libre Expression, especially Johanne Guay, Jean Baril, and the late Monique H. Messier, who encouraged me and allowed me the benefit of her expertise as an editor.
Thanks also to Nigel Spencer for this translation and to Shannon Whibbs and the team at Dundurn Press.
The author can be reached at [email protected].
Copyright © 2016 Dundurn Press
Originally published in French under the title Cachemire. Copyright © 2004 Mario Bolduc
© 2004, 2007, 2012 Les Éditions Libre Expression
Published under arrangement with Groupe Librex Inc., doing business under the name Les Éditions Libre Expression, Montréal, QC, Canada.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purpose of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.
Editor: Shannon Whibbs
Design: Jennifer Gallinger
Cover design: Laura Boyle
Cover design (French edition): Chantal Boyer
Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Bolduc, Mario, 1953-
[Cachemire. English]
The Kashmir trap / Mario Bolduc ; translated by Nigel Spencer.
(A Max O’Brien mystery)
Translation of: Cachemire.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-4597-3348-0 (paperback).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3349-7 (pdf).--
ISBN 978-1-4597-3350-3 (epub)
I. Spencer, Nigel, 1945-, translator II. Title. III. Title: Cachemire. English.
PS8553.O475C3213 2016 C843’.54 C2015-907804-0
C2015-907805-9
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and Livres Canada Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
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J. Kirk Howard, President
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