drive on your Aussie licence here—’ But before he could finish, another policeman on a motorcycle pulled in.
‘Oh shit, I’m outnumbered now.’ Johnny’s eyes darted back and forth.
She tugged on his T-shirt. ‘Let’s just give him the money! I can get some out. What’s two million rupiah?”
‘About two hundred Aussie dollars. No way, Maddie, this is a scam. I need to call their bluff.’
The other policeman parked his bike, said something loud in Indonesian to the first guy. There was a heated debate.
‘What are they saying?’ she whispered to Johnny.
‘Hold on,’ he said and went over to them and started speaking in Indonesian.
Suddenly Johnny yelled, ‘No!’ She looked around abruptly to see Johnny had pulled his wallet out of his pocket and was showing them his licence.
‘Fuck’s sake!’ she heard Johnny say as the first policeman was waving his arms around and gesturing to her on the bike, pointing his thumb toward her.
After a bit more shouting, the second policeman was holding his hands up in a signal that Johnny was to be quiet. He did as he was told, scowling. Then the second policeman said something to him and he strode back to his bike. Johnny stood on the dirty roadside and scuffed his boots on the ground, sending up a plume of dust.
‘Jesus Christ, they’re going to arrest us! Can you believe it!’
Maddie’s heart started thumping. She had never been arrested in her life! Her eyes widened. ‘Did you explain to the second policeman about your licence?’
‘It won’t make a difference. The first guy was trying to rip us off and then when the other guy came along, he knew he’d lose face if he was seen to be accepting a bribe from us, because you can drive with an Aussie licence, so he said he’d seen us snogging on the north part of the island – which is taboo around here. It’s covered by Sharia law. Basically if you’re not married you can’t touch each other. We have to go to the station. They’ve really stitched us up.’ Johnny ran his hand over his dark blond hair and looked at her.
‘But he’s lying! We were never there – and we didn’t kiss!’
Johnny tilted his head to one side and raised his eyebrows. ‘It’s our word against his – against a corrupt policeman, but still, they’re going to believe him, not us. Christ, I can’t lose my visa. I need to stay and work here…’ And with that he hopped on his bike, revved up the engine noisily and they followed the policeman along the road.
This wasn’t quite the day out she’d imagined.
15
It was making no sense to Maddie and it was taking ages. They had been in the police station for over four hours now, filling in a statement then sitting on two green plastic chairs in a back room. It had one window, high up on the wall, with metal bars across it. Dust and cobwebs clung to the bars as a spider scuttled along the ledge and there was a faint smell of insect repellent in the air. Maddie felt like she was in jail already. Johnny had done all the talking, sometimes in English, sometimes chattering effortlessly in Indonesian.
He was pacing the floor now, after texting Adity and Ed to tell them where they were. Maddie stared at a rubber plant in a pot by the corner. Its leaves were torn and brown. Someone should water that. It was unbearably hot. The only slight relief was a ceiling fan that went round agonisingly slowly, offering a very gentle breeze over her by-now sweaty face. Moisture clung behind her knees and dribbled down her forehead.
What would they do? What was the maximum punishment for snogging, for heaven’s sake? Not that they had been snogging. Honestly, if she could just speak to someone in plain English. Her thoughts were interrupted. ‘You know they could put us in jail for this?’ Johnny sat down beside her, his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands.
‘I’m sure they’ll realise it’s all a big mistake.’
‘Maddie, this isn’t the British police we’re dealing with.’
She felt very afraid and very alone. Her mind instinctively thought of Tim. She suddenly wanted all the security he offered, but just then, a little voice whispered in her ear. No, you don’t, Maddie, you’ll be just fine. You’ve got this.
They sat like this for a while longer. Maddie was twisting a strand of hair round her index finger when something dawned on