The van stopped suddenly, Clara and Judith somewhat less suddenly and they both shot backwards over the seats and landed in a heap on the couch, Slim's (fortunately well-padded) couch.

 

The 5 euro note floated slowly forward and landed on their lap

 

Oh dear.

 

I don't want you to be alarmed but, frankly, things got alarming.

First, the police. Not nice friendly ones, the kind you can ask for directions, or who look like they might be quite ordinary people when they aren't in uniform.
No.
These were not in uniform, they were in a sort of body armour, with guns, and handcuffs, and radios and a camera stuck to their shoulder, and helmets and face shields and very very serious expressions.
And loud voices.
Did I mention the loud voices?

 

    Shouts really.

 

       very angry shouts.

Not that you could hear what they were shouting, because all the sirens in the world seemed to be screeching away, and red, blue and white lights were flashing, and doors were bashing, and rough hands were pulling them off the really rather comfortable sofa, out of the van, and fastening handcuffs on them.

 

Handcuffs!

 

For really rather nice young ladies.

 

The horror.

"Caught you red handed" thundered a voice as they were pushed into the back of a police car.

 

The last thing they saw as it took off and screeched away with them was a man in a white coat picking up the 5 Euro note with a pair of tweezers and putting it into a plastic envelope.

They were pulled from the car rather less roughly than they'd been shoved in, and marched into the police station to a desk where they stood uncomfortably for nearly an hour having their names, address, parents names, grandparents names, schools' names, then their names again, all noted down very very slowly by a policeman who kept licking the end of his pencil.

 

All the time they kept saying things like "we were just hitchhiking" and "we didn't know those people" and "it wasn't us" but the policeman just ignored them, licked his pencil again and said "School address?"..."name of head teacher?"....

Eventually either he was satisfied he'd written everything down or he'd maybe just got the end of his pencil so wet it wouldn't write any more, and they were taken to an office where two plain-clothes detectives were waiting.

 

One, they later learned was Sergeant Delgado, an ugly ugly man with warts on his big bent nose, ears that looked like cauliflowers and a neck that was as wide as his head. His boss, Inspector Clever, had pale runny eyes, a pale face and looked a bit lost.

 

They told their story again for what felt like the twentieth time, but at least this time someone was listening. Well, both policemen were listening, Sgt Delgado making notes in a small book, and Inspector Clever listening with a sort of far-away puzzled expression on his face, his mouth hanging open, as if he could hear them in the distance but wasn't sure what they were talking about.

 

Judith decided to talk a bit louder.

"We were hitchhiking", she began, but Inspector Clever waved his hand to stop her.

 

"No, I understand all that" he said. "You were hitch hiking home from the airport..."
"Er, to the airport I think, sir," said Sgt Delgado, looking at his notes.
"Quite so, yes, to the airport, as I said", Inspector Clever went on, "to go home, yes?"
"No!" shouted both girls at once, "we were going to Scotland."
"Hmm, and you live where?"
"In Bonn Mehlen, sir" said Sgt Delgado, reading from his notes.
"I didn't ask you" shouted the inspector. "I asked them."
"We live in Mehlen, but we were trying to go..." said Clara.

"Quiet!" shouted the inspector. "I have had enough of this nonsense. You are under arrest for, for.." He looked at Sgt Delgado.
"Well sergeant, what are they under arrest for?"
"Bank robbery, sir" said the sergeant.
"Correct!" said the inspector. "Glad to see you are listening. Right then, any questions?"

 

They all looked at each other. Sgt Delgado's face had gone an interesting shade of red. No one seemed sure who the inspector was asking this time, so eventually Clara said "but we didn't rob anyone."
Judith said "we didn't even go in the bank, we were just getting a lift..."

"Nonsense" snorted the inspector "you had weapons, wild dogs, a map of the area, you were, you were,.. what were they, sergeant?"

 

"Innocent sir" said the sergeant. "I've just got a text message to say we apprehended two adults..."
"apprehended" said inspector Clever. "Such a good word. Ordinary people just say 'caught' but we, we policemen, say 'apprehended'."
"Quite so, sir" said the sergeant. "We apprehended a man and a woman who have confessed to everything and substantiate these girls stories: they were just innocent hitch hikers."

 

"Hmm, we'll see about that" said Inspector Clever. "Substantiate, eh?
Come with me sergeant, and stop messing around with that notebook."

 

They left the two girls sitting nervously, damp from the rain, and shivering slightly with both the cold and the scary situation.

After half an hour the inspector came back on his own. He had the sergeant's notebook in his hands as he sat down, not looking at them, and began to leaf through it, backwards and forwards.
Eventually he seemed to find the page he wanted, but then frowned, turned the book upside down, then back, then looked at the next page, then threw it down with an exasperated sigh.

 

"OK" he said, "I have decided to let you go home to Scotland..."
"Mehlen!" cried the girls together.
"OK, if you wish, Mehlen" he said. "But in return for your freedom you must do something for us, for the police.
You see we have a tricky problem, and you are just the two who may be able to help us.
Let me explain."

 

He picked up the notebook again, and said....

Ah. We've run out of story

Judith, can you tell me what happens next to I can add it to this?

There is no more here yet....