‘They found something on the boat,’ said Shepherd. ‘They think it belongs to you.’
The legs of the chair scraped along the floor as Rudi got up. ‘What did they find?’ he said. ‘What did they say?’
Shepherd sat up again slowly and swung his feet to the floor. He shrugged. ‘I just overheard two cops talking, that’s all. About some cans in your luggage.’
‘Cans? They said cans?’
‘Cans of oil. Did you have some with you?’
Rudi had paled. ‘Did they open them?’ he said.
‘I’m not sure,’ said Shepherd. ‘I was in the corridor and there were two policemen talking. Detectives, I think.’
‘Detectives?’
‘They weren’t wearing uniforms. Why?’
Rudi began to pace up and down, his hands bunched into fists.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Shepherd.
‘Nothing,’ said Rudi.
‘It doesn’t look like nothing,’ said Shepherd.
Rudi stopped pacing. ‘Did they say anything else?’
‘The detectives? No. But one of the cops was asking me about the bags.’
‘Asking what?’
‘He showed me photographs of all the baggage in the hold and asked me if I knew who they belonged to.’
‘Why did they want to know that?’
‘I guess they wanted to see who owned which bags.’
‘And what did you tell them?’
‘I didn’t tell them anything. I’m waiting for my lawyer to get here.’
Rudi was pacing again.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Shepherd.
‘They have no right to go through my bags,’ said Rudi. ‘My bags are private.’
‘They can do what they want when you come into the country,’ said Shepherd. ‘Customs have the right to search you and all your possessions.’ He paused. ‘What was in the cans?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ said Rudi.
‘How can you not know?’
‘I don’t know!’
Shepherd held up his hands. ‘Okay, okay,’ he said. ‘I was trying to help, that’s all.’
Rudi walked over to the door and banged his forehead against the metal.
Shepherd went over to him. ‘That won’t help,’ he said.
Rudi continued to bang his head.
‘Rudi, they’ll just come to see what you’re doing, and if they think you’re hurting yourself, they’ll restrain you.’
Rudi stopped. ‘What do you mean?’
‘They’ll handcuff you. They won’t want you to hurt yourself.’ He put a hand on Rudi’s shoulder. ‘Sit down. Let’s talk about it.’ He guided the other man to the chair. ‘Look, if you don’t know what was in the cans, you can’t be in trouble. The police will believe you.’
‘It’s true,’ he said. ‘I don’t know.’
Shepherd sat on the bunk, facing him. ‘So why did you have them in your luggage?’
Rudi shook his head. ‘I can’t tell you.’
‘Maybe I can help.’
Rudi looked up fearfully. ‘How can you? You’re going to prison.’
‘I’ll get bail,’ Shepherd said. ‘I have money. My lawyer will get me released until I go to trial.’
‘Will they release me?’
‘It depends on what was in the cans,’ said Shepherd. ‘If it was drugs-’
‘I told you, I don’t know what was in them!’
‘Yes – but if it was drugs they could send you to prison for a long time and you wouldn’t be able to take care of your family.’
‘They didn’t tell me what was in the cans,’ said Rudi. He propped his elbows on his knees and put his head into his hands.
‘You were carrying them for someone else, then?’ said Shepherd. ‘Who?’
Rudi leaped to his feet. ‘Why are you asking so many questions?’
‘I just want to help you,’ said Shepherd.