Chapter 17
347 Words
17
‘What were you doing in the bushes?’ one of the police officers asked them. He was young, probably not a whole lot older than they were, but he spoke with an air of authority.
‘Nothing,’ Zoran said.
‘Well you don’t just sit inside a bush for no reason, do you? The park’s been closed for three hours. How did you get in?’
‘A hole in the fence,’ Milan said. Zoran kicked him.
‘What are your names?’ the officer asked. His colleague had walked a few paces away and was speaking into his handheld radio.
Zoran looked at Milan and indicated that they shouldn’t speak.
‘Alright, where are you from?’
Again, the boys didn’t speak.
‘Staying silent isn’t going to help you, I’m afraid. We had a call from a local shopkeeper who’s reported a theft. Now, are you going to tell us what you were doing here or are we going to have to bring you in and ask you about those, too?’
Milan was desperate to talk. He wanted to tell the officers what had happened, where they’d escaped from. He wanted to blow the lid on it all. But he could tell from the look on Zoran’s face that he wasn’t entertaining this idea at all.
‘It would be better if we tell them,’ Milan said to his friend in Serbian. Zoran’s English wasn’t as good as his, and he presumed his friend didn’t understand the gist of the conversation and was, instead, focused only on the overly-authoritative tone of the police officer’s voice.
‘No. No. We tell them nothing,’ Zoran replied in their native tongue.
‘English only, please. Any more of that and we’re going to have to separate you to speak to you. Now, are you going to tell us what you were doing here?’
Milan looked at Zoran, who shook his head.
‘Right. In that case. Stu?’
The second officer came over and put a pair of handcuffs on Milan, whilst the first officer arrested Zoran.
‘We’re arresting you both on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’
This time, Zoran nodded his head.
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