| |
It was all very pleasant, actually, but it took a long time. They were put into a hotel near the centre of Brisbane and had to endure numerous police interviews which went all the next morning. After lunch they were allowed to go free, but first it meant having to endure a lengthy media conference. Randy and Piho were not allowed to answer many of the questions, especially the tricky ones like, “Did you actually sell the fossil to the accused?” and “In Cunnundrom you are reported to have bought an expensive computer. Did you use stollen money for that purchase?”
Instead a smooth-talking police spokesperson would intercept with something like, “I’m sorry but we cannot discuss that issue without prejudicing future legal processes. Next question.”
But they did let other questions through. This is what Randy got:
“During the flood, did you see God?”
“Oh, ah, no, but I bumped into a drowned kangaroo.”
“What do you think of Australia?”
“It’s hot.”
“Are you and Tammy engaged to be married?”
“Uhhh, yeah, sort of, I guess.”
At which point Randy turned to Tammy and smiled his goofy smile and she squirmed and turned red and the headline the next day read, TEEN LOVE SEALED DURING FOSSIL DRAMA. They never lived it down.
The up-side of this was that a magazine offered to pay them a lot of money for their exclusive story. That was useful, because the boys had been made to surrender all their remaining money to the police as evidence of the crime.
Curiously though, most of the attention went on Winton. The TV people wanted to film his dinosaur. They wanted to see the tracking device he had ‘invented’. They asked him about what he hoped to do when he finished high school.
And he got a job offer the very next day from a Gold Coast movie studio.
#
WHEN THE BOYS WATCHED the news that night they saw a brief glimpse of themselves blinking in the flash of cameras like a couple of startled possums, followed by endless shots of Winton and his robot, then those original photos of the fossil, then the police announcing Reinhold’s arrest, then footage shot in the hotel, then the dinosaur scene caught on the hotel security camera (they’d been playing that scene all day in the news breaks), then shots of the fossil site, then interviews with scientists, then the people in the Cunnundrom computer shop ... and so on and on, and on!
“...the Kiwi teenagers, ignorant of Australia’s strict code on the sale of fossils, arranged to meet the accused several times before selling the egg for an undisclosed sum of money ...” “.. realising their mistake, the Kiwis quickly called in the help of Cunnundrom locals Winton Cobb and Nikki Garrone...” “.. then the Kiwi boys gate-crashed the party, destroying Australia’s premier cricketing event...”
Then came the good bit, the bit that made it sort of all worth while; “This morning the captain of the Australian Cricket Team came up with a forgiving gesture, giving the hapless pair entry to the VIP lounge for Sunday’s game at the Gabba....”
#
RANDY GRABBED ANOTHER drink from a passing waiter and eased back in his chair, looking out at the game beyond the big plate glass windows. “Ah, this is the life.”
Piho didn’t seem to be listening. He was whispering something to Nikki.
Tammy answered Randy instead. “It’s very nice of them to give us this.”
“Yeah,” he squeezed her hand, “but after all, we saved the day.”
“We?”
“Well, all of us. You know: me; you; Piho; Nikki. Hey, even Winton was slightly helpful.” He went to sip his drink. She made that growling noise deep in her throat. Randy sat up a little and turned to look at her. Her glass was empty.
“Oh, sorry.” He passed her his glass and started looking around for another passing waiter, missing the next piece of action out on the field. He snapped his head back to the field. A player scooped up the rolling ball at silly mid-on. No run.
“But what about poor Beau?” said Tammy, indifferent to the game.
He shrugged, “Hey, she got a mention in the newspaper.”
“Only because I remembered to mention her. She was very upset, you know.”
“It was only a cake.”
“She’d worked on it for a month!”
“I said I was sorry.”
“Yeah, well maybe you can do something more for her than that.”
“What?”
“Make sure you mention her in our magazine interview. I want you to tell the reporter what a really great artist she is, and what a great sister she is too.”
Randy sighed tiredly, “Okay.”
“And promise me: you’ll try really hard at school.”
“I promise. Next year. I’m really going to work at it.”
“Good. And no more schemes, okay?”
“I promise ... Oh! And he’s out! Go Kiwis! Go, go, go!”
After the celebrating was over and everyone had settled back into their seats, Piho turned grinning to Randy. “Hey dude, free travel to Australia, eh?”
“What, to be witnesses at a trial? Hardly a thrill, mate.”
“Least it’s not our trial! Hey and next time we’re here, let’s try and fit in a trip to Dreamworld, shall we?”
“And the museum,” added Tammy. “to see Fossie.”
“Of course!”
“Hey,” said Randy brightly, “Wonder if her eggs will have hatched by then?”
They all looked at him like he was unbelievably stupid. Nikki, behind him, was secretly signalling something to the other two.
Randy looked around at them, puzzled. “I’m just joking, guys.”
They just smiled, then stuck ice cubes down his neck.
“Arrrrrgh!”
––––––––