"Do you fancy a drink?" asked Ann, as they drove along the empty road. Ann and Paul had been travelling for miles along the dead straight road, and Ann knew that Paul would lose concentration unless she kept him alert.
"OK" said Paul, and reached out for the bottle.
"Uh Oh!" he said before he could take the drink from Ann's outstretched hand "Here's trouble!"
"What is it?" asked Ann, inquisitively.
"Trouble?" replied Paul mischievously, "it's a set of circumstances which are threatening or otherwise undesirable, but that's not important right now!"
Ann poked him in the ribs, and in truth she loved his sense of fun, but the smile was wiped from her lips when she heard the low wail of an approaching siren in the distance, and looked in the rear view mirror and saw the blue flashing light.
"Shit!" she said "What does he want?"
"God knows" said Paul "let's just be cool, and we'll be on our way in no time"
Ann and Paul were driving across country on holiday and were about half way on their journey. They were both a little fatigued, and wanted to get to their next stop, a motel about fifty miles ahead. As it was they were in the middle of nowhere, with no cars to be seen, and nothing either side of the highway other than open bush and scrub. They had not been speeding, and so they had no idea why the lone policemotorcyclist had pulled them over. But they pulled over to the side of the road, and wound down the window as the office parked his bike, and walked towards their utility vehicle.
"Howdy folks!" said the policeman, with mock joviality "Can I see some ID?" They looked at each other and Ann passed some documents through the window of the vehicle.
"You folks been to Spring Vale?" he asked.
"No" said Paul, truthfully. "We are on vacation and are passing through on our way to Edmont"
"Had a report that a vehicle like this was stolen this morning from Spring Vale" said the officer, who was peering into the vehicle and looking round.
"I have the documents somewhere" said Ann, and she began searching in her handbag. But in truth she knew that she didn't have them, they were in a drawer in the kitchen at home.
"I hope so Ma'am" said the policeman looking at her through his mirrored sunglasses.
"As you two kind of match the description of the thieves"
Ann began to panic a little as she looked through the cluttered handbag. What could they do? What had seemed so innocent now seemed much more serious. Just then, the policeman's radio crackled into life. He turned away from the window of the 4x4 and spoke into the handset. The radio crackled back and Paul and Ann exchanged anxious glances. Paul took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly.
She smiled, weakly, but inside her stomach was churning. She hated the idea that she couldn't prove the vehicle was theirs, and she was apprehensive that this would spoil their travel plans and Paul would blame her.
The policeman came back to the window and appeared agitated.
"Look, I'm sorry about this but I need to ask you some more questions, and now I've got to get to Smith City to attend an incident. Will you follow me there?
"Yes!" said Ann
"No!" said Paul. "We have done nothing wrong. Smith City is half an hour away."
"OK, Mister!", said the policeman, "you can stay here until I get back. Get in the back"
"What?" asked Ann, incredulously, "in the back?"
"Sorry about this but I have reason to believe this vehicle has been stolen, and until you prove it to the contrary, I will detain you on suspicion of having stolen this vehicle in Spring Vale this morning."
The policeoffice gestured for the couple to step out of the front of the 4x4 and walk round to the back. The back had been tidied out before they set off and now contained some luggage and some picnic stuff. Get in there, he said, removing the key from the ignition and locking the front doors.
"No way!" replied Ann, annoyed at the presumption of guilt. With that, the policeman grasped her hands, swung them behind her back and applied his handcuffs to her wrists. He carefully locked her manacled wrists to a hook on the floor of the back of the 4x4. The hook was for a cargo net which could be used to secure loads in the back of the vehicle, but now it was securing human cargo. Before she could say anything, Ann was chained to the front of the cargo space and Paul was similarly chained to the rear of the interior space.
"I've left the engine running so the air con will keep you nice and cool and I'll be back just as soon as I can"
Ann detected the faint suggestion of a smile playing over the policeman's lips as he turned towards the motorbike and headed off leaving a dusty cloud as he rushed towards Smith City.
"Bastard!" she said.
"Who me?" asked Paul with a smile, holding up his wrists, only one of which still bore the handcuffs around them.