After her interviews with detective Dave and Bruce were finished, Sam found herself handcuffed and taken to the woman’s section of the watchhouse. It was just a short walk from the police station. The female officer who escorted her to the watchhouse refused to interact with her.
On her arrival she was fingerprinted and photographed. She was told not to smile at the camera. A DNA sample was also taken.
She was not reunited with Jordan instead placed in an otherwise empty cell. There was nothing for her to do in the cell. No TV or radio. Just camera’s on the ceiling watching her. At least the cell had a toilet and Sam was able to change her soaked pad, whilst trying to ignore the camera.
Sam lay down on a mattress and tried to doze.
Several hours later a meal was passed to her. It was bland but edible. The person who handed it to her refused to answer when Sam asked “Is my sister in here?”
The next time the door opened it was for Sam to get a roommate. The black girl was wearing very revealing clothing and Sam assumed she was a street walker. The girl just looked at Sam as if sizing her up. Sam tried not to make eye contact. “What ya in for?” the girl asked.
“I don’t really know. The police think I’m some sort of kidnapper. I’m accused of stealing someone’s ID”
“Did Ya?”
“No”
“So ya inacent?”
“Yes. But they don’t believe me”
“Like ya top”
Sam didn’t respond
“And ya skirt”
Sam didn’t know how to respond. She was in a skirt and top Jordan had given to her. The skirt was pale green and knee length with a pattern embroided around the waist. The top was ribbed and like a singlet. Sam had just put on what Jordan had recommended before embarking on their journey. She supposed they did look nice. Was the girl expecting Sam to tell her where she had purchased it from? She ended up replying. “It was a gift”
“So ya won’t mind swapping then?”
“What do you mean?”
“Bambi likes your skirt and top. We are going to swap. That is unless you want to get cut” The girl said this in such a calm matter of fact way that it took Sam a few moments to realise she was being threatened.
Sam was scared. The girl seemed tall but probably no taller then Sam was currently. Her smile was predatory. She looked fit. Should Sam call for help? There was a camera on the roof. The girl couldn’t really bash her could she? How could she get a weapon into a prison cell?
Sam backed up against the wall. The room was small. There was nowhere for her to hide.
The girl showed Sam her palm. In it was what looked like some sort of scalpel. “A girl in my trade needs a bit a self protection. Let’s just do this the easy way”
Sam decided to cut her losses. As much as her body was just temporary she didn’t want to get ‘cut’. If she got in a fight with this girl it would probably make her situation worse. Perhaps she was being a coward but she found herself undressing.
5 minutes later the Bambi was admiring herself in Jordan’s skirt and top. Sam had put on the dress, if you could call it that, which the black girl had taken off. It was pink and see through and barely covered her underwear.
Whilst Sam was getting dressed, if you could call it that, the girl had appropriated the mattress Sam had been lying on. Sam was left with the wooden pallet as a ‘bed’. The girl told Sam “Yous looks real sexy in my dress. If ya looking for a job I can get Skeesy to bail you out. I’m sure he would be happy to add you to his stable”
Sam spent the night huddled on the pallet, wondering if she was going to get out of this predicament. Her situation was hopeless. She had been caught in possession of male Sam Colson’s belongings. It didn’t matter that she really was the same Sam Colson. She would never be believed. She and Jordan would be held in jail and be charged with kidnapping and suspected murder of the missing couple and unless they could get their hands back on the medallion it would be impossible for the real Sam and Jordan to reappear. The more she thought about it the more hopeless her position seemed. She would be spending the rest of her life, in this body, probably in a woman’s prison.
Sam was woken by a guard delivering breakfast. Shortly after the door opened again. This time a policewoman collected Bambi from the cell. The black girl walked out wearing Jordan’s clothes. She was confident she would be bailed.
Sam sat in the cell for a couple more hours before the door opened again. This time she was handcuffed once more and led to a Police van. She found herself finally reunited with Jordan in the back of the van.
“What the hell are you wearing?” Jordan asked.
“My cell mate insisted we swap clothes” Sam replied sheepishly. “Sorry about that”
“No talking, you two” replied the guard who was in the van with them. The man seemed to be grinning as he took in Sam’s outfit.
“Someone stole her clothes!” Jordan exclaimed. “We are meant to appear before a magistrate and Sam looks like a prostitute!”
“Your problem not mine lady”
The trip the courthouse didn’t take long. The two twins found themselves bustled out of the van into another room inside the courthouse. There was no sign of the lawyer they had spoken to last night.
“What happens now?” Sam asked when they were finally alone in the locked room.
“I don’t know. The lawyer I saw last night was meant to meet us here. Did you get a lawyer as well?”
“I think we got the same one. An old guy with a limp called Bruce”
“Where the hell is he? I’m scared. I’m being charged with identity theft and suspected kidnapping. When they can’t find our real bodies they will upgrade the charges to murder”
“Tell me about it”
“I’m surprised they let us get together now. We need to make sure our stories match. I’m sure they kept us apart last night on purpose. I tried to tell the detective I was really Jordan but he didn’t believe me. In the end I went with the story we concocted about me being Emma, your twin sister and how we came from a commune. It was the only way to explain this bodies lack of a history. I told them we arranged to collect and deliver Jordan’s car to her at the resort we are booked into, while she and male Sam hiked through the national park. It’s not a great story but it was the best I could come up with”
“What about the identity theft? And what happens when Jordan and Sam never show up? We are in deep shit”
“I told him that in a panic about not having my own licence I tried to pretend I was Jordan”
“So you have admitted to unlicensed driving?”
“That’s the least of our problems. I am happy to pay a fine”
“I never contradicted anything you have just said. I saw the lawyer after you last night. He told me they had discovered your real name was Emma. I guessed we were going with that cover story so what I told the detective was consistent with that. However once the detective had left I told Bruce about the about the medallion. We need him to retrieve it so we can demonstrate why we look like we do”
“Did he believe you though?”
“I have no idea”
“Maybe we just have to tell everything to the judge. They can retrieve the medallion from our belongings. No doubt it will be confiscated but it’s the only way we can prove who we are”
“As embarrassing as it will be I guess that’s our best chance” Sam admitted.