Game Play Read online

  ‘I did have a real one then!’ Amy was surprised.

  Gloria continued. ‘Since ‘91, anabolic steroids have been listed as a prohibited import. But we’ve got a problem. Customs can only seize imported steroids ... Locally made ones are beyond their powers.’

  ‘Were Mr Muscles’ pills made locally?’ How could they be if he was on an international flight from Singapore?’

  ‘Good point, Amy.’

  Gloria looked pleased. ‘But it’s been a productive day. We found 100 kilos of steroids with street value of 2.5 million somewhere else.’

  ‘Where?’ asked Aunty Viv.

  ‘In the suitcase of the soccer player in the pretend track suit?’ guessed Amy.

  ‘Right.’ Gloria explained. ‘There were false linings in the suitcases. 1500 ampoules of anabolic steroids were hidden.’

  ‘What’s that worth?’

  ‘The street value is $300,000.’

  ‘Wow!’ said the twins.

  ‘How did you find out?’

  ‘Christopher’s comment about the uniform being different. Andthe suitcase was SO heavy. That was a clue. Actually the suitcase was so well made that Customs are keeping it. They’re going to use it as a teaching aid for training their officers.’

  ‘What will happen to the smugglers? To grand- nephew Bruce, the soccer player and Mr Muscles?’

  ‘Did you catch Mr Muscles, too?’ asked Christopher.

  Gloria nodded. ‘As soon as we’d tested that pill Amy had. We knew he was guilty, too. They’ll be fined. At least three times the street value of the steroids, if they’d been able to sell them.’

  ‘That’s fair,’ agreed Christopher.

  ‘That’s $900,000,’ Amy worked out.

  ‘And the fake soccer player won’t be playing in the InternationalGames. He just pretended to belong. Then he could get through Customs with the group. He had the wrong colour navy track pants. And his socks didn’t match.’

  Christopher flicked back through his sketches. ‘See.’

  ‘I still don’t understand why Mr Muscles dropped that rolled newspaper in the bin. Was he trying to get rid of it? Or was he trying to pass it to someone else?’

  ‘By then, Mr Muscles wasn’t sure what he was doing. He’d been searched by Customs but they missed the paper because of the fuss about the runaway. He was looking for customers amongst the athletes.

  And the soccer player spoke to him earlier. Mr Muscles thought he was a customer but he was a competing salesman. He wanted to look at the quality of the steroids.’

  ‘Who did? ‘Amy was getting confused, too.

  ‘The soccer player wanted to look at Mr Muscle’s steroids. He asked for a look but Gloria was wandering around and so were other officials.’

  ‘Why didn’t he take them out of the bin?’

  ‘Because he realised they were fakes. And he thought he was being set up. He was already carrying his own to sell. He was the professional salesman.’

  ‘So he saw Mr Muscles as the opposition?’

  ‘Probably. He would recognise the signs of steroid use anyway. Steroid users start to look a certain way. It’s called ‘going on the juice’.

  Their skin often has acne. And they develop a square jaw line.’

  ‘Just like Mr Muscles. That must be why he said he was ‘on the juice’ I thought he just meant he liked orange juice,’ said Amy.

  Suddenly Christopher remembered the parking ticket. He fumbled in his pocket.

  ‘I’ll take that,’ said Gloria. ‘We’ll move grand- nephew Bruce’s car. Or by the time he gets out of custody, he’d have a million dollar parking fine.’

  Chapter 15

  Found Out

  ‘It was those twins wasn’t it?’

  Gloria nodded.

  ‘How did they get onto me?’ Gloria turned around. ‘Why don’t you ask them? They’ve got questions they’d love to ask you. And they’re in this room having a cup of tea with their aunt.’

  It was strange the way the smuggler almost regarded it as a game at which he had lost.

  ‘My game plan didn’t work.’

  ‘Smuggling steroids isn’t a game,’ said Gloria sharply. ‘You’re playing with peoples’ health.’

  ‘If they choose to play, then it’s all right.’

  ‘No, it isn’t.’

  ‘When did you first notice?’ The smuggler looked at Christopher.

  ‘It was you wasn’t it?’

  Christopher took out his sketchbook. ‘Yes. Your track suit was a different navy from the rest. I didn’t see that at first. The main difference was the missing sponsors on the t-shirt.’

  ‘Ahhhh.’ the smuggler pushed back his hair. ‘I didn’t know who their sponsors were going to be. I only knew they were wearing navy trackers and a navy t-shirt. Trust a kid to notice something like that.’

  ‘And,’ Christopher bent over and pulled up the smuggler’s trackpants leg. ‘The socks are different. A team playing in an international event would all be the same. I couldn’t work out why yours were different.’

  ‘What about the other players? Didn’t they know you were an extra?’ asked Amy.

  ‘They came from all over the place. So it was easy.’

  ‘What about the team manager? Didn’t he have to count you?’

  ‘Just explained in Singapore that he’d been allotted an extra player.’

  ‘How did you do that?’ Amy was very interested in the reasons.

  ‘Got my colleague to ring the hotel where they were all staying.

  He pretended to be from the Sporting Association. He gave my name ... or the name on this passport’

  ‘What would have happened if you had to play?’ asked Amy. ‘Are you good enough?’ He looked well muscled.

  ‘That’s when I might have conveniently twisted my ankle. On the other hand, it would have been interesting to play.’

  ‘Just playing games in his head,’ said Gloria. ‘Gameplay. Time to face the facts.’

  A tall man walked towards them. ‘This the one?’ he asked Gloria who nodded. ‘Come with me please, sir.’

  The tall man led away the fake soccer player.

  ‘He’s from the Federal Police,’ Gloria explained. ‘He caught the soccer player with the steroids on him.’

  ‘Who was he?’ asked the twins. ‘The soccer player?’

  ‘We’re not sure.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘He was carrying three German passports, sixteen driving licences, thirteen Visa cards and two identity cards. All in different names.’

  ‘What will happen to him?’

  “He’ll be locked up in the Remand Centre until Monday. ‘

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because we don’t know who he is. And it will take at least until Monday to find out.’

  By Monday, the twins would be helping Aunty Viv with her animal acts in between the events of the International Games. Amy and Christopher were glad they knew exactly who they were; the Frequent Flyer Twins.