False Bottom (6 page)

Chapter 12

‘She's gone!'

Amy was cross. The Lizard Lady had vanished again!

Gloria touched Amy on the shoulder. ‘See that woman over there?'

Amy nodded, still cross.

‘Watch! You wanted to learn about airport sleuthing. I'll show you how we handle a killer salami.'

A killer salami sounded fatal. The twins watched carefully as Gloria walked across to the shapeless old woman with the daggy loopy skirt. She had a bag with knitting needles sticking out of it.

‘Anything to declare, madam?'

‘No.'

The woman started to walk away. But something was hanging, underneath her dress. It was a salami sausage.

‘Excuse me,madam. Is that a salami sausage under your skirt?'

‘Yes.'

‘Then you'd better come with us, madam.'

‘But it's only a sausage!'

Gloria shook her head. ‘It's a lot more than that. Foot and mouth disease is a problem. We don't want it in this country.'

‘My sister makes wonderful salami. It was a present.'

The twins listened and watched. If it was a present, why did the woman hide it under her skirt? She must have known it was illegal to bring into the country.

Gloria explained.

‘If just one salami with foot and mouth disease was smuggled into Australia, it could destroy all our meat and dairy products . ‘

‘My sister makes ... the best salami.'

‘Maybe she does. But it is still uncooked meat. And it might have the virus.'

‘What virus?' The smuggler was indignant, as if the smuggled salami were Gloria's fault, not hers. ‘Are you saying my sister is a bad cook? That she wants to poison her family?'

‘Of course not.'

‘Take it!' The woman unwound the sausage and cut the string.

‘It's the only present I have from my sister!'

‘Thank you.' Gloria said, and passed the salami onto another officer for recording.

‘May I look at your knitting bag please madam?' Gloria opened the bag with the knitting needles..There was a ball of wool on top. Underneath were two more salami sausages covered in red wool.

‘Are you knitting a salami jumper next?' asked Gloria.

The woman muttered something rude.

‘That salami might have the foot and mouth virus. And it spreads very rapidly. The virus can be brought into Australia in any untreated life stock product like salami because it is not cooked .'

The woman shrugged and muttered as Gloria tried to explain. Until the salami in the knitting bag was found, Amy had been feeling sorry for the woman. Now she felt differently. The woman was led away by the other officers.

‘How do YOU feel about people like the salami stealer?' Christopher asked Gloria.

‘It's my job. I like to catch them. Smugglers try to outwit quarantine. Or they try to trick customs. They smuggle prohibited goods or avoid paying duty. If they're caught, they may be fined or go to court.'

‘Do you catch many?'

‘We're not sure how much contraband,that's the name for smuggled goods, gets through our net. ‘

‘Is it like a game?' asked Christopher.

‘Not really. If we don't catch them, lots of animals might die.'

‘The smuggled ones?'

‘And the others. Quarantine rules stop imported diseases killing our native birds and animals. And we try to stop our rare or endangered species being taken away.'

Amy remembered the newspaper report.

‘And what about drug smugglers?'

‘If we don't catch them, then people die. Drug couriers don't think about the people affected by the drugs they smuggle. They only think about the big money they get for carrying the drugs.'

‘That's not fair,' said Christopher.

‘Sometimes people buy silly things without thinking. For instance, one time, deadly stuffed cobras were on sale in a Melbourne shop. An off-duty customs officer reported them. They'd been shipped illegally from Thailand. The cobras still had poison glands and fangs. A person could die from the poison.'

Amy shuddered. She touched the band aid on her finger.

If cobra poison went in that cut, she'd be dead. Yuk!

Christopher listened carefully.'What if the poison and fangs had been taken out?'

‘Then the cobras could have been imported.' Gloria said.

Gloria handed them visitor tags.

‘If there's a call from transit, I'll rush you back. Meanwhile, wear these ID tags. And have a quick look in here.' Gloria pointed to the door marked Detained Goods Room. ‘We empty this each Wednesday. So it's not full today. We keep some of the seized goods here.'

‘Ace.'

The duty officer opened the door. Inside were rows of packed shelves. It was like an untidy shop. Amy recognised a snakeskin bag. Some unusual ornaments filled another shelf.

‘That's a martial arts blow- pipe.' The duty officer said. ‘One traveller called it breathing equipment.' He gave a short laugh. ‘We've got a long list of forbidden animal import export attempts.'

Import export reminded Amy of the Smarts' business card. She felt the cardboardy edges in her pocket. What was Mrs Smart really doing in Melbourne?

‘Know anything about pythons?' asked the duty officer.

Amy shook her head.

‘A Tasmanian student said he bought a python in Bangkok because he felt sorry for it. . Somehow he curled it inside his windcheater. But we noticed it. ‘

‘What happens to people who smuggle things?' asked Christopher.

‘Making a false declaration is an offence. Customs can take people to court. Other times, they give a fine and seize the goods.'

‘Which things aren't allowed?'

‘Coral is one example. It's on the international list of endangered species. Another time, we found a small, warm, furry object in a traveller's luggage.'

‘What was it?' Amy remembered The Mouth's guitar case.

‘A pet dog.'

Christopher didn't say anything, so Amy asked, ‘What happened to the dog after?'

‘Spent the required time in quarantine.'

‘What if someone doesn't declare something in his luggage and you find it?'

‘They get an on-the-spot fine or they might have to go to court.

We seize the goods anyway.'

Shelves were stuffed with knives, reptile-skin bags, air guns, coral, wooden souvenirs and strange shaped lamps. One was a cobra's head. Amy kept her band aided finger away from that lamp!

‘Tiny pellets!' The twins looked closely at an air gun.

‘Very dangerous!' said Gloria firmly. ‘Sometimes people import things without realising. Other times, they know.'

‘What happens to all these things?'

‘Some are destroyed. Others are sent back.'

A newspaper clipping was stuck on the wall. Handbags Needed.

‘What's that about?' Christopher looked at the date. ‘Only a few weeks ago.'

‘That was when the drug detector dog unit ran short of handbags.'

‘Handbags?'

‘Yes, one of the dogs is a bit of a villain. On good days, his training can mean that he tears up two or three handbags. So we need a good supply.'

‘Where from?'

‘We asked the public. We were swamped! They sent unwanted suitcases, handbags and shopping bags. It was great.'

‘Do the dogs usually rip up passengers' bags?' Amy was quite fond of her aqua and purple backpack. She had enough badges on the outside. She didn't need teeth marks for decoration.

‘Only in training.'

‘Thanks for showing us around.'

‘You'll have to line up at security now.'

Amy was wondering about Smart's exports and imports. Were they legal?

Chapter 13

‘Excuse me madam.'

The official at the international arrivals desk spoke to Rainbow Wig.

Singapore passengers queued up for their second security check.

Rainbow Wig had spiky, multi coloured hair that the twins knew was a wig. One gold ear ring was big enough to swing on. Her purple and aqua backpack had an I've Been Everywhere sticker. For some reason, her black T- shirt reminded Amy of Aunty Viv.

‘What's wrong?'

‘Is this your passport?

‘Yeah.' Madam nodded.

Amy leant over the painted line. You were supposed to stay behind the line until your turn. That was to give privacy to travellers. But Amy liked to know what people said to official questions. Collecting clues was a sleuth's business.

Amy wished the officer would talk louder. Although she had no trouble hearing Rainbow Wig. Everybody in the arrival hall could hear her.

‘Why do we have to be searched again? What's wrong with my photo?'

Rainbow Wig was a professional complainer.

The officer held the passport closer to Rainbow Wig's face.

‘It says on this that your hair is brown.'

Rainbow Wig patted her spikes. ‘A change is as good as a holiday.'

The frames of Amy's glasses were the same rainbow colour.

‘Blue eyes?' read the officer.

‘Coloured contacts. Overseas they're the latest thing.'

‘And your reasons for leaving Australia?'

‘Time for a change. And my Aunty in Sydney got sick of me.'

Amy watched carefully. Rainbow Wig was being as loud as possible.

Everybody was looking at her. Was that what she had planned? Was that what she wanted? Was she drawing attention away from someone else? Or from something else?

Amy felt something move beside her leg. She looked down. A moist nose snuffed at her.

A dog was sitting alongside her left sneaker.He sniffed at her. Then he sat quietly. Luckily, he didn't lift his leg on her jeans. A big man in a uniform hurried by. He clipped the dog to its leash.

‘Excuse me. We'd just like to have a look at your bag.'

‘My bag?' Amy felt guilty. She hadn't done anything wrong, but she knew why the dog was there.

‘Is that dog part of the Beagle Brigade'?

The dog handler nodded.

‘They're the quarantine detector dogs?'

‘Yes.'

‘The ones in the Inflight magazine article?'

‘Yes.'

Amy felt stupid about asking all those questions. She already knew the answers. But she was feeling nervous.

‘ What's his job?''

‘Willy patrols the international baggage terminal five days a week. When he sniffs a suspicious item, he's trained to sit.Then as his handler I can inspect the bag.'

‘Yes. He's sniffing for contraband, I know. I haven't got any fruit, meat, eggs or live birds!' But Amy did have an ace memory for facts she'd read.

The handler smiled. ‘Willy's sense of smell is up to one hundred times better than a human's.'

‘No kidding!' Christopher hadn't known that.' So what's he smelt on Amy's luggage? Edwina toy bear smells?'

‘That's what we'll have to find out.'

Amy was still feeling guilty. But she hadn't done anything wrong. Her backpack had been next to Mr Smith's box in the overhead locker. Had his box leaked onto her bag?

‘Have you anything to declare?'

‘I failed my maths test last time,' joked Amy. But the officer just pointed to the purple and aqua bag. Amy undid it.

At least she thought it was hers. The name tag was right. So was the mess inside. Books. Spare underpants. Lollies. Jumper. My Trip book. Keys. Mini camera. Sleuth notebook.

The official checked everything. He undid the zips and found an old Singapore Hong Kong ticket Amy had forgotten. He also found Edwina stuffed in a small pocket.

‘Hi again, Edwina,' said Christopher.

Amy went red. ‘Forgotten she was there.'

‘She's not illegal. Just babyish.' Christopher was more interested in the working dogs. ‘What if someone sprays perfume or aftershave to hide an illegal smell?”

‘The dogs find it anyway. Most of their world is smell.

Apart from the Beagle brigade, we've also got our drug-detector dogs. We call them sniffer dogs. Some are ‘frantic' dogs who jump all over the luggage and get excited. Our ‘passive' dogs just sit quietly beside any suspect who smells suspicious.'

‘Like me.'

‘Sometimes the person is innocent. Sometimes they are trying to smuggle something illegal. The dogs smell everything.'

The officer seemed to be trying to make Amy feel better.

‘I haven't got anything bad in my luggage.' Amy clutched Edwina.

‘That's right. We've checked it all now. But you might have been close to someone else's luggage and picked up the scent.'

That's when Amy started looking around for Mr Smith. But Christopher was still asking money questions.

‘How much is a dog like this worth?'

‘Five bucks for a mongrel from a lost dogs home. But by the time he's trained, the dog's worth seventy thousand dollars to us.'

‘Do you have trouble getting the right kind of dogs?'

‘ Only one in four hundred is suitable.' explained the handler. ‘We train them. They help make about two thousand seizures a year.'

‘Seizures?' asked Christopher.

‘Arrests for smuggled goods. ‘

‘Aunty Viv has trouble choosing the right animals for actors, too.' Amy said.

‘For us, no breed is better than another. But sniffer dogs tend to come from the bigger breeds. Ones with retrieval instincts.'

‘Like labradors?' suggested Christopher.

‘Yes. Or German shepherds. They work about five hours a day. Usually we start at dawn to catch the early morning flights into Melbourne Airport. Don't we, Willy?'

The dog wagged his tail. Obviously the handler and dog were good friends.

‘I've seen dogs around the luggage carousels,' said Christopher.' Drawn a few too.'

‘They're our ‘passive' dogs. . The public doesn't usually see our frantic dogs. Mostly they work in the cargo area,. They run their snouts over the baggage as it heads up conveyor belts to the collection area. If the dogs scent trouble, they bite and scratch at the bag or case.'

‘How do you train them to find the bad smells?' asked Amy.'Do they get hooked?'

‘Illegal smells,' corrected the handler. ‘People always ask about addiction. But our dogs don't get addicted. Work is play for them. They're trained with a dummy. Something like a rolled up nappy, the size of a big bone. We play hide the dummy. We reward with pats and a play when he finds the hidden dummy. Then we put the dummy in a safe with the drug smell. The dummy picks up the scent. That's when the dog is trained with the drug-scented dummy. So the dog links finding the drug smell, the dummy and a reward.

They love the fuss.'

The handler patted his dog.' A little while ago, we had a big dog bust.'

‘Was the dog big?'

The handler laughed. ‘ No. But the amount of the bust was. Found drugs hidden inside a brick.'

‘Does your dog like working? Aunty Viv's animals do.'

‘Yes. But I have to think up different things to do. If the dog gets bored, it loses interest. ‘

‘There's the thin-faced lady,' pointed Amy.' ‘Ms Glasses.'

At the next counter, people's luggage was being searched. Cases were open.

Christopher glanced across..While her lugggage was being searched , Ms Glasses placed her floppy hat on a shelf at the side. Were his eyes playing tricks? No. He was sure. Yes. The hat did move!

The customs officer was looking through the case. The lid was open so he couldn't see the hat from that angle.

Ms Glasses was a messier packer than Amy. Underclothes were mixed up with magazines and giftwrapped boxes.

Christopher blinked. He wasn't suffering eyestrain. That hat did move!