Sakura listened to the rain slamming down outside and felt tears welling at the corners of her eyes. She had been in a first-class cabin just a few hours ago. And now look at her. She thought of Yamato. He was the only reason she had agreed to Takashi’s demands and Katsuro’s degradations. Her job as a parent—her only job as a parent—was to keep him safe. To provide him with an environment where he could grow into a man and make his own way into the world. She had failed. The tears overflowed and streamed down her face.

She sat on the bed, shuddering with sobs that seemed to run up and down her body, and then heard a noise at the door of the cell. She looked up to see the access hatch slide open and a pair of dark eyes peering through.

“I need to speak to a lawyer,” she said.

“No lawyer.”

“I don’t even know why I’m here.”

The man chuckled. “Drugs, lady. You know.”

“Could I have a drink, then?” she asked. “Please?”

The hatch slid shut and, a few seconds later, the door was unlocked. It swung open. A policeman stood in the corridor outside. He was in his early twenties, well built, and dressed in the standard uniform of the Balinese police: a beige shirt with breast pockets and navy-blue trousers held up with an elaborate belt. Above his right breast pocket was an embroidered badge with his name—Nugraha—and above the other pocket was a gold metal shield. Epaulettes with a single stripe completed the uniform.

“I’m thirsty,” Sakura said. “Please could I have something to drink?”

Nugraha did not reply, and Sakura felt her skin crawl as his eyes wandered up and down her body. She shuffled back along the concrete bed; his eyes hardened as he took a step toward her.

Another policeman came to the open door. He was older, rounder, and had more stripes on his epaulettes. He barked something in Indonesian and the first officer—perhaps chastised—sneered at Sakura in response. She thought he was about to spit at her, but, instead, he glared before turning on his heel and leaving her cell.

The older policeman took his place.

“He get you water,” the policeman said.

“Thank you.”

The man regarded Sakura with a look that could not have been described as friendly, but was not hostile, either.

“What’s going to happen to me?” Sakura asked.

The policeman paused before replying. “You in big trouble, lady. Drugs not allowed here.” He shook his head sadly from side to side, his face softening. “You tell me where they are and maybe I help you?”