Island Ambush by Bindi Irwin Page B

steered the boat to its mooring in Male Atoll harbour. Bindi and Kelly helped her cast the anchor and tie up.
    When everything had been washed down and put away, they unloaded their belongings and jumped onto the wharf.
    â€˜How do we get to police headquarters, Meena?’ Bindi hadn’t been joking when she declared there was no time to waste. She wanted to report the shark finning immediately.
    â€˜It’s not far,’ Meena said. ‘I’ll show you.’
    As they made their way along the wharf, they passed all kinds of vessels, from old wooden dhonis and tin runabouts to gleaming white cruisers and large mechanised fishing boats.
    Suddenly Kelly grabbed Bindi by the arm. ‘There it is!’ she hissed, giving a surreptitious nod in the direction of a boat just up ahead.
    â€˜That’s it, all right,’ Bindi whispered back.
    â€˜Shhhh,’ was all Meena said as they walked past.
    Bindi stole a glance at the boat. It was moored behind another fishing boat. Two men were cleaning the upper deck. Now she could read the red writing on the side. Feyrun , it said.
    Bindi pointed the name out to Meena. ‘What does it mean?’
    Meena snorted. ‘It means “weaver”, but it can also mean “pirate”.’
    They were now well past the boat and out of earshot.
    â€˜Probably just the right name for it,’ Kelly said. ‘If they’re doing the shark finning, they’re nothing but pirates.’
    â€˜Sea robbers,’ Bindi piped up.
    â€˜Exactly,’ Kelly agreed.
    Meena looked at both girls and smiled. ‘Now, no name calling just yet,’ she said. ‘We don’t know for sure whether they’re the culprits.’
    â€˜Maybe not, but all things point to it,’ Bindi said. ‘And that’s what I’ll be telling the police.’
    Kelly gave her a slap on the back. ‘You go, girl!’

    The police station was a tall, imposing building not far from the port. As they crossed the lobby their footsteps on the dark tiles echoed.
    Two policemen were sitting at the front desk. As Bindi and her friends approached, one looked up from his computer and said something in Dhivehi, the local language.
    Meena answered.
    â€˜So how can I help you?’ the policeman said in English to Bindi and Kelly.
    â€˜We want to report a case of shark finning,’ Bindi said, trying to sound as confident as possible.
    â€˜Interesting. So you saw someone doing this to a shark, did you?’ The policeman showed no expression.
    â€˜No, we didn’t see anyone do it, but we saw the sharks. Two of them. Without their fins.’
    â€˜And one of them was floating not far from a big fishing boat called Feyrun that’s now sitting down there in the harbour,’ Kelly added in a loud voice.
    â€˜Hmm, well, you may know that shark finning is now illegal in the Maldives,’ the policeman said, ‘but unless we can catch someone in the act, it’s very hard to prove.’ He looked hard at Bindi. ‘So you didn’t actually see anyone fin a shark?’
    â€˜No-o-o,’ Bindi said, trying to buy time while she thought of something to say that would convince the policeman.
    â€˜Well, in that case, I’m afraid there’s nothing the authorities can do.’ The policeman smiled at Meena and said something the girls couldn’t understand. Then he stood, collected his papers and nodded before walking across to a side door and disappearing through it.
    Bindi and Kelly looked at each other.
    â€˜This is so not cool, Bindi Irwin,’ Kelly said.
    â€˜So not cool,’ Bindi agreed.

‘Come on, girls. I better take you home.’ Meena looked tired. It had been a long day.
    Bindi and Kelly didn’t budge.
    â€˜Quickly, you two. It’s getting late. Time to go.’
    Bindi noticed the other policeman sitting at the desk. For the first time he spoke.
    â€˜I’m sorry we couldn’t be of