Click... Screech.
The metal latch on the mosque caretaker's room was yanked open roughly.
Roni stepped inside twice, then grabbed the back of Lukeman's shirt.
"Let's go! Quit the act and stop pretending you're weak!" Roni rattled on as he dragged the thief out of the little ablution room.
Lukeman stumbled along with his head bowed.
The cuffs of his pants were still wet from the bucket water splashed on him earlier.
Agus followed behind, patting the dusty fabric of his sarong.
Meanwhile, Husain locked the mosque's back door from the outside, slipped the key into his pocket, then walked alongside the small group on its left.
"What did I tell you, Gus?" Roni prattled without pause as they started down the narrow passage toward Mr. Ahmad's house.
His hand still had a tight grip on Lukeman's collar.
"Criminals are getting slipperier these days! Good thing my reflexes are as fast as a leopard's! If I hadn't chased him while yelling my head off, five hundred thousand in public-minibus collections would've vanished!"
Agus let out a long sigh and looked up at the reddening evening sky.
"Take a breath before you keep talking, Ron. You just finished praying, and you didn't even have time to finish your devotional recitations because you rushed to open the caretaker's door. Besides, Husain was the one who caught him. You only showed up after he slipped and crashed into the bucket."
"What?! Who says?!" Roni snapped his head toward Agus, eyes bulging.
"I tracked his trail from Ms. Eros's food stall! I applied psychological pressure from behind with nothing but flip-flops! If I hadn't kept yelling, he never would've panicked and run blindly into the mosque passage! Isn't that right, Sein?"
Husain, walking on the outer edge beside the drainage ditch, only glanced over.
"I was just standing there holding a bucket."
"Exactly! That's called tactical teamwork!" Roni shot back, completely unfazed.
"Ugh, my wallet in my pants pocket feels so nice and cool now... though it smells like dirty dishwater. And the picture of my ex, Imas, is all blurry now... one little gust and that paper's going to tear..."
Lukeman raised his head slightly.
"Hey... could you loosen your grip a little? My neck hurts."
"Quiet! Don't haggle like we're at a pop-up market!" Roni barked, adjusting his grip.
They turned at the corner of Lane Three, about fifty meters from the row of rental properties owned by Mr. Omar.
The afternoon sunlight streamed thickly through the gaps between the residents' yards.
From the opposite direction, a modest-looking girl walked slowly toward them.
Salma carried a medium-sized red plastic bag that appeared to contain several packets of flour, some butter, and two hard discs of palm sugar.
Her cream-colored instant hijab fluttered lightly in the evening breeze.
Roni's previously fierce, fiery eyes suddenly went wide.
His footsteps stopped short.
Lukeman, still being dragged along, nearly lost his balance and crashed into Roni's back again.
"Oh, Great Lord..." Roni murmured. His harsh voice vanished, replaced by an artificially soft, sing-song tone.
Roni hurriedly released Lukeman's collar, then rubbed his own chest with his right palm.
He smoothed his messy hair back with his fingers.
"Miss Salma..." Roni greeted her, taking two steps forward and edging over beside a resident's bamboo fence. He flashed his widest smile, showing his side teeth.
"Mashallah, walking all by yourself this late in the afternoon. Where'd you go shopping, Miss? Why didn't you call on Roni to carry your bag?"
Salma stopped about three meters in front of them.
Her eyes blinked as she took in the four men filling the narrow lane.
She shifted the plastic bag to her left hand.
"Good afternoon, Roni, Agus... Husain," Salma greeted them politely, her voice still soft and reserved.
Her eyes moved to Lukeman, who stood helplessly between Roni and Agus.
"I just got back from Ms. Endang's food stall. I bought ingredients for baking."
"Aww... how hardworking..." Roni clasped both hands in front of his chest and swayed slightly from side to side.
"The cake must be incredibly sweet, just like the person making it. If you need an official taste tester in Sukamaju, Roni is available twenty-four hours a day, free of charge, Miss."
Behind Roni, Agus rolled his eyes and lightly smacked his own forehead.
Tap.
Salma gave a faint smile but didn't respond to the teasing.
Her eyes flicked back toward Lukeman.
"Um... what's going on, Roni? Why are you all together like this?"
Husain stepped half a pace forward from beside the wall, about to explain.
He raised one hand slightly toward the mosque.
"This happened in the ablution area—" Husain had barely gotten two words out.
"OH, THIS GUY, MISS!" Roni immediately jumped in front of Husain, cutting him off with a booming voice and wild hand gestures.
"He's the thief you saw climbing down from Salma's mango tree! He tried to escape into the mosque's dark passage, but thanks to Roni's readiness and lightning-fast feet, he was successfully cornered! I took him down in a matter of seconds!"
Husain held his breath for a moment, stopping his lips mid-motion.
For two seconds, he stared at Roni from the side without a trace of expression.
Then Husain lowered his hand and chose to stand there silently with his arms folded across his chest.
Salma briefly watched Husain's reaction, then turned her gaze back to Roni. Her lips curved into a small, polite smile.
"Oh... so he ended up getting caught at the mosque, huh?"
"Exactly, Miss Salma!" Roni thumped his chest proudly.
"Roni's wallet, packed with his hard-earned money, has been saved. Now we're taking him to Mr. Ahmad's house to face a traditional Sukamaju neighborhood hearing. Roni is a fair man with the soul of a hero, Miss."
Lukeman, standing beside him, could only grimace faintly, not daring to make a sound of protest against Roni's version of the story.
Agus nudged Roni's arm with his elbow.
"That's enough, Ron. Quit making up stories in the middle of the street. Mr. Ahmad's been waiting for us on his porch, and the thief's probably getting tired of standing too."
"Oh, come on, you're ruining my romantic moment, Gus!" Roni clicked his tongue in annoyance.
But he still turned back toward Salma, his eyes sparkling.
"Well then, beautiful Miss Salma, Roni has to get back to his civic duty. When I have some free time, I'll stop by your rental with some sweet martabak."
Salma lowered her head gently.
"Okay, Roni. Go ahead. Be careful."
"See you, Miss Salma..." Roni grabbed Lukeman's shirt again with exaggerated bravado, then strode ahead of the group.
"Move it, thief! Don't embarrass me in front of the new neighbors!"
Roni walked quickly ahead, continuing to puff out his chest.
Agus followed behind him.
When he passed right beside Salma, Agus slowed for a moment.
He pointed at Roni with his thumb, then spun his index finger beside his temple, followed by a gesture of bringing two fingers together and flicking them into the air—the neighborhood's signature sign that the man ahead of him was a shameless womanizer whose words couldn't be trusted one hundred percent.
Salma held back a small laugh at Agus's hand signal and nodded slowly to show she understood.
Husain walked at the very back.
When he passed Salma, Husain stopped for a moment.
His gaze fell on the red plastic bag in her hand.
"You bought the palm sugar at Ms. Endang's food stall?" Husain asked briefly.
Salma looked up into Husain's eyes. "Yes, Husain. Ms. Endang said the palm sugar here is good for baking."
Husain nodded once. "Good. Those thick discs really are from the upper plantation. If you're going to use them in a batter, pound them first so they don't ruin the mixture."
"Thanks for the tip, Husain."
"You're welcome." Husain continued walking, catching up with Roni and Agus, who were already ten meters ahead.
"See you, Miss Salma."
"See you, Husain."
Salma stood for a moment at the edge of Lane Three, watching the four men's backs as they headed toward the courtyard of Mr. Ahmad's house.
Roni's chatter, still growing louder in the distance, gradually faded beneath the roar of the evening wind, which was blowing harder and shaking leaves from the mango trees.
Salma tightened her grip on the plastic bag, then headed home toward rental number two.