Page 58 - My Home on the Earth

the town, was when he ran across the dual carriageway at ten past five in the afternoon. A camera mounted on an overhead gantry got a good shot as he stood and waited for a gap in the traffic. He ran to the central reservation, waited, ran over the road and up the embankment. There’s a record of a driver calling 999 to report a person on the road at that time. Staff at the traffic control centre had seen the figure on their monitor and alerted the police. By the time they arrived he’d disappeared. Did Cara ever mention what he was wearing?’
‘Yes, I think so. Hang on, I wrote it down in my notebook.’ Kay ferreted through her large handbag and pulled out an orange pad. ‘Here we are. Black trousers or jeans and a yellow tee-shirt under a khaki jacket. She thought there were badges or something similar down the left sleeve.’
‘Good! Her description ties in with the boy they have seen in the town centre and at the bus terminal. Steve reckons the badges are car manufacturers’ logos.’
Kay mused over Pete’s words. ‘Bus terminal? Was he getting on or getting off a bus?’
‘Not sure, why?’
‘Cara and Elise got on the number forty shuttle outside the school. What if the boy was already on their bus when they got on? Supposing my mum is right and it is who she thinks it is. He would recognise Elise instantly, as well as knowing what school she attended.’
Pete buried his face in his hands and then opened his mouth to speak but Kay interrupted: ‘Until this boy is apprehended, Pete, the girls aren’t safe. What do we do?’
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