Page 73 - My Home on the Earth

Alice had constantly tried to wheedle information out of him regarding the boy, but he’d shake his head and say he didn’t know anything. However, his long conversation with Pete was enough to satisfy him that the boy was probably hanging out with a crowd of lads in the old engineering buildings. A police patrol car often visited the site but as far as Steve knew, they hadn’t seen anyone or any activity, or bedding, litter or fire remains that would indicate rough sleepers or drugs in the area.
Today, there was no sign of life, apart from rabbits scurrying through the long grass, so he turned around to drive home. At the underpass he slowed down. A woman at the far end was struggling with two shopping trolleys; one grey and the other, bright yellow. Rather than speed past and splash her with muddy water, he waited for her to pass the car. He took note of her clothing and shoes. Her face was partially covered by her windswept hair and he watched in his rear-view mirror as she disappeared behind the hoardings. What’s she going along there for? he wondered. It only leads to the old engineering place.
Steve waited for her to disappear before reversing back to the hoardings. Stepping out from the car he scanned the area. ‘Where is she?’ he murmured, walking to the gate. He peered through, but she was nowhere in sight. Mystified and shaking his head, he returned to the car. ‘I’ll call this in tomorrow. On the next patrol, they can go inside and take a closer look.’
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