He just wanted to get home, hide away. Marlon and the dog were running now, running towards him. Shit. Even with a head start of twenty metres or so, Den had no chance of outpacing him. He’d look stupid even trying, so he took a few deep breaths and stood his ground.
‘Hey,’ he said, unconvincingly, when Marlon was close. ‘All right?’
Marlon’s face was a picture of contempt. ‘Are you following me? Are you snooping?’
Den swallowed hard. There was only one way to go now – he’d have to brazen it out. ‘Yes,’ he said.
‘You what?’
‘Yes. I was following you. I wondered what you were doing in your work clothes on a Sunday.’
‘What the hell’s it got to do with you?’ He stepped closer to Den, invading his space.
‘Everyone thinks I had something to do with Mina disappearing, because I was the last one to see her, but you came into the café just after she left, so I reckon maybe you saw her too.’
Doubt flickered in Marlon’s eyes. ‘No, mate. I never saw her. Don’t think I was even in the café on Wednesday.’
An alarm bell rang in Den’s head, triggering a pulse of excitement. Marlon was lying and Den could prove it.
‘You were there. It’s all on CCTV. Did you see her outside? Was she leaving when you were going out?’
‘I never saw her at all that day.’
Marlon put his hand up to his face and rubbed the back of his neck and Den realised he was nervous.
‘You knew who she was, though.’
‘What?’
‘I’ve seen you in the café talking to her.’
‘Yeah, like I said, she’s in my daughter’s class at school.’
‘Are they friends? Has Mina been round to yours?’
‘Just fuck off, man. I don’t answer to you.’
He was sweating now, though, little beads of moisture glistening on his top lip.
‘I don’t know if they’re friends. I don’t live at home at the moment. Oh, just fuck off. It’s nothing to do with you. I haven’t seen her. She’s not on my site, so you can stop following me like a little creep.’
Somehow Marlon was back on the front foot, his swagger restored.
‘Yes. I mean, no.’ Den just wanted to extricate himself without getting a pasting now. ‘It was only … I’m desperate to find her.’
‘Aren’t we all? Now fuck off before I set the dog on you.’
Den forced himself to look into Marlon’s eyes. They held each other’s gaze for moment, then Den turned and started walking away, praying that Marlon would just let him go. He made himself maintain a normal pace, even though his instinct was to break into a run and keep going until he got home.
At the end of the street, he glanced over his shoulder. Marlon was still by the bus stop, watching him. His dog was squatting in the gutter. Den realised that he still didn’t know why Marlon had gone to work on a day when the site was closed. Was he just looking after the guard dog or was it more than that? Was this more than a workplace? He’d left a bag of groceries there. Perhaps it was home. Perhaps, despite his outright denial, he had company.