“Yes.”

“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

“No.”

“When did you see him last?”

“Saturday afternoon.”

“Did he say or do anything unusual?”

“No.”

“What did you do?”

“Went shopping in town.”

“What’d you buy?”

“Just some records.”

“What sort of a mood was Graham in?”

“Just ordinary.”

“Was anything bothering him?”

“He was just like normal.”

“Did he ever talk about running away from home?”

“No.”

“Any idea where he might go if he did run away? Did he talk about any particular places?”

“No. But he was from London. I mean, his parents brought him up from London last year.”

“We know that. We were just wondering if there was anywhere else he talked about.”

“I don’t think so.”

“What about secret hiding places?” The detective winked. “I know all lads have secret places.”

“No.” Banks was unwilling to tell them about the big tree in the park—holly, he thought it was—with prickly leaves and branches right down to the ground. If you made your way through them, you ended up hidden inside, between the thick leaves and the trunk, like being in a teepee. He knew Graham was missing and it was important, but he wasn’t going to give away the gang’s secrets. He would look in the tree himself later and make sure Graham wasn’t there.

“Did Graham have any problems you were aware of? Was he upset about anything?”

“No.”

“School?”

“We’re on holiday.”

“I know that, but I mean in general. It was a new school for him, wasn’t it? He’d only been there one year. Did he have any problems with the other boys?”

“No, not really. He had a fight with Mick Slack, but he’s just a bully. He picks fights with all the new kids.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“Have you seen any strange men hanging around the area lately?”

“No.” Banks probably blushed as he lied. He certainly felt his cheeks burning.

“Nobody?”

“No.”

“Did Graham ever mention anyone bothering him?”

“No.”

“All right, then, son, that’s it for now. But if you can think of anything at all, you know where the police station is, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m sorry about your budgie, really I am.”

“Thank you.”

They seemed all set to go then and got to their feet. Just before they left, they asked Roy and Banks’s parents a few general questions, and that was it. When they shut the door, everyone was quiet. There were still ten minutes of Coronation Street left, but nobody thought of switching on the television set again. Banks remembered turning to Joey’s empty cage and feeling the tears gather in his eyes.

Annie waited until Martin Armitage’s Beemer had got a respectable distance ahead, then let a local delivery van get between them before she started to follow. The roads were quiet at that time in the morning—they were quiet most of the time, if truth be told—so she couldn’t appear too conspicuous. At the village of Relton, he turned right and followed the B-Road that ran about halfway up the valley side.