“Yeah well, he’s shot through, love. Don’t reckon he’ll be coming back. We told him to go north or south maybe, I don’t remember, do you, Blue?”
“He should get a van, that’s what we said. You can go anywhere in a van. You sure you’re not a copper, love?”
They conned a twenty out of her and she ended up with a block of chocolate for herself. Drum could be anywhere.
On a whim, she drove home via one of the spots where the food truck stopped each night. She watched for an hour while the three staff members served free food and drink, battling her belief system. The action around the food truck was orderly and more nutritious than the family block she ploughed through. The reaction in her head was riotous. She should forget this and go home. She should accept he was gone and not coming back. She should get on with being normal, find her way again in a world that didn’t include Drum.
While they were serving the last meals before moving on, she approached.
“Soup is potato and leek. Pie is beef and veg. We’ve got apples and bananas.”
A thousand times better than the Cadbury’s. “No, thanks, I’m good, but I wonder if I can ask you a question?”
The man at the counter screwed up his face. “Ah, sure. But look, if you’re a journalist or a student, you can’t just ride along with us for the night. We have to get permission.”
“No, I’m.” She went for her council ID and flashed it up at him. “I’m Foley Barnes. I’m from the council.”
“Oh, geez, well. You’re not going to do an inspection are you? We’ll be late for the next stop.”
“No, I’m sorry. This is nothing official. I’m looking for someone.”
“Ah, right.” He relaxed and smiled. “Tea or coffee? I’m Mark McGow. This is Sarah Ying and Angela Fine.”
Foley got a wave out of Sarah who was serving another man, and his dog as well. She waved back. “Just water, if you have it?”
Mark handed over a bottle of water. “Who are you looking for? We don’t always have names, but one of us might know by description.”
What was she doing? She’d never known Drum to frequent the free food trucks. He worked for his food, he traded for meals. He was long gone and she needed to accept that.
“Hey, I’m sorry. Don’t worry about it.” She turned to leave, embarrassed, defeated, gut sick from all that chocolate. “Thank you for the water.”
“You looking for Drum?”
She turned back. It was the man with the dog. “Ah, yes, I am.”
“Yeah, thought so. I’ve seen you with him, jogging and stuff. He’s skipped. Not to be trusted, that bloke.”
“You know him?”
“I know he’s not honest. Some kind of joker. Not fair dinkum.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“Back to his life if he has any brains.” The man walked away, calling, “Mully,” over his shoulder, making the dog trot to catch up with him.
“Did you get what you needed?” The guy from the truck, Mike, Mark?
She got what she needed when she first met Drum. He was unstable and even his peer group thought so. He’d hidden in plain sight for over a year before she’d met him, he had the smarts and the incentive to do it again. She’d never find him and she needed to stop pretending she could. “Yes, I did, thank you. And thanks for the water.”
She went back to the car and the bloody thing wouldn’t start. Probably the battery again, but who knew. She sipped the water and tried again. The engine made a sawing, coughing sound and then flatlined. This just topped off her night, her week, her life. She rested her head on the steering wheel and then nearly bit her tongue off when someone rapped on the window. She scrolled it down.
He smiled. “You need a lift?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll call road service.”
“Look, this is not the greatest part of town at night. I’m sure you’ll be fine but it might be better to take a lift with the truck to somewhere more central and call road service in the morning.”
“I’ll be okay.”