The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo

holdall between them, they climbed up to the entrance and pushed open the heavy glass door.
    “Can I help you?” The face of the lady behind the counter was neatly framed by silky brown hair.
    “We are looking for Doctor Dele Solaja, please.” Sade tried hard to appear poised.
    “Is he expecting you?”
    “We don’t know,” blurted Femi.
    Miss Silky Neat looked curiously at them.
    “I haven’t actually seen him come in today. In fact I haven’t seen him for a while. But I’ll try his department for you,” she said, picking up the telephone.
    Miss Silky Neat lowered her voice but the entrance hall was quiet and they could hear everything she said.
    “Oh? For a whole week, you say?…No, I thought I hadn’t seen him for a few days…Oh dear!…The police? What have they said?…”
    Silent and horrified, the children waited for her to finish and explain. Miss Silky Neat put the telphone down. For a couple of seconds her face was strangely flustered, before she composed it again.
    “Dr. Solaja hasn’t been in for the last week, I’m afraid.”
    “Where is he?” Sade asked boldly.
    “Well, he hasn’t rung and apparently there has been no reply from his flat for the whole week. It’s so unlike him. I amtold that the police are following it up.”
    Sade and Femi glanced anxiously at each other. The lady inspected them again with a new curiosity.
    “How do you know Doctor Solaja? Is he a friend—or a relative?”
    “He’s our—” Femi began.
    “Friend—a friend of the family,” Sade interrupted. “Can we have his address?”
    “We don’t give out personal information about staff. But perhaps you should see someone from the department.” She leaned forward, frowning slightly. “You might have some information that could be useful to the police.”
    “We have to go, thank you,” announced Sade quickly.
    Before Miss Silky Neat could say any more, Sade had turned around with Femi in tow. Struggling with the holdall, they heaved open the heavy glass door. Only when they reached the bottom of the steps and were out of view did they stop. They stood shivering beneath the lifeless branches of a bare tree while the chilly afternoon air wound long shadowy fingers around them. Ahead of them, the khaki-gray mottled bark of the trees lining the road reminded Sade of a row of soldiers in camouflage.
    “I want Papa…and Mama!” Femi whimpered.
    Sade put her arm around him. The tears she wanted to cry were frozen.

CHAPTER 10
THIEVES AND VANDALS
    IT WAS BETTER TO KEEP WALKING. Try to find somewhere they could shelter. The clock in the college had said half-past four but the sky was darkening fast. Lights now glittered everywhere. Splashes of yellow from streetlamps, car headlights, buses with windows ablaze and shops with neon signs replaced the dull grays of the day. They kept to the main road. There were so many side roads, most of them smaller and quieter. Never would they have been allowed to go wandering alone like this in Lagos. Yet here they were, in another great sprawling city, with absolutely no idea of where they were, nor of where they were going. With Uncle Dele missing, they were now completely and utterly alone. If anyone asked where they came from and what they were doing, whatever should they say? How could they explain what they were doing here, two children alone, in London? Two children who were not meant to be here…who had tricked the Eyes at the airport. Even thinking about the questions they would be asked was too frightening.
    It seemed to Sade that they had been walking for miles. Femi began to straggle behind.
    “Where are we going, Sade?” he groaned.
    “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe we’ll find somewhere.”
    Whenever they stopped, the icy wind speared even more fiercely through their thin layers of cotton. Other people wore thick coats, many with hats, scarves and gloves. Everyone seemed in a hurry. Probably they were already on their way home for the evening. No