Suspicious character
We came out of the front door
onto the communal balcony
as this fellow walked by.
I'd seen him moments earlier
from the window.
He had been walking towards
the shops below us.
I hadn't liked the look of him.
That wasn't unusual:
the notable discouragement
his face imbued in me
would be replaced by another.
At the top of the stairs
he cut me a look. I cut him one back.
"Why," I said to my uncle, "did that fellow
come up one stairway
only to descend the other?
Don't you think that's suspicious?"
A lot of suspicious characters hung around
here. Although, the majority of them
wanted to appear suspicious.
They wanted to be seen
up to no good.
Their egos were founded
on receipt of that.
We came down the steps
onto the street.
Our suspicious fellow
was standing on the corner. He was
a different kettle of fish.
He was trying his damnedest
not to look suspicious - which made him
obviously all the more so.
"Let's go around the block,"
I told my uncle, "I don't trust that fellow. Why's he
hanging around?"
We came around the block. We made
a complete circle and he was still
there. Standing by the stairs to our block.
As we were approaching he saw us.
He turned his face in the other direction.
He stood there, shuffling his feet,
then he moved off, suddenly, in the direction
that he faced. He didn't look back, he just kept on moving.
It was obvious he didn't want to appear suspicious.
"What was that about?" I asked my uncle.