A derelict four-storey Victorian building stood close to the centre of a city in the English Midlands. Brick-built but crumbling a little, it was screened off from the surrounding streets by a solid eight-foot fence topped with razor wire. A few broken windows could be seen on the building"s upper floors, and a long row of pigeons perched on the roof ridge like architectural adornments. Across the front of the building were the faded words RADFORD BUILDING SUPPLIES.
RADFORD BUILDING SUPPLIESAn area of cracked concrete surrounded the building inside the fence with, to one side, a range of repair shops for the firm"s vehicles, which were now long gone. The yard, which had once held breeze blocks and soft sand, was empty, as was the cement and plaster store. In front of the repair shops stoo
