One of them glanced in his direction and said, “You see what I mean? They’re everywhere.” The other replied, “Thank God for the citywide cleanup though. Hopefully we’ll start seeing fewer of them out here.” The comment wasn’t whispered. They didn’t care that he heard it.
Joshua kept walking without reacting, but the words stuck. He hadn’t heard anything about a cleanup. That was the first time. It explained the police vans he’d seen near the bus depot. It explained why benches were suddenly taped off. They were being pushed out, one corner at a time.