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her. You're the one who said she was Depressed. I'm just saying that Depression could drive someone to leave their child. It has happened before."
    Sophia emptied her coffee cup. "Now I'm afraid you might be right."
    "Do you have any idea where she might have gone to? What does the husband say? Has he gone to the police?"
    "He talked to them down at the station, but he is convinced that she has left them. He told me that on the phone. Apparently, she threatened to leave him the night before she disappeared. According to him, they had a big fight."
    "And what do you think?" I asked, finishing my cup.
    "I don't know what to think now. I'm afraid she might have done something really stupid. Come to think of it, she has been getting a lot worse the last couple of months."
    I put my hand on top of Sophia's to comfort her. "Let's wait and see. Maybe she’ll come home later today. Maybe she just needed a break from things to think it through. Maybe she just needed a good night’s sleep in a hotel somewhere."
    "I hope you're right. I really hope you are."
     

10
    August 2005
    T HOMAS WAS WATCHING Ellen while she was hanging up the laundry to dry outside in the sun. He couldn't help but smile. The growing stomach made things more and more difficult for her to do, like bending down to pick up the laundry from the basket. She breathed heavily and put a hand to her stomach. Ellen was more beautiful than ever, he thought. What was it they said about pregnant women? That they glowed? Oh yes, Ellen glowed stronger than the sun.  She was as radiant as ever.
    Thomas chuckled, thinking about the baby. It was a boy. They had seen it on the ultrasound. Ellen had received a picture at the hospital that she could take home. Thomas had found it going through her stuff when she was at work. She thought she could keep it a secret from him, but there were no secrets between them. He always found out somehow. He knew everything.
    Thomas looked at Ellen through the binoculars and giggled. He was looking forward to this baby as much as Ellen was. Now he watched her as she walked back into the house. He could see her in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of water. Then she left for a few seconds and returned with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. Thomas chuckled again. They were his flowers. Every day for the past two years, he had sent her flowers. In the beginning, it was just one flower a day that he sent and, later, he placed one on her windscreen every morning for her to find when she drove off to work, but since she became pregnant, he had started sending more and bigger bouquets. She deserved that, he thought. Now that they were having a baby and all. It was important that she knew how much he appreciated her. It was very important in a relationship. Thomas had butterflies in his stomach when she read the card. It said the same thing every day.
    Till death parts us.
    Thomas giggled while watching her break the flowers and throw them in the trash. Then she sat down and cried. It was the same display every day. It was part of a game they played. She would pretend to be upset about the flowers just to make him send more. If only she knew what he had planned next.
    Oh she's going to love it. She's going to be so excited! Thomas could hardly restrain himself. He giggled and moved his feet in excitement. But he was going to wait till the baby had arrived. Then he was going to send toys, lots of toys for him. Oh he was going to be so spoiled.
    Thomas put the binoculars down and walked to the kitchen of the apartment he had rented across the road from Ellen's house. He had lost his job at the port since he stopped showing up, but that didn't matter. He had his unemployment benefit from the government, and that was enough for him to pay the rent for this studio and the little else he needed. He had practically no furniture, but he didn't need that either. As long as he could be close to his beloved, he could live on the street for all he cared.
    He made