Page 456 of The Sinner: James

“Yes. I was pregnant when I left. I concealed it as much as I could, not that your father had paid much attention to it. You, on the other hand, couldn’t tell, but I was a few months pregnant.”

I look at the man in front of me as if peering at myself in a different life––one unfolding on Lisbon's streets.

“What is he doing?”

“He’s a fighter.”

My eyebrows shoot up.

I lean back in my chair, bringing my cigarette to my lips before blowing out the smoke.

“What kind of fighter?”

“He’s a bare-knuckle boxer and fights in the underground clubs in London.”

Her breath catches while she speaks.

“For money?”

“Yes. He wants to have his own money, and this pays better than a job. Or a college diploma. At least, that’s what he thinks.”

I purse my lips.

“Hmm... I see. Why is he the reason you are here?”

“He’s missing,” she says curtly.

I ponder before straightening in my seat and putting out my cigarette while releasing the smoke to the side.

“What do you mean he’s missing?”

“I haven’t heard from him in three weeks. I called his cell phone and left several messages. And then I traveled to London and looked for him. I talked to the police, and they started an investigation. They’ve tracked down a few people who saw him the night he disappeared, but none of them could provide any useful information. The police have no leads at the moment. All I know is that he won a huge prize and vanished. The detectives I talked to––although nice and sympathetic––suggested he might’ve taken the money and fled overseas. I told them that while that was a possibility, it wasn’t likely. I know him. He wouldn’t just pick up and leave. Fighting was his life.”

“He can fight somewhere else.”

“Not for this kind of money.”

“Any chance he traveled to the US?”

“I doubt.”

I study her.

“What do you want me to do?” I ask, setting her phone down.

“I want you to locate him and bring him back. Every person I had talked to told me he had left. But there are no police reports suggesting that had happened. He couldn’t just vanish in thin air. I don’t think he suddenly decided to move to a different country. And go where? He moved to London from Lisbon. There’s no way he went to Italy, where his father lives. And for sure, he didn’t go to Colorado. He’s never been interested in setting foot on American soil.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea.”

“Does he know about me?”

“No.”

I stare at her, surprised, although I shouldn’t be.

She has a hard time holding my gaze, so she slants it down.

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