I broiled tuna steaks with garlic and olives for Mr. Contreras and myself. We curled up companionably in the living room to eat and watch Monday Night Football together, New England against the Chiefs, me with my wine, my neighbor with a Bud. Mr. Contreras, who bets the games, tried to persuade me to put my money where my mouth is.

“Not on who makes the first first down or the biggest tackle,” I protested. “Five bucks on the final score, that’s all.”

“Come on, doll: a dollar if the Chiefs score first, a dollar if they get the first sack.” He enumerated about a dozen things I could bet on, then said scornfully, “I thought you called yourself a risk taker.”

“You’re a risk taker with a union pension,” I grumbled. “I just have a 401(k) that I didn’t even manage a contribution to last year.” Still, I agreed to his scheme and laid out fifteen singles on the coffee table.

Rose Dorrado called just as the Chiefs were mounting a heroic attack late in the first half, when I’d already lost six dollars. I took the phone into the hall to get away from the television noise.

“Josie didn’t come home from school today,” Rose said without preamble.

“She wasn’t at school today at all, according to the girls on the team.”

“Not at school? But she left this morning, right on time! Where did she go? Oh, no, oh, Dios, did someone steal my baby!” Her voice rose.

Images of the dark alleys and abandoned buildings on the South Side, of the girls in this city who’ve been molested and killed, flitted around the corners of my mind. It was possible, but I didn’t think that was what had happened to Josie.

“Have you checked with Sandra Czernin? She could be visiting April.”

“I called Sandra, I thought that, too, but she heard nothing from my baby, nothing since Saturday when Josie went to see April in the hospital. What did you say to her yesterday? Did you upset her so much she ran away from me?”

“I told her I didn’t think it was a good idea for her and Billy to spend the night together. Do you know where he is?”

She gasped. “You think he ran off with her? But why? But where?”

“I don’t think anything right now, Rose. I’d talk to Billy before I called the cops, though.”

“Oh, I thought nothing could be worse than losing my job, but now this, this! How do I find him, this Billy?”