Maria Stevens. Maria Stevens. He couldn’t get the name out of his head, and why should he, after all it was his wife, the person he had first fallen in love with seven years earlier, and the woman he had married and who had given birth to his two young daughters. The person who used to make him feel like a man.  What was there not to love about her, and he knew, deep within his soul that she was going to haunt him for the rest of his days that he was to walk on this planet. The big question was going to be if he would be able to get on with his life. He knew they were going to see him as a prime suspect, as a person of interest when they started to investigate the murder.

He knew it was likely the authorities had already found Maria's body, and it was only a matter of time and they would be looking for him, and time was not something he had much of. Standing at the end of the woods, he looked down below and saw the highway. He took in the view and admired the magestic tall trees and the clear blue sky, as he had always loved mother nature.  He would take his chances and see if he could hitch a ride to Tulsa. There was no turning back, and he knew that Jonathan would help. As he stood along the side of the road with his thumb stuck out, he wondered about other people, other husbands who had murdered their wives. He knew it wasn't a common occurance, but he knew others had done it. Although he doubted it, he wondered if they all had something in common. He thought about the office, his place of employment, and wondered if they knew what he had done. He knew Jackson had probably called his home to find out why he hadn't shown up at work.  

A big yellow truck slowly came to a halt and the driver peered out the window of the cab.

“Where’re you heading?”  

“Tulsa.”

“Hop in.”

Thane climbed up into the cab and tried to make himself comfortable.

“What you doing out in these parts, in the middle of nowhere?” Thane couldn’t think of anything to say at first, then blurted out. “Going to meet a friend in Tulsa. I wanted to see if I could make it from Phoenix to Tulsa by hitchhiking.”

The driver smiled, didn’t turn to look at his new passenger and just kept his eye on the road.