Girl in the Blue Coat

Hanneke returns to Mrs. Janssen’s house to exchange notes. Hanneke notices that Mirjam had been writing the letters “M” and “T” in the dust on jars and marvels at the fact that even while afraid and in mourning, Mirjam’s love for T (presumably Tobias) persisted. Hanneke inspects the back door again and finds that Mirjam could have closed the latch behind her with a garden stake. At least a small part of the mystery of her disappearance thus seems solved.

On Friday, Hanneke learns that Tobias hasn’t been in school. She visits Mina, who receives a call from Judith. Judith invites Hanneke to a gathering at Leo’s and suggests that if Hanneke doesn’t come, she will stop extending help. Hanneke sets off to look for Tobias’s father, Dr. Rosen, a dentist, but has no luck. She runs into Christoffel and learns that his father often travels to Den Haag. Impulsively, she asks if his father might deliver a note to Amalia. She carefully inquires after Mirjam and folds the letter in the shape of a star.