As this "missing child" detective story reaches its climax, Julia reveals that the culprit is none other than the child's grieving mother, Lou!

Page 126: “Susan didn't even give me time to ring the doorbell.”

“They got him! I just heard it on television! His name is Wygand! He’s the one who killed Jerry!”

“No, it’s not him.”

“Not… not him?”

“No, he’s just a religious nut, a would-be Christ who, for once in his life, wanted to play the part of the protagonist. His phone calls were always inspired by the information on news broadcasts. There was nothing original. He just repeated what he’d heard.”

“But… the part about the shoe…”

“He found out about that through the news also. Because she was too early to let him know...”

Page 129: “Then the disappearance occurs. She gets through the lie detector test, by influencing herself to the point of believing in the good reasons for her actions. She feels her own answers are sincere, and has them recorded as such.”

“I can’t listen to any more!”

“But she immediately speaks of "ransom," a hateful word to any mother. And she keeps a baby shoe. She plans to send it to prove that someone actually kidnapped him. It would be a mistake. The girl doesn't even imagine that there are three types of kidnapping: for sexual purposes, for forced adoption, and for ransom. And only in the third case would the shipment of the shoe be justified... Despite herself, however, the theory of kidnapping takes hold, supported by the intervention of a religious nut, and by the fact that, to give herself a reputation, she has long let herself believe that she has wealthy parents.”

“I don’t feel it anyway!”

“These two elements mislead the investigation and cast suspicion on several people. In the meantime, she takes advantage of the religious nut's interventions...”

“Leave me alone!”

“Eventually, I meet her parents and discover the origins and motive of a monstrous act... but Lou must leave. We need to put an end to the drama. so she sends herself a card…”

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