Julia and Leo Baxter fly from New York to Georgia to interview Susan Sommers' mother and stepfather. Things turn ugly:
“Two days passed without further incident. On the morning of the third, Leo and I boarded a US Air Airbus, flying at ten thousand meters, bound for Albany, Georgia. From there we rented a car and continued further south, for another fifty miles, towards Ochlocknee. We only got lost twice. Paul Benson's farm stood in the middle of a rural area, mainly cultivated with tobacco. It had seen better days, but still maintained a respectable appearance.”
“We found Helen Benson, Mrs. Sommer and Susan's mother, waiting for us.”
“Please, sit down. Hospitality is proverbial here, although I don't know what to add to what I've already told you on the phone.”
“In our work, words are important, but feelings are even more so. I wanted to see in person the area where Susan was born and raised.”
“Then you've got it all wrong. We used to live in Baconton. Susan was fifteen when my first husband died. And seventeen when we moved here.”
“She didn't stay long, did she?”
“A year, more or less.”
“Difficulty fitting into the new family. It happens at that age.”
“We've already talked about this, haven't we?”
“Yes, but it doesn't seem like a sufficient reason to break off all contact. She's still your daughter...”
“A daughter in difficulty.”
“In these years she got married, had a child, and separated.”
“She didn't always keep us informed about her life.”
“So you didn't even know about the kidnapping? All the newspapers and television stations talked about it.”
“When she needed us, she got in touch.”
“Does that mean you still had contact after she left home?”
“Yes, a few months later, she came back saying she was pregnant and asking for money for an abortion.”
“Was she already married?”
“No, it was before she met that... Tomsich.”
“So you helped her.”
“Yes, we helped her.”
“Isn't your husband here?”
“No, he's away for work.”
“Why don't you tell me the truth, Mrs. Benson?”
“But I told you the truth.”
“Not all of it. Whose child was it? Why did you help her have an abortion?”
“And why did you then cut ties with her?”
“The visit is over. I'm not willing to be insulted by strangers!”
“The truth, Mrs. Benson! That child was your second husband's, wasn't it? What happened? Did he rape Susan, or did she consent?”
“That's not true! None of it is true! My husband never even touched her! She made up that whole story just to extort money from us!”
“The truth, Mrs. Benson! If it wasn't true, you wouldn't have paid!”
“That's enough! Get off my property! Get out of here!”
“Hey, wait a minute, I have nothing to do with this... I just accompanied her...”
“Come on, Leo!”
“Start running, you bastard!”
“No, don't threaten me, please. Put that weapon down!”
“Get your ass up and disappear!” (Leo grabs the shotgun from Mr. Benson.)
"This stuff always makes me nervous."
"Oh, God! God!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm sorry, but I had to know."
"Let's go, Leo."
"Gladly!"
I'm intrigued to see sound effects like "Sock" and "Crash" in a non-English comic book. The long shadows in panel six show that it's late in the day.
