Jerry's corpse has been found in a cabin in the woods. As this "missing child" detective story reaches its climax, Julia reveals that the culprit is none other than the child's grieving mother!

“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 wannabe 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...”

“I... I'm sorry... it slipped out.”

“It didn't slip out. You said it on purpose. If that poor guy had called without knowing, he would have lost credibility. This way, instead, you've given credence to the hypothesis that he was the kidnapper and therefore also the murderer. In practice, you're the one who tipped him off.”

“But what... what does that mean?”

“It means that, years ago, a Southern girl left a dysfunctional family and an incestuous stepfather to seek her fortune. After several misfortunes, she found a husband and had a child... but it didn't last long. She suffered more beatings, more humiliations, and in the end she was left alone with a child to raise and a future without prospects. To survive, she relies on a wealthy man. Perhaps more than one... but her life remains always empty, without a future... until she meets a promising young man. He's a talented musician, someone who could make a fortune and offer her a life of celebrity. But he's focused on his own career. He doesn't want to be burdened with someone else's child.”

“No, Lou has nothing to do with it! He... he would never hurt Jerry.”

“However, the girl is in love with him. And when the musician sets the departure date, she has to make a decision. She has never had anything, and she doesn't want to miss what seems to be the opportunity of her life. But there is an obstacle: her son. That son who is a legacy of the past, of squalor, of moral misery... a burden that holds her down, preventing her from embracing the future. A son to eliminate. To erase. To kill!”

“No! It's not true! It's a lie!”

“So, she takes him to an abandoned shack, suffocates him and buries him, after lovingly wrapping him in a blanket, to protect him, as only a mother can do.”

“Lies! Lies! How dare you? Get out of my house!”

“Then the disappearance occurs. She gets through the lie detector test, deluding herself to the point of believing in 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 can't hear any of this!”

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

“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…”

“It's all made up! You'll never be able to prove anything!”

“The evidence is inside the blanket in which she wrapped her son, where she left her fingerprints.”

“Oh my God... oh my God... oh my God...”

“She kept invoking the name of the one who could have forgiven her for her actions, until Webb arrived. With immense relief, I told him everything. I didn't even need to repeat my concern about the fingerprints.”

Social/Sharing