Daredevil (1964 series) #192

On the roof of the Daily Bugle, Ben Urich meets with an informant who claims to have some shocking evidence on former city editor Jimmy Hughes. Evidently, Hughes had been under the mob’s thumb for nearly 20 years. Urich has trouble believing it, Hughes having been the man who helped him get his start, but agrees to follow up on things. Daredevil suddenly arrives, preventing a nearby hitman from sniping the two men. Daredevil interrogates the hitman who claims that he was only supposed to scare Urich a bit, and has no idea who hired him. The next morning, Ben’s wife Doris takes the rare opportunity the morning provides her to gaze at her husband. She heads to the kitchen and discovers the drawers infested with roaches; her resulting screams end up waking Ben. Doris vents her frustrations about never seeing Ben and often being home all alone in the small, musky apartment. Ben playfully agrees that maybe he should call out sick today and promises to go house-hunting with her.

Meanwhile, Daredevil stops in on the assistant D.A. in order to see what information she may have on the men tied to Jimmy Hughes. Elsewhere, the Urichs are being shown a house that Doris immediately falls in love with. Ben admits to the realtor, Barry Farnum, that they really won’t be able to afford it, but Farnum offers to arrange some creative financing with his bank. Not wanting to disappoint his wife, Urich gives Farnum his card. In New Jersey, Daredevil has tracked down the address of an old mob accountant, hoping to find old records that may exonerate Hughes. DD encounters some sophisticated security in the form of an ultrasonic device. He’s able to strike at the device when it changes frequencies and quickly finds the very notes he came for. However, the files pretty clearly prove Hughes’ guilt.

Later, Daredevil drops in on Ben Urich at home to deliver the bad news. While there, Ben receives a call from Farnum telling him that they got the house! Daredevil congratulates them, though the name Farnum sicks out to him, and he hopes that his concerns are invalid. Some time later, Ben drives down to Glen Cove, Long Island to confront Jimmy Hughes about what he’s discovered. When he presents what he’s learned, Hughes can’t even think of an excuse. Hughes explains how it all started. His daughter got married, and her husband ended up mixed up with the mafia. He was told he could save his son-in-law if he spiked a story he was writing on a burglary connected with them. From there, things snowballed, until before he knew it, he was completely under the mob’s thumb. Urich expresses his disappointment and Hughes calls Urich out on his hypocrisy, pointing out that Urich himself spiked a story when he was threatened by Elektra not too long ago. Urich claims that was different and gives Hughes 24 hours to make an official statement.

At the Nelson and Murdock law offices, Matt double-checks with Foggy about Farnum. Frank Farnum was the Masked Marauder and now his brother Barry Farnum is up to just as shady dealings. Matt goes as Daredevil to see the Kingpin, having discovered that Farnum and his bank are connected to Fisk. Fisk explains that being the one to control Urich’s living arrangements gives him a certain amount of leverage over him, should he need it. When Daredevil expresses disgust at Fisk’s potential blackmailing, Fisk points out that Daredevil did much the same to him not that long ago, when he used Fisk’s wife to get Cherryh to drop out of the mayoral race. Daredevil then meets with Ben to show him the truth about his house and Barry Farnum. The two exchange some harsh words, and Urich admits that Doris means everything to him; he can’t disappoint her. So, he’s planning to buy the house anyway. Later, Doris finds Ben at Coney Island, in the midst of his worries. She reveals Daredevil told her everything and tells him not to turn from his conscience; the man she married wouldn’t have. He promises that they’ll find a different place and she expresses that he’s always kept his promises, especially the ones that mattered.