Episode 1: A Halloween to Die For

Northwest. The good news folks is your clarified morning just in time for holiday. This year, Town Hall will facilitate a fall festival for kids and families to make trigger treating safer for everyone. Police have advised Sage Book residents to travel in groups and exercise extra caution after sunset.

Too bad. This is gonna be the coolest house in town this year.

Uh

That's what you're concerned about?

Okay, of course the town's safety is top priority, but what am I gonna do with all my funded now?

Throw it away or burn it.

OOOOOOO

I would never.

Ned, are you secretly colluding with every dentist in Sagebrook?

Your skills of deduction fail you, Detective Mulligan. You gotta think more big picture than that. My mission is to create the ultimate Halloween experience. Think smoke machines and cobwebs and skeletons that pop out at kids when they walk by. Gosh, you should come see it! At least then it wouldn't be a total waste.

It's just as well. I get the feeling Oliver might call us in again tomorrow night.

Really? I was hoping we wouldn't have to work on Halloween.

It's the busiest night of the year for police. So Oliver might want us to investigate something while he's stuck doing patrol. Sorry, Ned, as private detectives, so we're always on the clock when there's an active case.

Fine. At least I can still eat candy and watch scary movies at home.

I know the town is on high alert, but I still expect our serial killer to try something. He might like the challenge.

Oof. That'd be real bad karma. Everyone knows the spirits are more powerful on All Hollows Eve.

Right, that's why murder is bad. You still believe everything your psychic tells you?

I would trust Sharon with my life. I'm just saying, maybe don't kill people when there are ghosts around to witness it.

Well, I'm not going to sit around and wait for that to happen. Enough about Halloween. Let's go over the facts of the case again.

Right, right. Back to business.

Whoa.

Here's what we know. There have been five murders over the last three months.

A white powder found at every crime scene quickly connected them. Forensics ID'd it as Mako powder, commonly used to make incense.

To me, that points to some sort of belief in the supernatural. He could be using the incense to ward off bad spirits.

Or it's a calling card that links his crimes together without giving away any distinctive traits.

Why not both? And if he believes in spirits, he should definitely be careful tomorrow.

Keep it objective, Ned.

No DNA evidence has been recovered. Victims were a range of different ages and genders. Lived alone except for a caretaker.

Victim two was a young college student, last seen leaving a party.

Pirate theme party, right? It was talk like a pirate day. Didn't they build a cardboard ship in the backyard and fill it with booze?

Is that detail listed in the notes?

No, I just remembered. Should I note it? What if he has a secret vendetta against pirates?

Were any of the other victims related to pirates in any way?

No, but I feel like that's an angle we should consider.

Make a note if you want. But none of the other victims were inebriated or college students. Similarly, I think the theme of the party is probably unrelated.

Good point. Victims three and four were both staged as suicides. He's getting bolder, not trying to cover up as much. enjoying creating a narrative.

Yes. He likes staying on the fringes of discovery while calling attention to his actions.

Victim five was killed only two weeks ago. She was a librarian found in the alleyway next to her place of work, surrounded by a display of torn and burned books. I visit that library all the time, but I don't think I've ever talked to her.

It is the most public display so far. Based on the security footage from the library, we estimate that the killer is male in his forties.

And now we're headed to the crime scene of victim six.

Potentially. It's too soon to confirm if this case is connected with the rest.

Oliver said the police already collected powder samples, right?

Yes. But this powder was reddish brown rather than white like the others. It's changed for some reason. The forensics report hasn't come in yet.

Obviously it's the same guy though. Who else could it be?

The likelihood is very high, but you still have to remain completely impartial when presenting evidence. Only state the fact.

I would if we were presenting it to like a judge. But it's just you. We're partners.

Keep reviewing the file.

I know you already have it memorized. We're not gonna find anything new by reading it again.

Uh

Do you have a phone charger? My phone's at 10%.

Already? What are you doing on that thing?

Listen, it was only at twenty percent when Oliver called. Was already in my PJs. He gave us such little notice.

I couldn't wait till morning. The rain's already mucking up the crime scene.

Thank you.

We just passed Rosie's diner. Can we at least stop on the way back?

Nah.

What is this guy doing?

Lights are meant to help drivers see you ass

Oh wait, MOLG MIT! Oh shit!

Yeah.

Who

Why am I on the side of the road? Mulligan? Mulligan

Ha ha ha.

Where are you? Mulligan!

Yelling! I'm over here.

Are you okay?

I'm in one piece. You

Uh my head is still ringing, but otherwise fine. Do you remember what happened?

Truck coming towards us. Did we get hit? Uh no. We'd be in much worse shape.

And wouldn't the car be somewhere around here?

Shit. You're right. Where the hell's my car?

Okay. Something must have happened with the truck, right? Since that's the last thing we both remember, and then maybe someone stole the car while we were out.

Call Oliver. Let him know where we are and ask him to pick us up.

Good idea. Hopefully he hasn't gone to bed yet. Crap, it's dead.

This is why you can't let your phone battery get too low.

I thought I could charge it in your car.

Huh.

I forgot you literally have a dinosaur fum.

My phone has never died on me.

W wait, it's six AM?

We left downtown at around 9:30 p.m., and we drove for about 20 minutes. That means over eight hours have passed. As soon as we get back, we can report a carjacking happened within that timeframe.

Oh god. Were we drugged? How could we have lost your car and an eight whole hours?

Alright, panicking isn't going to do us any good. First priority is getting back to Sagebrook.

Let's get back to town.

Damn it. No signal. We must be too far from town.

Okay, you sure it's not because you have B Ryzen?

Their prepaid plan rates are unmatched. Come on, let's start walking. We can meet up with Oliver at the police station.

You know, unlimited plans have existed for years. What does the B even stand for?

We're close. I can see the clock tower up ahead.

Whew. Good thing we didn't drive too far out of town.

We've been walking for almost three hours. What?

That's crazy! My legs don't even feel that tired. God, all those Peloton classes are paying off!

My legs are fine too, and I didn't pay for an entire premium membership.

It's fine. I wrote it off as a business expense. You We chase bad guys. I need to be in tip top shape for that. Mm-hmm. Oh come on, you're telling me you bought this vintage trench coat and didn't make it a tax write-off?

For what occupation could a coat be a write-off?

Let's see. Costume designers. Actors, detectives who like to maintain a certain image?

I wear this because it's practical.

You wear it because it makes you look like McGrupp the crime dog.

I What? Still no phone signal. Sure. When you learn to charge your phone.

Okay, maybe we should have tried to look for the car at least. Who would have stolen it? This is Sagebrook.

The town that has a serial killer on the loose right now, remember? Besides, it could have been someone coming from out of town.

Oh yeah, because we get so many tourists.

Regardless, if we wandered around too long, we could have gotten lost, with no idea how to get back to town. And with our memory loss, we should seek medical attention as quickly as possible.

I don't feel concussed. What if we drove into a part of the forest protected by a spell? Then we left the car and wandered around until we left the affected area, but the spirits blocked our memories of the place.

Hm, yes, that seems plausible.

Right?

No, of course not.

You set to consider all the possibilities.

Possibilities that have scientific backing, please.

Oh sure, because it's possible for people to get concussions and have no physical injuries.

Whether our injuries are visible or not We're displaying symptoms of head trauma that are affecting our memory and judgment. We'll need a full checkup to be sure.

Uh

You are thinking like a cop again. What happened to thinking outside of the box?

This is different. Private detectives still need evidence. Leads that we can follow. Feelings and fantasies don't hold up in court. The sooner you learn to prioritize objectivity over personal beliefs, the better.

Fine, you're right. Alright, let's just talk to Oliver.

Looks like half the precincts out here. Did Chief call everyone in for morning mustard?

Hey guys! Well, I didn't see Oliver. Maybe we should wait out here. The others might think it's weird if we're walking around the station without him.

I wanna see what's going on. Just stay in the back, don't draw attention to ourselves. Oliver should be here soon.

They're all headed to the bullpen. Wow, we haven't been there since

Last year.

Yeah, it's great.

Never thought this could happen to one.

Can't believe it.

Amen.

Something bad went down last night.

That explains why Chief called everyone in.

Do you think it's someone we know?

Let's catch up with them.

Hey, Morgan. They still have your metal in the trophy case.

Amen.

And your picture? You look so serious. And Chief, look at him, he looks like a proud dad.

He didn't look like that the day I quit.

Yeah. Well it was the right decision.

Amen.

We should keep moving.

For the record, I like this mulligan a lot more.

Thanks. Thank you.

I think I have time to get coffee before Chief gets here.

Yeah. If you're quick about it.

Thank you.

Dude, hurry up!

Watch it.

Sorry. I had to get my jacket. It's freezing.

Ned, look. Roger has your old locker.

Roger? Fish and egg sandwich guy? Oh, I feel bad for the people around him.

Oh my god.

Gross. Yeah, that smells just like I thought it would.

Yeah. Thank you.

Alright, listen up everyone.

Jeez. Je looks like a wreck. Shh.

I appreciate you all coming in so early on a Tuesday morning. I'm sure the rumor mill has already started making the rounds, so I'll just be frank.

Okay.

Last night we lost two former colleagues in a tragic accident. Many of you worked closely with them. Some of you likely called them friends. Though they are no longer part of our precinct, we want to honor their work and dedication to this town. If you all would join me in a moment of silence. Detectives Kate Mulligan. And Ned Kelly. You will be missed.

This is a joke, right?

Yeah, why is that the headshot you picked? My hair looked so bad that year.

Uh hello? We're right here.

The bodies have already been retrieved and brought to the medical examiner.

No, our bodies are right here.

Yeah.

I will do so. Until then I ask for everyone's discretion.

Ned, hand me that bullhorn. I'll give them something they can't ignore.

Yeah, sure.

Memorial service will be held. Contact.

I can't grab it.

What do you mean? Let me

Wait.

Yeah.

And town maybe

See?

Rumors travel fast in our tight-knit community, and with Halloween celebrations tonight, anxieties are already high. Please. This internal until case details have been cleared and we can hold a proper press conference.

What did you do?

All right, dismissed.

Thank you.

This isn't happening. Everyone is pulling some sort of sick prank on us. Or we've been hallucinating this entire time.

I'm pretty sure we couldn't both be having the same hallucination.

Then one of us isn't real!

What?

Mulligan, come on!

Mullikan, where are you going?

To the ME's office. I know for a fact those bodies aren't going to be ours. What the hell?

Yeah.

No, why can't I open the door?

Mulligan! Let's focus.

Ned, are we really dead? We can see and talk to each other, but the door

I don't think so. I mean we can't be dead.

Chief certainly seems to think so, and we we can't touch anything.

Okay, I know this seems crazy, but hear me out. I think Our spirits have been displaced from our bodies. So our old colleagues now think we're dead.

That seems even less likely. It has to be something else, an elaborate prank or a hallucination. Something strange is going on here, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it.

Kate? Listen to me. Okay, that was really weird. Sorry. Mulligan. Not everything can be solved by logic alone. I think for once you'll have to consider something supernatural is at work here.

Amen.

Fine.

Yeah.

I'll play along.

Amen.

If this is actually happening, are we just trapped inside the police station?

Ha ha ha.

This is a real nightmare.

We were able to get through the doors before I think we just can't open them on our own, but if we're spirits Maybe Whoop

Where do you go?

That was weird. But it worked! I was just outside.

I am not doing that.

Okay. D Do you want to see the Emmy or not?

Ow.

Yeah.

How did you do that?

It's easy. All you have to do is walk through and pretend the door isn't even there.

I can sort of feel the door.

Amen.

But also not.

Almost a jello like resistance, right?

But I can also kind of sense the wood warping around my hand. I can't do it. I don't know what's on the other side.

This is where it's okay to use the logical side of your brain again.

It's the outdoors.

Okay.

You did it! To the medical examiner's office! Never thought I'd say that with so much gusto.

So if your theory is correct and we are spirit Do we just need to rejoin with our bodies? Is that how this works?

Glad you're starting to see things from my point of view. But yeah, that's the idea. Spirit displacement isn't super common, and I've only read a little bit about it, so I'm not super sure how it works. I'm sure we can figure it out though.

And then we'd essentially come back to life.

Yeah, we wake up. Oh man, I can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces. Do you think they finally call me by my last name?

Why?

You know, you're Mulligan Sounds so cool. And it's just like Some guy. I'm gonna go by Kelly instead. Or or Detective Kelly at least.

Mm-hmm.

Kelly is just another first name. Stick with Ned.

Hey, that's Oliver's car.

They must have asked him to identify our bodies.

So the first person we get to scare when we wake up is Oliver. Perfect.

We're going to have to do the phasing thing again, aren't we?

Yep. After you.

What's it?

What? You know you don't have to hold your breath, right?

It helps me get out of my head.

That's fair.

Oliver's probably speaking with the ME, or he's already in the mortuary.

If we find our bodies, we'll find them eventually.

Let's go then.

It's cold in here. I like it.

They have to keep it cold in here for the cadavers.

Right. Of course.

Mortuary. We're here.

Oh perfect, our bodies are still out on the tables.

And still wearing our clothes, thankfully.

It's so funny to see our skin husks like this.

Uh do you have to call them that?

I've never gotten to see my side profile like this before. Do you think I should grow a goatee? I really think that would elevate my appearance.

As far as I can see currently, we have minor scrapes and bruises on our arms and faces. Looks like you have some potential head trauma, judging by that bruise on your temple.

Ooh, what if I made a hand grow out of my chest?

Ned, this doesn't feel right.

Okay, yeah. Probably shouldn't mess around in spirit form. Might accidentally scramble some organs.

No, I mean, look at us. Our bodies are so stiff, like how people usually look when rigor mortise has occurred.

Okay, that's morbid. Look, it's probably just because our spirits have been gone for a while, but I agree, let's get back in sooner rather than later.

Alright. How is it done? Uh...

Well From what I've read, if we get closer to our bodies we should feel some kind of magnetic pull.

I don't feel anything.

It might take a second. Okay, maybe we have to actually touch our bodies. What the heck?

Amen.

I can't face through.

Amen. Amen.

Where did you read about this spirit stuff?

I don't remember. Some books Sharon gave me.

Perfect. A truly reliable source.

Okay, when we get out of this, I'll give you an MLA citation. Happy? It can't be.

Why isn't it working?

Displacement happens when a little bit of the spirit is left in the body. Like remaining signs of life, but If we can't re-enter our bodies That means that That connection. Has been severed completely.

What are you saying?

I think.

Amen.

We might actually

Ghost Inspectors was written and directed by Victoria Chang. Produced by Victoria Chang and Gino Jang. Episode 1 featured the following.

Matthias Herrera and

Chief.

Additional Voices by Jaina Nishioka, Jared Cooper, Naomi Wu, Robert Mai and Jin Young Jing. Original score by Robert Mai. Music Assistance by Evan Timani. Editing and sound design by Victoria Chang. Recording engineer Michael Keane. Associate Producer, Weyland Productions. For a full list of categories. And crew, or if you want to follow us for updates on all our shows, you can find us on Tumblr and Instagram.

This production would not have been possible without the amazing support of all our Indiegogo backers. In this episode, we want to give a shout out to Jory Hannah, Isabella Miller. Kim, Francesca Blanco, and Christy Insoll. Thank you for listening to Ghost Inspectors. And until next time, remember to charge your phone.