S1 E01: Shellfish

How I Died contains adult language and themes that may be inappropriate for younger audiences. Viewer discretion is advised. Stick around after each episode for some director's commentary. Audio Media presents How I Died

You the new doctor here? Leave me alone. Hello? Huh? It's too early for this shit. Oh, hi. Sorry, what did you say? I... asked if you were the new doctor here yeah i am i'm john spacer are you sheriff crowley no it's just i've been waiting here for almost an hour On the phone they said get here ASAP, so I figured... Next time, we'll tell the victim to die faster, so you don't have to wait as long. I didn't mean it like that. I meant that... Sorry. I'm just here to let you into the pathology lab.

Go ahead in. The sheriff will be bringing in the body soon. The hospital cafeteria is open 24-7, in case you need a cup of coffee or anything. Oh, do you know if they have tea? I don't drink coffee. I don't know. I drink coffee. Off to a great start on your first day. Phew. This is a pretty big lab for a small town. That's two whole walls of cold drawers. What is that? A sink over there. Two nicely cleaned exam tables right in the center here. Shit. You might be out of your element here, John.

You can do this. You can do this. Fresh start. Dr. Spacer? Oh. Yeah. I'm here. Hey there, Doc. I've got a present for you. Who's the victim? Nice to meet you, too. I'm Fran Crowley. Oh, you're the sheriff. Oh, aren't you a little young to be a coroner? I was not trying to... I'm a forensic pathologist, actually. It's lower on the totem pole. Look, it's late. I'm sure you're tired. I know I am. So let's say we just disregard the sexism for a minute and move on.

I'd rather enjoy the short time we have together. Um, excuse me? What's that supposed to mean? Don't worry. I didn't mean you'll end up like her here. I just mean you'll cycle out eventually. Nobody sticks around long in this job. You said her? The victim is a woman. Do you have a case file? Bare minimum. We just found her. Um... This is essentially blank. Female, age 31. There isn't even a name written down. Do we have a wallet or personal effects? Got our purse, but we don't need it. That...

is Maggie Lane. Did you know her? Because we're both women. What? No, because it's such a small town, I... Relax, Doc. I'm just messing with you. Ah. You got me. Not used to people joking about murder. Yeah, well, after how tense tonight's been, I needed a laugh. What, uh, happened to her exactly? Don't know.

We've got a missing husband and child. Someone called this in from their house phone. But by the time we arrived, all we found was Maggie. How strange. My deputies are looking for the husband now. My bet is he poisoned her, took the kid, and fled. But that's what you're here to confirm, Mr. Coroner. Oh, forensic pathologists, remember? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just confirm for me what I already know. Um...

Do you hear that? Hear what? Nothing. Just something in the pipes, I guess. Hello? I must be anxious just to get to work. Whatever, Doc. Don't go loopy on us already. Took us long enough to replace the last one. I've really got to scrub up. I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Let's see what you can do. Yeah. Let's see what I can do.

Hello? All right. Let me get my mic set up for dictation. Here we go. What is happening? Where am I? It's Wednesday morning. 4.24 a.m. Dr. Jonathan Spacer conducting post-mortem analysis. Case number 1328. 31-year-old female, 117 pounds, 5 foot 3 inches tall. Hey you, I have a name, you know. Pronounced dead at the scene approximately 3 a.m. after a 911 call. Cause of death currently unknown.

First responders noted no signs of pulsar breathing, but they did note some marks on the neck. I'll be examining the body for other notable external markings before beginning surgery. Am I dead? Yes. You're a ghost. Welcome to the afterlife. Wow. If I would have known, I never... Wait. You're alive. But you can hear me. How? Is that important right now? I... I guess not. So, this is what it's like to die? This is not...

The escape I was promised. Technically, this is what happens after you die. Who are you? Where is everyone else? I'm a doctor. My name's John. It's just us in the lab, and it's my job to determine how and why you were killed so that we can put whoever did this behind bars. It's a little late for that. It doesn't really matter who killed us now, does it?

Have you done this before? You don't seem freaked out to see me. This is a pretty standard post-mortem exam. I've done dozens of these on cadavers, but... But what? Put them... You've never done it on a real case. Holy shit. Calm down. You're not the first ghost I've seen, if that's what you're wondering. And I've done autopsies with ghosts around before, just... There's always been...

someone else with me, so I've never been able to talk to them about the case. I'm kind of figuring out what I need to say to you as we go. You don't... need to say anything to me. Just write down that my husband, Mark Lane, poisoned me and Danny. That's unfortunate, but I need some hard evidence. We're dead. There's your evidence.

We? Is Dani your daughter? Dammit, you don't know anything. Sheriff Fran should have just done this without you. Note, victim does not appear to have any physical markings on her body other than her neck. I'm going to check for signs of sexual assault. You're going to what? Just get someone else in here to do this, kid. Look! You're dead. I'm sorry about that.

And I'm sure it is a lot to take in right now. But you need to either get over it quickly or figure out how to deal with it yourself so that I can focus on this case. You're an insensitive ass, you know that? I'm trying to help you.

But I can't answer your questions while trying to examine your body. So I suggest you let me do my job before your husband gets away with murder. Gets away with murder? For the record, there are no signs of sexual assault. Whoa, whoa, whoa. You said Mark was going to get away with murder. What does that mean? Hmm. Looking at the victim's wrist, I've noted a slight shadow or some sort of indentation. Did you wear a bracelet here? I used to. It was a gift from me, Mama.

An old family heirloom? That must have been some large bracelet to make that kind of outline. Note. Return to this later. If the wrist still has an indent from the bracelet, it could be a sign of a skin or bruising problem. You think the fact that I've got an indent on my wrist is important? I think every detail can be important. And now what are you doing? I'm drawing blood.

For a toxicology report. Why are you wasting time? My husband killed us all. That's the important detail. Well, as soon as this report is done, we'll figure out what type of poison it was. That's not what I meant. Another note. There are small tracings. They look like red marks on the upper torso, leading to the victim's neck. No signs of a struggle, though. Maggie.

My name is Maggie. There seems to be no damage to the epidermis around the neck. These red bumps are more consistent with an allergic reaction rash. I'll need to check the victim's throat. You're treating me like I don't even exist! What I have to say could help you. You're right. I'm... I apologize. Did you know Sheriff Crowley well? What?

You called her Fran, and then you got mad at me when I didn't know who Danny was? I'm assuming that you saw the sheriff in here a minute ago. I'm deducing that means you two were on a first-name basis. Yeah, Danny went to kindergarten with Fran's son. Josh, you know, years ago, before... Before what? It's not my place. I'm going to have to cut open your throat to examine the inside. You may want to look away. Fine.

Talk to me then. Um, I don't know what to say. What is Dani like? Oh, she was a wonderful little kid. Always so happy about everything. She loved pigs and cows. I'd always catch her at the neighbor's pens after school. She said she wanted to be a farmer when she grew up and... and now... You'll miss her, I'm sure. Of course I'll miss her. Your kids are the light of your life. You'd do anything to keep them safe. You think you weren't able to keep Danny safe?

No one could have. This world, it's no place to raise kids. She was being bullied in school and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. Mark lost his job and... We were going to lose our home, too. We had no options. So you don't blame Mark. Of course I do. Mark was a bastard. We... We had Danny right out of high school, and he was cruel from the moment I got pregnant. He took out all his frustrations on me. He beat me.

And drank all day and night. I tried to keep Dani away from it, but I couldn't. I couldn't let her go on in this terrible world. To grow up and be abused by her husband? Have the world shit on her? It's a fucking unavoidable cycle that's not worth living through. I didn't notice any bruising or indications of past beatings during my initial exam. Are you saying I'm lying? No, not at all.

But I wasn't looking for the signs. I might have missed something that only an x-ray could see. Can you tell me what happened tonight before you ended up here? Don't you care what I have to say now? You asked me to talk to you. I'm perfectly fine just taking notes as I operate. Fine. I, um... Let's see, uh... I came home and, um...

Mark had made dinner for us, which was surprising. You don't seem so sure. Oh, I don't know. Maybe the details are just fuzzy because I'm dead. Did you ever think of that? Maybe. Continue. If you want to. I came home and Mark had dinner on the table. I didn't know at the time what it was, but we ate, and... We talked like a real family for once. He seemed happy. I was happy. And then I started to have trouble breathing. An allergic reaction? That's what it felt like.

It was just, like, itchy at first. Then it felt like someone was putting their hands around my neck, slowly choking me of air, and I panicked, and I hit the ground hard, and... I'm seeing red rashes, tightened muscles, and a closed airway on the inside of your throat. It's definitely consistent with anaphylaxis. I will never forget that feeling of just...

Sitting at the table across from him. I was so happy to look at him and watch him eat. And I squeezed Danny's hand as she ate dinner too. And then I saw it. The look of fear in her face. My little baby saw me hit the floor. And I tried to just hold on to her as it happened.

It had to happen that way. And then I was at peace. Finally. Damn. I'm sure they'll catch Mark and find Annie safe. I wouldn't worry. What? The police haven't been able to locate them yet. What do you mean? They were in the room with me. Wait, when you died? Yes! We're all deathly allergic to shellfish, and they ate the food just like I did. Maybe more. Are you telling me you could taste shellfish in the dish? What? No, I'm just assuming that's what it was, but...

You're telling me that Danny and Mark are still alive? Actually, now that you mention it, I don't know that for sure. Sheriff Crowley said there was a 911 call placed from your home. Your husband's car was missing from the driveway, and I guess the police were assuming that they were on the run. Hold on just a moment. They're... Oh god, they're alive?

That is impossible. I... Where are you going? I'm actually done with the surgery. I think I've found all the information that I can glean from your body, other than a stomach pump. But you just told me what I'll find. Shellfish. Or at least something that's cooked with it that won't be detectable. And that sound was the toxicology report finishing up. This was supposed to be our escape. According to this...

You've got a ton of codeine painkiller in your system. And trace amounts of clozapine, haloperidol, loracidone? Those medications are antidepressants and an antipsychotic? Interesting. But the amounts show inconsistent or not recent usage. Why would you have that much painkiller in your system unless... That's... that's not possible. They shouldn't be alive. I saw their faces. Danny was so afraid. She couldn't breathe either. And Mark, I know, is allergic to shellfish. They...

I shouldn't be alive. And I shouldn't be the only one dead. Hi. I'm trying to reach Sheriff Fran Crowley. This is John Spacer. I'm the new forensic pathologist. Yeah, the new coroner. If you could ask her to... Oh, she's still at the hospital. Could you radio for her to come down to the pathology lab? Yes, as soon as possible, please. Thank you. Sheriff Crowley's on her way down. Please tell her that Mark...

Poisoned us. And if they do find him, he did it. I will, if that's really what happened. Of course it's what happened. Why wouldn't it be? What did you have for dinner? What? Why? The devil is in the details. And right now, there are a few that aren't adding up. Screw you! You don't know. Anything. You thought they were both dead. Screw you! Screw you! You also immediately went to shellfish as the ingredient. How did you know that?

They shouldn't be. I shouldn't be dead. Tell me something. The indent on your wrist? That was from wearing a medical alert bracelet, wasn't it? Why did you take it off? What did you find, Doc? I need answers now. There's a shitstorm upstairs. Sheriff, here. Come see. Fran? Fran? Mark killed me. He tried to kill all of us, but... What? Why are you making me look at this? She... She can't hear me, can't she? Fran? Fran! I assumed you'd want to know what I found. Not like that. Fuck. Just...

Tell me. The cause of death was anaphylaxis after ingesting something she was allergic to. Shellfish. What? That was my guess. How did you... That's all you have for me? I found that out already. No. No! Wait, how? We found Maggie's husband and her daughter. They're upstairs in the ER right now. You found them? You found Danny? Yeah. I was hoping you had more answers for me. It's not looking good.

They are going to die. What happened? Denny pulled up to the ER entrance with her dad in the passenger seat before we even arrived. She drove here? Yeah. Eleven years old. Can you believe it? Apparently, she knew her parents were having a reaction and tried to find their EpiPens. When she couldn't, Mark hobbled out to his car with her and Maggie... well, Maggie was already unresponsive.

Danny told the intake nurse her dad was having an attack. They gave him some steroids and he's doing fine. Holy crap. This was our chance. Yeah. Problem is, a couple minutes later, Danny collapsed. She was having a reaction too. I don't know. Neither do the doctors up there. I was just with her. She's not responding to steroids. It's...

Too late. If she's not responding to steroids, that means... Wait a second. What? If I'm remembering biology correctly, which I am, allergies aren't always passed down genetically. So? So Maggie has a massive amount of codeine in her system. Danny never ate fish before. If she was the one who tried to kill the family, maybe she gave Danny codeine as well as a way to mercifully numb the pain. You're thinking Maggie did it?

Oh, what was the extension to the ER again? Ah. Hey, this is Dr. Spacer in the pathology lab. You have a patient, a young girl named Danny Lane, who isn't responding to steroids, right? I'm pretty certain she's suffering from some overdose of codeine and other medications. Run a urine or a blood test to confirm, but she's going to need her stomach pumped immediately. Yeah. Actually, send the test down and I can run it for you. Thanks.

She wasn't supposed to suffer. Neither of us were. But, Mark... How the hell can you prove any of this? I... I can't, really. Then how do you know? And how did you know their daughter's name was Danny earlier? Oh, um, it's just something I heard around town. I put two and two together, and, you know, I guess word travels fast around here. Rumors aren't going to cut it here.

I'm going back upstairs to see if we can question Mark. He's conscious, but at this point, it's his words against... against a dead woman. I hope he does get blamed for it. He took this away from all of us. That's it. Sheriff, wait. What now? The purse. What did you say you found in it? I didn't. But we found it in Maggie's car. Still parked at the house. Why? It wasn't in the home. No. We were all supposed to be at peace. Look. Holy shit, are those? EpiPens. Three of them.

And I bet they're labeled for prescription, too. Yep. Mark Lane, Danny Lane, and Maggie. And a bottle of codeine, also prescribed to Maggie. Circumstantial evidence. How do we know she didn't just leave them in there normally? You... Forgive me, but it sounds like you don't want her to be guilty. Guilty? Calm it down, new kid.

Guilty or innocent isn't for either of us to decide. All I want is enough evidence for a judge. It doesn't matter anymore. Damn. Don't worry, Doc. You might have just saved a little girl tonight.

And all before sunup. That's a pretty good first day. Hey, Sheriff Crowley. Is... Are they all going to be like this? Like what? This ambiguous. I mean, it's my job to find the evidence so that we can put it together, but what if we can't ever know for certain? Kid, I'm not your shrink. I'm not your mentor either. Figure that shit out on your own. But you shouldn't be surprised around here. Why not? They really didn't tell you when you accepted the job, huh? Tell me what?

We've got the nation's highest rate of unsolved deaths. Not for a lack of trying, either. Seems everyone here dies in a weird way. And that... well... Starts to get to people. And that's why no one wanted this job. Welcome to Springfield, Doc. Enjoy your stay while it lasts. It wasn't supposed to be like... Why did you do it? We were promised salvation. I was lied to. You kept saying I should trust you and listen to you, but you lied to me too. You...

tricked me. The worst part of all of this, this whole exam, this whole back and forth, just to solve an attempted murder by a woman who can't ever be proven guilty? How is that fair? Even if you and I know the truth, the outcome is the only thing that matters here. What are you doing? And what is that box for? When I was looking through your purse, I saw your license. You had a heart on the back.

Which meant you're an organ donor. Stay away from my body! If all that codeine damaged Dany's heart or her liver, she'll need a new one. Don't touch me. And even if she's not a match, your death will save someone else. That might be the only positive thing to come out of all of this. I'll haunt you, I swear! Note.

Victim Maggie Lane shows undeniable evidence to the cause of death being suffocation and anaphylactic shock due to allergic reaction. Thankfully, we'll be able to harvest some usable organs for potential transplant. She may save her own daughter's life. Don't touch me! You can do this, John. No! No! I can do this.

This is Vince Dijani, creator of How I Died and the voice of Dr. John Spacer. I just wanted to pop in real quick and say a personal thank you for listening to our show. It's been a huge undertaking going through about five separate rewrites, multiple recastings, and a ton of time to perfect it. And we couldn't be more proud. Now before I spend an hour saying thank you, let me get into the credits.

How I Died is an audio media original production, co-starring Vince Dijani as John Spacer and Shana Waring as Sheriff Fran Crowley. This episode featured amazing guest performances by Melissa Sheldon as Maggie Lane and Mike Lynch as the grumpy deputy. Audio editing and sound design. Sound effects and Foley provided by freesound.org are created in-house at Audio Media. The How I Died theme song was created by Mike Lynch

with additional music by Maiden. If you enjoyed the show and want to help support it, head to patreon.com slash howidied for bonus episodes, crime scene photos, handwritten case files, and more. Thank you again for listening, and until next episode, try not to die. You might think you know fairy tales, and you might think that they are cute and sweet and boring. But the real grim fairy tales were not cute at all. They were very dark, and they were often very grim.

On Grim Grimmer Grimmest, we tell a grim fairy tale to a bunch of kids. Perfect for car rides or screen-free entertainment, Grim Grimmer Grimmest activates kids' imaginations and instigates fun conversations. Fairy tales speak to all of us at a very deep level. primal level and they raise interesting topics and questions that are worth chewing over together as a family every episode is rated grim grimmer or grimmest so you your kids your whole family can choose what is the right level of grim

you. Though, if you're listening with Grandma, she's just gonna go for Grimmest. Trust me on this one. Tune in to Grim Grimmer Grimmest and our new season, available now. Does music really have the power to heal? How can you instantly be more persuasive? What would the world be like if there were no bugs? These are the kind of topics we explore in every episode of my podcast called Something You Should Know.

My name is Mike Carruthers, and what we do on Something You Should Know is we find leading experts and curate topics that will impact your life, satisfy your curiosity, or simply fascinate you. Maybe all of the above. Out of all the millions of podcasts in the universe, Something You Should Know is usually ranked in the top 200 of all podcasts on Apple. A lot of people like Something You Should Know, and I'm willing to bet you will too.

We deliver three episodes a week and have a catalog of over a thousand shows for you to listen to. Give a listen to Something You Should Know, wherever you get your podcasts.