S2 E07: Moving On

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Another heavily decomposed person? No. Well, yes. It definitely looks like it's been here for a while, but it's all purple and bloated. Just like the old case files. You're kidding. Really? There's an ambulance leaving inside to head here. Make sure you're on it. Yeah, I can do that. Good. Oh, wait, Crowley, real quick. Did you take my... Never mind. I'm on the way.

Curtis, why are you here? John. Get out of the way. I need to catch an ambulance. I don't want to burden you, but I... Move. I don't want to walk through you. It's just... Fine. Wait! I need to talk to you. Please stop. I don't care about what you have to say. You will! Dr. Spacer, we're about to leave. Yeah, I'm all set. Is Dr. Gatz coming? She's off today. Here, hop in the back. You be okay alone? I wish. John! Leave me alone.

I'm just biding my time until you can't stand to exist anymore. Are you going to forget me? Forget me when I'm gone? Yes, Curtis. After you move on and my hip heals, I'll make it a point to never think of you again. Even if- You know, it all makes sense why you're sticking around now. Some killers just like to see their victims again, huh? What? After all this time, you still think I killed them? I'm done with you.

I know who the killer is! Oh, because it's not you? No, no, it's not. Okay, then. Who did it? You know, for months now, all I've wanted to do is to talk talk... talk talk to you but you never wanted to listen now that i have the power never mind you've been losing your mind for two months that's for damn sure you don't know what it's like to be alone

Unable to feel anything? It's miserable. I can't even feel the space around me. It's like I'm- Are you lying to me just so I'll listen to you complain? You know what? Fine. You'll regret trying to get rid of me. And why is that? Because I'm going to grant your wish. I'm going to move on. Without... telling you who the killer is. Then you'll never forget me. Good. Bye. I hope you never catch her. Wait. Her? Curtis, wait. We're here. Damn it. You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.

Where are we? On the side of Route 83. You are now entering Springfield. I remember this road. Yeah, you should have turned around. Funny. Where's the body?

You were the one who started the small talk. Off the side of the ditch down there. You know, surrounded by all this crime scene tape. You're just abandoning all pretense of us getting along, huh? Come on. We're... Pretty far in. There's no way you could see this from the road. How did somebody find the body? Guy named Greg Casa called it in. Says he went to go take a leak in the woods. But...

Back this far? Yeah, I don't like it either. I don't know whether he knew the body was here or if he put the body here. Creepy, but then why call it in? Who knows? But... If you can get a TOD, we can answer that quickly. If the body really is the same kind as the others, time of death is going to be really hard to confirm out here. That's what I figured. So why bring me out here if I'm just going to need to take a look at it back at the lab?

With how weird you are about these? If I didn't tell you, you'd be pissed. Or accuse me of tampering with evidence. Again. I'm sorry, Crowley. I just want to get to the bottom of this. Especially if it really is something. I never meant to... Here. Jeez. You didn't mention that it was... Yep. It's missing a head. Why didn't you say anything on the phone?

I mentioned a purple body missing a head and you instantly jumped to Stephen Maurer from last year. Well, I mean, maybe, but this is a body of a female. She's also missing fingertips. That... Plus the head. Are probably to prevent us from IDing. And she's covered in leaves. Exactly. Which means that whoever put her here didn't want her to be found. That's weird.

The other bodies weren't hidden at all. Two were out in the open. Like, on display. Yep. They're embarrassed about this one. Or afraid. If this was their first kill... It could have been someone they knew, or someone who was a stand-in for their type of victim. Most serial killers get sloppy like that, especially early on. And this is another woman. That's two men and two women, right?

Right. You've been studying up on the last cases. I was never ignoring them. It's just... There was another case taking precedent. And now? It's still ongoing. On the case files, did you notice anything that pointed to Curtis? Not at first. What was first? An unlucky case of shock sickness? Storm shock. Right. Does it decay a body like this?

No idea. I've only seen it before it kills people. Your son? If you want to know the medical part, ask someone from the hospital. Sorry. Boss lady and super doc.

Back to look at the body. Mendez? Hey. Jerry Bunch as usual. What's up? I got a confession from the creepy dude. He confessed to killing her? Nah. He did confess to finding her and moving some of the leaves. So we'll find some DNA of his on her, I'm sure. We found her mostly like this. None of my guys touched the body. But we did comb the scene around here.

We also got some drag marks from the road down to here. You probably saw the markers. Spacer, if you can take a look and give us an estimate to how old these are. The tracks? Yeah. Right behind you a few steps. Watch the- I know, I know. Greg's a skinny dude, and dead bodies are heavy. It's possible he had a dragger here. Yeah, but why here? I'm in the middle of the woods in a shower.

They don't look recent, but that's about all I can tell. Well, how recent is recent? I would really need to look at the sediment to be sure. A guess, Spacer. A few weeks old, maybe. When did Greg say he found her? Today. First time? Yep. Do you believe them? Maybe. What are you thinking? I'm thinking what I'm thinking.

Please don't start this again. The body clearly isn't here by accident. She could have been out for a run when she collapsed. Into a ditch about the same size as her body? I'm just offering theories. She's not even wearing shoes.

Because her feet are so swollen. Let me see. A shallow grave, drag marks, and a piss-poor job of covering up the body. Plus no shoes. It all points to a rush job. Like, whoever did this was in a hurry. Petechial hemorrhages. What? Small patches of blood underneath her skin from internal bleeding. Look at her leg here. It's not completely purple. What does that mean? It looks like the same type of death, but inconsistent. Cryptic. I like it. Well, from what I can see here...

Her right arm and all of her stomach are very bloated, but if you look at the left, at least from what's sticking out... It's not as stretched. Exactly. I'm not sure what that means yet, but it could be a new clue. Another clue that points to this being a rush killing. You don't think this was an accident anymore? I never thought it was an accident. It was either Storm Shock or Curtis. Plus, we've been kind of dealing with another big issue around here.

And now? Now it's either an old body and still Curtis, or... Or a killer that's still out there. Knock it off. Is that how this works? You just go from one theory to the next? When one fits. I had one that fit months ago. You had Curtis as your prime suspect. And he's dead. So until you prove time of death, there's no proof it's not him. And if someone else goes missing? Then it obviously isn't Curtis.

And more people die because you don't believe me. There wasn't anything to do then. You could have looked into it. You could have not cremated potential evidence. Mendez, do you mind? Sure thing, boss. Spacer. I am not the bad guy here, but if you want to argue with me or accuse me of fucking up, then you do it one-on-one. You do not do it in front of my team.

Don't want to look like you're bad at your job. I'm done fighting with you. There is so much shit going on in this fucking town that no one knows what evidence belongs to what. And that's an excuse. No, it's not. But I won't be missing anything again. I believe you that this isn't a freak accident. Oh, well, good.

Because Becca said that... What? What? You said Becca said. Yeah. As in the evidence I got from her body, it told me... Like they spoke to you. No, it's just phrasing. The evidence from Becca's body told me that she was held against her will. Sure, but that wasn't in any of your records. I didn't really have time to write down much. And I was getting pressure to release the body to the family. We both screwed up here. Pressure from who? The hospital. But don't go getting any crazy ideas.

Like how the hospital could be involved in a cover-up? Carly, I told you there were disparities in the medical records. Yeah, well, you said it was the Sheriff's Department, too. You were in charge. You should have seen this, too. I wasn't the sheriff in 2014. I got promoted after, and that was a very shitty year. Right. I think there's some sort of conspiracy going on around here. Our tinfoil hat's contagious now.

I'm serious. Even if you weren't involved, someone at the Sheriff's Department knew. And they were working with someone named R.B. who signed off on these cases. Roger? You knew him? Of course I knew him. He was the pathologist right before you. And he's the one who signed the old case files. I'm sure it wasn't on purpose. Why? Because he wouldn't do anything like that. How well did you know him?

Well enough. Well, what happened? I can't find anything on him. He... He killed himself. About nine months before you started. Oh. Jeez. I'm sorry. It's fine. Do you know why he... I have no idea. Maybe this place was too much for him. He was nervous towards the end.

Maybe he was coerced into signing those documents. You really do love these crazy theories of yours, don't you? But who knows? I didn't investigate it. Didn't you listen to my tapes? What tapes? The tapes. My tapes. The recordings of case files. I told you I didn't go through your office. For fuck's sake. We can't even go two minutes of a normal conversation without you accusing me of something. Sorry, I thought you took the tapes. They're missing from my office. It wasn't me, Spacer.

Find another scapegoat. The door was locked. Only you and I have keys, and I just assumed that you took them since you wanted to get me fired. Why would the tapes get you fired? They wouldn't. It would just be a way to look for dirt or something. Prove I'm not doing my job right. I have more than enough evidence for that, don't worry. Come on. It's not about getting you fired. Okay. It might have been that at first, but other than that, it's about the disrespect and the overstepping.

Yeah, well, maybe now that you start opening your eyes to what's really going on here. Sorry, I mean, well, I did mean that, but I should have said that... Now that we're coming together and thinking about the cases on the same page. And who says therapy doesn't work? Don't remind me. But first, time of death.

Before we go agreeing on any type of killer or conspiracy, I need the proof. Do what you do, and I'll do what I do. I can do that. Just looking at her quickly, I can already tell there's a bunch of insect larva. The stages will tell me how long she's been here. Call me down if you need anything. Uh, thanks. Weird. Ready to launch your business?

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Okay, let's see what we've got. The first thing of note is obviously the missing head. The kerf marks look smooth, just like the Steven Maurer case from last year. Whoever did this has both the tools and the knowledge. The victim is fully clothed, at least where the clothes didn't rip due to the bloating. Some sort of puncture wound or track marks on her arm. I'll have to ask about drug usage if I can find her. Is anyone here?

Please still be here. I have no idea how long it's been. They could have moved on a long time ago. Damn it. Oh, shit. Hello? Hello? Are you talking to me? I am. Where are you? I'm... I don't know. I can't see you. I can't see you either. Wait, really? What do you see? Nothing at all. I've been... laying here. I think I'm laying... Are you still... inside your body?

Is this a hallucination or a dream? I'm not sure what you're asking me. What's your name? I'm Bianca. I think. Bianca Matthews. Yeah. You couldn't remember? It all feels fuzzy. Like I know a name, but it doesn't feel like it was mine. Interesting. Bianca, this is going to sound strange, but you're dead. I'm John, a pathologist with the Sheriff's Department. I can speak to ghosts, and you are one. But it appears that your body is trapping you. And...

We found your body, or we found you in the middle of the woods. Do you know how you got here? Not a clue. So, this isn't a nightmare after all. I'm afraid not. I guess I should have known that. Why? I can usually wake myself up from a dream. Especially one like this. Do you know how long you've been here? Oh, yeah. It's been forever. Months? Years? Oh, no, I was being facetious. It's been... maybe a week? Or a week and a half. Wait, really? Yeah.

I thought I'd be trapped here indefinitely. I, for one, am glad you stuck around. I had other options. To be honest, I'm not sure. You said you're stuck. I think so. Inside your body. Where else should I be? Normally, as if this is going to sound normal to you, but normally you would appear nearby as a ghost.

And you're free to move around and move on when you're ready. Well, ain't that some shit. How sure are you about the time you've been here? Pretty sure. I mean, I started counting at first just because... I was bored. And I got a good feeling about how long an hour was. Why? If it's really only been a week, hell, even a few months means that Curtis didn't do this. Someone else did. And it looks like the larva doesn't match up with the time frame, but... Damn it. Was he telling the truth?

Is that name supposed to mean anything to me? No, I don't think so. Could you tell me if any of these other names do sound familiar, though? Sure. Becca Camden? No, it's not ringing a bell. Jake Drazer, Frank Reynolds? Both of those. Why? How did you know them? It's right there. on the tip of my tongue. I knew them years ago, I think. I went to high school with Jake. Really? What about Frank?

He was... I don't know. I think I knew him somehow. Is there any other connection between you and Jake? Just high school? I think I went to senior prom with him. No, wait. I went to his senior prom. I was a junior. Late birthday. Why? Did you know that he died in 2014? That does sound familiar. I went to the funeral. Did you go to Frank Reynolds funeral? Now that you mention it, I remember hearing about it, but I didn't go. Maybe that's where I heard it. Maybe.

I love playing 20 questions as much as the next dead person, but what does any of that have to do with me being stuck here? This stuck part, I have no idea. But I am certain that those two deaths are related to yours. Do you remember anything about what happened or how you ended up here? I remember being moved a few times. Most of it was dark, but I could hear. And feel, for the most part. What did you hear? Um, let me think. I heard a low hum? Or a whistling? Whistling?

Wait. Yeah, both. A whistling like someone walking around making noise to themselves, and the hum was a machine of some sort. It made a click over and over, like a strobe. Any flashing? I don't know. I lost my vision at that point. But I remember being strapped down. And then I lost feeling in my arms and legs for a bit.

Next thing I know, I was moving with my feet dragging across the ground. Then I was dropped. That was it. And then you were here. Laying on the cold, hard ground and stuck inside my head. Thinking for a week. Ish. Wait. Cold ground. Are you telling me that you can feel the ground? Yeah. Why? You...

This can't be happening. Can you feel this? Ouch. I felt everything this whole week. Leaves falling on me, animals walking over me. You're not even the first person to visit me. The last two people didn't respond.

Two people? You mean the police officers that were just here, or that creepy guy who discovered you earlier today? Well, the creepy guy, but also the person a few days ago. Who was that? No idea. They didn't say anything or touch me. I just heard them walk up and just stand there, breathing. I need to take a look around here, then. What about me? We'll move you back to my lab.

I'm going to need your help. But I can't talk to you with other people around. You're going to leave me. I'll talk to you again soon. Just don't let me be stuck in here, please. I promise. I'll be here. Hey, Crowley. We're ready to move her. All set? All right, guys. Let's get her loaded up. Anything we need to be aware of?

Not for moving the body, but I do have some other news. What is it? First, I think there was someone else here looking at the body. Not just Greg. I want to check around after we move her to see what I can find. Done. what's the other thing i've got an estimated time of death it was in the last few weeks

Hey everybody, this is Vince Dijani, creator of How I Died. We're winding down the season now. We've only got a couple more episodes left. Already up to this point, we've put out 15 pieces of bonus content to go along with our main season. That's bonus episodes, autopsy notes, behind the scenes stuff, and additional world building for Springfield. And all of that is available at different tiers of support on patreon.com slash howidied.

If you're interested in the show and you want to help us continue to grow, continue to improve our quality as we're going into season three, or you just want some great bonus content, go to patreon.com slash howidied and check it out. How I Died is an audio media original production created and written by Vince Dijani, directed and edited by Chroma Secura, with sound design and mixing by Eric Howell. The How I Died theme song was created by Silent Mike. Starring me as John Spacer.

Shana Waring as Sheriff Crowley, David Dixon as Curtis, Luis Bermudez as Eric Mendez, Vin Vox as Dr. Kim, and Caitlin Roberts as Amelia. This episode featured a guest performance by Kirstie Wolven as Bianca. Thanks so much for listening. And until next episode, try not to die. Hi, I'm here to tell you about Good Morning Night Vale. Welcome to Night Vale's official recap show and unofficial best friend food podcast.

Join me, Meg Bashwinner, and fellow Tri hosts, Hal Loveland and Symphony Sanders, as we dissect all of the cool, squishy, and slimy bits of every episode of Welcome to Night Vale. Come for the insightful and hilarious commentary, and stay for all of the weird and wild behind-the-scenes stories. Good morning, Night Vale, with new episodes every other Thursday. Get it wherever you get your podcasts. Yes, even there.

All right, girls, this is the place. We'll get everything loaded over to the boat, and we'll lock up the truck. Don't leave anything behind. Wait, is that it? That's where we're going? Yeah, that's it. Seal Skin Rock. Wow. Return to the mysteries in Don't Mind, Seal Skin Rock. Subscribe now to catch the premiere, and we'll see you on The Rock.