S3 E04: Quod Erat Demonstrata

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Body home. John, late night surgery? Hey, Raj. I'm not back at the hospital, but I am picking up bodies for stiffs. Ah, shit, that's right. Bummer. What was Paige to the ER for pickup? Any idea where? Uh, yeah. Nearly DOA when we dropped her off. I don't know where they took her, though. Thanks. I'll figure it out. Hey! Oh!

Sorry. John. Hey, Amelia. Look, I know you said I shouldn't come through here, but... We moved the body to the morgue downstairs to make it easier for you. Oh, so you knew that it was me picking up. Howard told me when I called. Got it. So, I'm just gonna... This was a pretty smart thing you did. What do you mean? The new job. You look good. Happy. I wouldn't say happy, but... If you have a minute, would you want to walk and... Gotta go. For sure. Hey, I appreciate you being civil. Right.

presents What are you doing here? Waiting for you. Why? Shouldn't we only be meeting in secret? Knock it off. This isn't a meeting. Then why are you waiting for me outside the morgue? Because I can't have you going in there. Nice try. You're called. I need to pick up a body. I know. But I only found out after. And I can't have you going in. Seriously. Let's go in. Don't you fucking... What the hell, Crowley? You can't just listen to me just once and not ask questions just once. Please.

Do you know me at all? Fuck. Fine. We found a new purple body. All right, so... Will you just stop it? I can't have you in there during this. And that is exactly where I need to be. You're not a doctor here anymore. And I'm trying to put together a case we can use in court. Do you know? Do you even realize how it would look if I just let a random civilian inside of a homicide investigation autopsy? I'm not a random civilian, though. We've worked together on this.

Not on paper. Not yet, at least. Look, I can't have any of this getting found out before we take it to Grant. I told you we should have had this conversation in private. We shouldn't be having this conversation at all. Just go wait in the bay, and I'll have Nathan bring the body up to you. I still have my job to do. I won't touch anything, so officially I can still go inside the morgue.

I won't even act like I know what's in there. Then somehow, I don't believe that. Come on. Letting me in will help. How are you going to do that? Just magically get information by osmosis? Something like that. Now let me in. Dr. Spacer? Uh, have you talked to Fran? Haven't seen her. Why? No, no reason. You're here for a body. The one on the table? Under the sheet? No. Actually, this one. All set for you. Here you go. Don't I need to sign for it? Yes, absolutely.

Good reminder. Are you all right, Dr. Clark? You seem a little thrown off. I'm fine. Just a little bit of an off day. I'm sure. This job can be tough on the psyche. Take it from me, don't let it get to you. Well... Say, I think I left something of mine in the office before I got fired. Do you mind if I just... Dr. Spacer, I'd really prefer if you just took the gurney and left. I have to get back to an important autopsy.

Dr. Spacer, huh? Yes. Yeah, of course. I'll step outside. Thank you. The form. Jet, you're just the man I was looking for. You know that. And how do you know me? We spoke on the phone, of course. My name is Maureen Levant. Doctor Spacer. Spacer. Are we just going to stand here? Hey! What did you see in there? Who is this body? What the fuck are you doing? It's... Oh, not me, dear. No.

Then that means... Oh, yes. Yes, I was most certainly the other body in there. What in hell's name are you doing? Close that up! Get it? Together. What did you tell Clark? Crowley, I need you to trust me. With what? Ah, Sheriff Crowley, right? Poor girl. I need you to call me on your cell. Right now. What the fuck are you on about? I'll call you. Just answer. Put me on speaker and then I'll mute myself. Interesting.

I was told you weren't allowed to practice anymore. Seems like you didn't really need to in the first place, did you? Answer it. I'm muted. Put it on speaker and then just put your phone in your pocket. I am not risking this case just so you- Crowley, I need to know exactly what Clark finds in there. And I'll relay it to you tomorrow. I need word for word. Like, as he's discovering things.

What if he's covering something up for Kim? Oh, for fuck's sake, Spacer. Please, Crowley. You need to trust me. No. This is idiotic and incredibly... The victim is Maureen Levant. She's an employee of Springfield Corp. Oh, so you do remember me. The real one. The one that's still active. And how could you possibly know that?

I just do. I got a glimpse of her face, and I think this case might give us the info we need. Yes, although employee is sort of a, well, underplaying it a little. But still, I remembered. I need you to do this. Please, trust me. My finger will be inside my pocket, hovering over the end call button. So if I so much as hear a... peep from you. I swear, Spacer. I promise you I won't unmute it. I just need to hear this. Fine. Just go. Wait in your car or something. Fuck! Huh. Smart.

I have so many questions for you. But you know what? I have some for you as well. How about that? Namely, did you always know you could see the dead? Or am I just lucky? Oh, mother. Perhaps both. So you know you're dead. You know, I would hope so. Oh, what I was just having done to my body is really going to hurt in the morning. You're definitely dead.

It's just that... Hold on, I need to hear this. Sure, sure. Oh, he wants to listen to the ghost. Explain what happened when you can easily listen to a clown. Now, I need to talk to you, too. Just... Are you sure you've got reception in this elevator? Sorry, Sheriff. I usually don't talk during these unless there's a note. Close one. It's all good. Do you have spacer's notes on the previous victims?

Pattern, eh? I'm not the first victim to die this way. Huh. No. Clark is just being dumb. He's purple, for fuck's sake. Purple. Oh, this is fun, isn't it? I mean, we're having fun, aren't we? Right? Sorry. What happened to you? Do you remember? Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. Yeah, you called me looking for top secret information and I came here to find you and now I'm dead. That's a pretty typical Tuesday for me. Beginning external exam.

It's Thursday. Ah. Seems I've lost some time then, eh? Do you know who killed you? Was it a doctor? Quid pro quo, Clarice. You ask me a question, and now... It's my turn. We don't have time to play games. Oh, sure, we do. We do, we do, we do. I've got all the time in the world. And if you don't want to play, I can wait. float my way back to Springfield Core HQ and I'm sure they can answer my queries. They won't be able to see you. I'm sure someone would figure something out.

For me. I'm seeing some track marks on the arms here. I saw that and there's more by her toes. Good catch. Fine. What do you want to know? It can be overwhelming to manage a business, especially when you're first starting out. Your to-do list just keeps growing every day with new tasks, and that list can easily begin to overrun your life. Finding the right tool not only helps you out,

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Why I was looking into Springfield Corp. Of course not. No, no, I knew that already. You thought we were hiding something to do with this town. We weren't. Everyone here knows. Knows what? It's my turn, thank you very much. Why the toes? Maybe she was a user? Could those be old? When did you start seeing ghosts? After you arrived here? No, since I was a kid. And when was that? What age? What year? Those marks look to be about the same age as the ones on her arms.

I'll give you two questions next. Just answer me. I remember my first ghost around, like, age four. My mom thought I had an imaginary friend. And so did I for a while until I realized what was going on. What, yeah? What city? 93 in Baltimore. And you owe me a bunch of answers now. That means you were... There's a contusion on the side of her head. Here. Bad enough to kill her? Did you see who grabbed you?

Or where they took you? Anything? No, this isn't blood force trauma. It looks like a bruise. Maybe a small impact. You can see a bruise through the rest of the purple skin? Hardly. Bastards got me from behind. One pinch when I was out, woke up who knows how much later strapped to a table. A table? Here. Someone drugged you. The bruise must have been from hitting your head. I can test for substances, but we'll likely be unable to confirm that.

we could use that to figure out where she got attacked. That's a good point. Why were you even in Springfield? Well, I was ordered to come. It seems you'd caused quite the stir around here. You were here for me? Of course. Wait. Why? Ask a damn question so we can keep going. I'm good. I got everything I needed. That was it? I'd rather observe at this point. See, I'm a scientist, John, and you are...

Surely fascinating. Now that I know what you can do, at least. Maybe some other identifiable markers? Anyone reported missing? Sure. Before that, you were pretty boring, if I'm being honest. In hindsight, it would have been a shame to kill you, given your... Kill me? I was going to be killed?

Oh, come on. Well, don't act like it's such a damn surprise. A company's got to protect its assets. And you, you came along and mentioned the B word, which I'm now assuming you learned from a ghost here, which means no one talked. Good for them. A real shame for this situation, though. Hey, someone. Do you know someone should come and study you instead? Oh, can I...

Can I pass a message along in this state at all? I knew I found some connection. I need to tell Crowley. I cannot believe you came here to kill me. Beginning internal exam. That means they stopped you. Did Joy know you were coming for me? Who on God's flat earth is Joy? The person who attacked you. Maybe you didn't get a good look at them, but did you hear them talk?

Hear them talk, John. I was high as a fucking kite. And let me tell you, I've been glonky before, but never quite like that. Whatever they had me on, I was quite the concoction. So you didn't see them? No, John. No, no, no. I didn't see them. I didn't hear them, didn't feel them, taste them. Nothing. The lights themselves were so blinding I could barely see even before they eclipsed me.

Before they what? The internal organs seem to be degraded. Just like the other victims. They fixed me. Overshadowed. Cast a shadow over me as they leaned. Surely, surely you can pick up on context clues, John. I'd rather you just speak English than have to rely on context clues. We're in the middle of something important here. I am speaking English and quod erat demonstrata, my boy. You know what I mean. Is there nothing else you can remember?

Anything at all. Look, if you're able to do this and presumably have spoken to the other victims, how has this killer eluded you and your very competent police force for so long? It wasn't until recently that we even knew for sure that someone was killing people. And you can't glean any other information from my fellow ghost. Nothing usable. The killer's MO is the same each time.

Some sort of abduction followed by experimentation with a mixture of injections. Your organs and blood vessels start to perforate. Except in a few cases, the ghosts have retained something left over from them being alive. You don't feel any pain or have any sensations, do you? I don't think so. Oh, actually, yes. Yes, something odd just occurred to me. A smell that sent my memory back there.

You smelled the killer. Olfactory is the strongest memory-triggering sense, you Neanderthal. You ran through the rest of your senses, but you didn't mention smell? Well, I didn't smell my kidnapper. No, no, I... I smelled the place, and at first I thought it was just hospitals that smelled like this, but we've been outside for quite some time now, and it's the only thing I can smell. It bleeped.

Bleach. Oh boy, your energy is a fun one. Do you ever get excited by anything? I mean, I'm a ghost telling you that I can still smell, good lord. Bleach isn't a very helpful smell. Especially if they've been doing this for a while. Bleach is used to clean up anything. Disinfect an area, especially when dealing with blood and other chemicals. Could be anywhere. Bleach isn't a helpful smell, Maureen. Haven't you got a stronger detail to give me, Maureen?

I found something. Shut up. Me? I wasn't saying anything. I mean, I could, though. What is that? I... Oh, shit. Well, that's disturbing. I'm glad I'm not there to see whatever they pulled out of me. Shit, shit, shit. Shit. Goddammit.

Why are you pacing? It wasn't shoved inside of you. God, I know what that is. It's another special gift of yours. I'm not seeing any scarring on the esophagus. I haven't finished asking my questions. That rules out swallowing. No. I'm just 99% sure because I've been getting tapes from the killer. My own autopsy tapes. Rerecorded over with messages back and forth. So you've been communicating with a serial killer, have you?

Fantastical. And they were the one who killed me? I'm sure you didn't ask them to. Of course not. I'm trying to stop them. But if they killed you, they must have known who you were and why you were here. Who ordered you to come? Oh, come on now. Ordered. Oh, it's such a strong word, isn't it? I mean, more like I was asked to sort out a situation thanks to my skills in diplomacy and my cheery demeanor.

Come on. Who? What about inserting it? Wouldn't they have to cut her open to, um... Not if they went. You know, I'd really rather not know where they found that. tape, no? Levant, who called you about me? Well, after you called me, I decided to keep an eye. Yeah, wasn't until I got another call from a fellow...

Worried on looking. You might know them, actually. A lawyer here who used to help represent Springfield Corps in some legal battles back in the day. But, of course, it's been so long that it's been promoted. I just can't remember what title of office he holds now. District attorney? Oh, you do know William then. Oh, marvelous. I'm going to step outside for a moment. Double shit.

Today keeps getting worse. Tell me about it. Hey, Spacer. You still there? Are you hearing this shit? No more need for the insider information. I can't talk to her now. She... Oh. Oh, she doesn't know about your little tête-à-tête with this joy person. Keeping a little piece on the side, eh? Well... She can't know. Not yet. Where are we headed now then, John? The woods. Oh, good. Love the woods.

How I Died is an Audio Media original production, created and written by Vince Dijani, directed by Chroma Sikora, and mixed by Eric Howell. This episode was edited by Chris Harris-Beachy, with sound design by Christine Dijani. Our theme song was created by Silent Mike. Starring me as John Spacer, Shayna Waring as Sheriff Crowley, Luis Bermudez as Eric Mendez, Vin Vox as Dr. Kim, and Caitlin Roberts as Amelia.

This episode guest starred Sarah Golding as Maureen Levant, Albie Robles as Dr. Clark, John Patnadeau as Raj, and someone as Joy. If you're enjoying the show, please head over to your favorite podcast app and give us a rating and a review. It really helps us out a ton, and we definitely appreciate it. Thank you so much for listening, and until next time, try them.

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