Chapter X, Ending B - The Lost Child

going to be tracking me down soon enough. Okay, So are you saying we should split up? Both take a different person on ross. There's still the mine. If the old mines get collapsed tonight, that means the project is moving forward. And if it really is as dangerous as Riley thought, we need to stop it, which is why you need to go to city Hall and try to find that environmental survey report. And what are you going to do? I'm going to go find Riley? How I need to go back to Mr Beatie's cabin, Max. I

don't think that's a good idea. Either Mr Beaty will be there and I can just talk to him, or I can dig around more either way. I think Riley was there at one point. If he was, that means Mr Beatie is dangerous. Yeah, except you know exactly where I'm going. If something goes wrong, Mr Beati won't get away with it. That is not comforting. Okay, you go to city Hall, get the report, and then meet me at the demolition. Max, just please let me come with you.

I can't be in two places at once. Ross. Please fine. If I don't see you in half an hour, I'm calling in the cavalry. I'll agree to that. Max. Take this. Are you expecting me to stab Mr Beatty if you were going out into the woods alone to track down a creepy old man, A pocket knife is the minimum? Thank you, Ross. Just bring it back to me, okay, I will, I promise thirty minutes yeh from a typical artists and I heart radio. You're listening to MAXI Miles.

You've chosen ending b the Lost Child? Riley Riley? Are you here? Mr Beatie? Riley? The Deffel is gone? Why is the defel gone? Okay? Think think the trunk. Come on, there's got to be a key around here somewhere. Oh, what do you have to lose. You need to get down here right now. I fixed your miss, but I need you to make sure that nothing else happens. We can't have this be ruined Patrick. Are you there? Mayor how Always? What are you? What? Mess? What did Mr

Beady do? Maxine? My? What are you doing? Where's pet I? I don't know what's going on. Mayorhow Oh, you need to go home and forget. We have a spoke young lady right now. Hello Mayor? How are you there? What in the world? Come on, Max, you have to do this for Riley. You can do this. Mr Beatie. Whoa, whoa, whoa, It's Max Maxine Miles. Maxine, Look, I'm sorry to just barge in here. What are you doing here? What? How are you here? Where's Riley Stevens? What? Just please tell

me he's okay. I'm not Please don't Max, I'm not going to hurt you. Then, then why are you holding that? It's what I'm here for. Why do you need a pick axe? Because there's something I need to fix. Doesn't have something to do with may Or? How How do you? What are you doing here? Maxine Ross? And I found your duffel bag with all the Charleston shoes. What did you do with Riley? You? Is he okay? Just tell me he's okay. I don't know. What do you mean you don't know? Didn't you? I mean you took him,

didn't you? Is that what you think? Well? Am I wrong? M I've made a lot of mistakes like kidnapped Riley? No? Fine, yes, I guess I did. Why two to try and bring back your son? What? No, that's not How do you even know about that? Miss Honeywell told me, yes, Lena, she's a kind woman. I thought it was pronounced Almana, right right, that's the name she's going by. Now, what do you mean you are? Miss Honeywell didn't always go by that name. What are you talking about? That's her

business to tell, not mine. I'm the only one who remembered her from way back, and I'm not about to go betraying or trust. I know what it's like to want to move on from your past, your family. There was a climbing accident. John loved climbing. I'm sorry. That was a long time ago. That doesn't mean it doesn't still well. I'd imagine you're still sad about it. I think most people would understand why you'd want to to try and get him back in some way. It doesn't

make it okay, but people will understand. But you have to tell us where he is now. I didn't take the Stevens boy because you reminded me of my son. I let him go because he reminded me of my son. Okay, then was it because of the Archers who owns this cabin? I do so, Warren Archer and his muscle didn't pay you to keep Riley quiet about his parentage. What are

you on about? I have pretty solid proof that Riley's actually an Archer, which means he's set to inherit quite a lot if he wanted to make a claim, and you've got a stack of money in your bedroom. Slow down there, young lady. How do you know about that? Was it? Mr? Archer? No? It wasn't. Then why do it? And where is hate? I don't know why he didn't go running home right away when I let him go. I told him to lay low, and I didn't think. I thought he'd at least tell his parents he was okay,

Mr Beatie, what happened? There's something wrong with the mine, something that could take down the entire project. Of course you do. And Riley knew too. That was the problem half found out. Riley was digging for evidence that the mind was dangerous and he couldn't have that. Hastings entire livelihood is counting on this project moving forward. That can't possibly be true. It's just a new mine. Hastings has been fine since the old one shut down. There's a

lot you don't know about this town, Maxine. I refuse to believe that some environment poisoning pit in the middle of the woods is important enough to justify kidnapping someone. To certain people, anything is justifiable. I was going to lose my house, max this one too, and there they're the only things I have left of him. But what does that have to do? Was the one who asked me to do it? Not the Archers. I haven't paid my property taxes in years. I haven't able to afford to.

But how is he cares? You know about the people in this town. So we made a deal? What kind of deal? When he needs something done that he can't do himself, he calls me that muscle you mentioned earlier. Well, Warren has a similar man, two men in fact, in his employee. But hell doesn't like relying on Warren for everything. So that's where I come in. And he just needed Riley to stay quiet, just for a little while. So you did kick that that night when Riley went missing.

You went out that night and you you took him. I took him here, told him to stay quiet, stay put until all the contracts were signed and the old mine was demoed. What was the shovel in tarp four? I needed to get his bike out of you somehow. It was evidence. I couldn't just have it lying around. Oh my god, wait, how do you know about that? Anyway? Ross Teller, I knew that kid was spying on me. Well,

I guess he was right to you. You're a kidnapper, and yet here you are standing in an empty cabin in the middle of the woods at night with me, and you don't seem scared of me at all. I'm not, And why is that? I don't know. I just never have been. I'm glad to hear it. Most of the other neighborhood kids run the other way when they see me coming. I know that. But you're I don't think you'd ever actually hurt anyone. Mr Beatty, Am I wrong? You're in no danger from me, Max, But that doesn't

mean I haven't hurt people. Maybe not in the way you're talking about, but I've I've made a lot of mistakes. I think they're actually called crimes in this case. That's fair. But Riley was safe as houses the entire time he was here. Yeah, except where is he? I don't know? Come on, no, really, Max, I don't know. I let him go almost a week ago, and since then, I don't know where he's been. Okay, okay, so let me

walk through this. You're in the mayor's pocket because you want to hold onto your house, so you kidnap Riley Stevens off the street to keep him quiet about the New Mind being dangerous. You keep him here and you're creepy pick axe cabin. But then let him go, telling him to stay out of the way and keep quiet about the fact that the New Mind is going to kill us all. It's really not as serious as it sounds.

I'm not done. And instead of going home, Riley goes to hide out in the empty inn, where he runs away the moment he sees me. For some reason. Wait, unless he wasn't running away from me but from Allana Elena whoever she is. Maybe Riley didn't put those files in the ceiling at all. Maybe it was miss Honeywell, what files? What are you talking about? It? It's not important right now, I don't think, not until we find Riley. You said he was staying at the inn. That's good,

that's safe, except he's not there anymore. And if I know Riley, he hasn't been lying low. He's probably been trying to put together more evidence about the mine. That's what I'm afraid of. So maybe he's on his way to the demolition to try and stop it. I hope that's true. I thought you wanted the mind to go forward. I want Riley to be okay. And if he makes a big scene at the demolition, AL won't try to silence. Do you realize how insane this all is, doing this

much for some stupid money grubbing mine. That's not why I did it. I just wanted to keep my home. And you think that makes you any different from how you're both trying to hold on so tightly to what's always been that you can't see what could be. You love Hastings just as much as us, Max. I know you do. I've seen it your whole life. You've loved this place. Loving something doesn't mean never wanting it to change, and love love isn't love when it hurts other people.

So let's go down to the demolition. If we hurry, maybe we can stop it. Ross should be there by now, anyway. I know he'll do everything he can to stop it. Ross Teller has been helping you out with this. He wasn't just spying on you for on and he was supposed to meet you at the ceremony. Yeah, he was going to city Hall first to get proof of the new Mind being dangerous. But I I saw him biking

the opposite direction on my way here. What Yeah, nearly ran him over too, had to stop and yell at him for a minute, not that I ever mind doing that. Did he say where he was going? Well, we didn't exactly chat, but he certainly wasn't headed to the demo unless he was taken the long way around? Which way was he headed the same direction as me? But he cut into the woods earlier. I don't get it. Why would he do that? You know you're here? Of course,

maybe he came to tell you something. Then where is he? I guess we got two kids? To find. Now, come on the demos only a mile and a half from here. If we want to cut up over the ridge, we'll see if we could spot him on our way. Okay, but what is the axe for? Well, I thought maybe

I might have to do some some rescuing. Rescuing. I started to think, if Riley's free but didn't go back to his parents, maybe he got snatched again, and maybe maybe he'd be trapped somewhere, and you would need a pick axe, because, oh god, you think he's trapped in the old mines. It's where How said I should keep him. The first time around, I put my foot down so fast. I think How was worried I was going to step on him. But if you say Riley's been in the inn,

then hopefully we don't have to worry about that. Wait, but if that's what How wanted in the first place, he called before you got here. What, Yeah, he called, and he said that he'd cleaned up your mess. No, No, that's not good. Why if Hal has cleaned it up without me, that means he's turned to his last resort. He would have called Warren and his scary looking men, not just scary looking Max. Why don't you tell me that how it called. I was a little focused on

the fact that you were confessing to kidnapping Riley. Do you know where he called from? No, but I'm assuming he's at the demolition right now, So damn it. If he said Warren's Lackey's on Riley, He's in a lot more danger than he was before. We've got to move, all right, one of the higher elevation mine entrances. It's just up through these trees here. Do you really think that Warren would have had his men put Riley in a mind that's about to be collapsed? Do you know

what this mining project means to the Archers? Minotaur Mining is set on getting their claws into this whole region. If the Archers have a staken that, they'll be richer than God. Wait a second, this is this is Ross's bike? What are you sure? Ross? Ross? Are you here? Ross? Ross? Wait? Is that? Where are you? It's not Ross? This way, Riley, It's coming from up there where the entrances. Riley, We're coming. Why. Thank you for listening to season one of Maxie Miles

and for being a part of the investigation. As we wait for season two. Feel free to listen to the other two endings and see where another choice would have lead. You also be sure to follow us on Twitter at a Typical Artist for updates about the show and to see which ending was chosen most by our listeners. The most popular choice become the starting point for our next season, including any concept and says. The ending contained Maxie Miles was created by Lauren Shippen and as a production of

a Shipal Artists and I Heart Radio. This episode was written and directed by Lauren Shippen Dilla editing in samdasign Membersynwing of Hemil Creek Productions, with editing assistance from Lauren Davis and wlis Aponds. It featured Jordan Cobb as Maxie Miles, Max to Follow as Ross Teller, Native for It as Mr Beatie, and brigand Snow as Riley Stevens. Original artwork

by Shane McCallan. Maxie Miles was executive produced by Laura Shippen and I Heart Radio and For more podcast from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you for listening and keep curious