Frozen Frights #23- Pickaxe Hill

Mm-hmm.

It's time for Tales of Terror only on the Mutual Audio Network. The following audio drama is rated PG for parental guidance recommended. Hey, this is Jeff from the Icebox Radio Theater and we'll get on with the show in just a second, but I wanted to come on first and very briefly let you know about our brand new Patreon page. Now Patreon is a relatively new crowdfunding source.

Following audiodrama is rated PG for parental guidance.

New audios, theater of suspense and terror. On Icebox Radio

Doug, are you out here? You scared me.

Look at this. It's a it's a boathouse. Can you believe it?

What do we need a boathouse for?

You know, people pay to have their boats taken out of the water before winter. They drive right up there.

What? We don't need this much place. It's a mausoleum.

Mansion. The word is mansion.

We don't need a mansion.

But we can afford it. And look at this place. Lake is beautiful, plenty of land. Who lived on Rainy Lake? Millionaires. Danish royalty used to have a cabin right over there.

This isn't a cabin.

But a millionaire it is, and a millionaire is what you happen to have married.

I know, but all this space.

That's for when you get sick of me. Plenty of room to run away. Besides, you always talked about opening a bed and breakfast some day, and this place is perfect. You wouldn't even need to fix it up. Just take a half dozen pictures, send them to that rental place in Minneapolis and watch the customers roll in.

It's very nice, isn't it?

It's perfect.

What?

Doug?

I'm in the back.

What are you doing?

Ah, well this this old closet has a cedar lining and the boards were half coming off.

Hurt yourself.

Yeah, several times. Didn't realize a hammer was such a difficult tool to operate. They ought to put a warning label on this thing.

Look, they did.

Well what do you know? Do not operate while drinking or under the influence of medication. Well So much for that.

Ho, ho, ho!

Oh we've been drinking, have we? Of course.

Of course not. It's the middle of the day. I'm drunk on something else.

Doug We're right in front of a huge wall.

Oh, who's gonna see the fish?

Oh well honey we're not on an island. They're a neighbor.

Oh most places are packed up for the season already.

Well seriously, Doug, they're our neighbors.

Oh, they're probably all

Outside. Look there's a man on the beach looking at us.

What? What the hell does he think he's doing? Hey, that's our beach.

It's public, isn't it?

The property goes right down to the shoreline here. Just staring at us. Hey, hey, can I help you? Well that's rude.

Well I'm just glad he's leaving.

Do you recognize that guy?

He was in the yard next door yesterday raking leaves.

Well we'll just have to go introduce ourselves, won't we? I'm just popping next door.

Doug, don't make a big deal out of this. Don't worry. Duck? AHHH DUG!

I'm alright. I it ooh.

What happened?

Oh idiot.

Did you fall?

Of course I fell. What do you think?

Don't move! Oh, don't move!

My ankle. I I took a step down and it h folded right up on me.

Can you stand?

No, I can't.

Oh done, what are we gonna do with you right now?

Oh, you're kidding.

Um, no. He fell down the stairs.

Yeah, saw that. Took the steps kind of quick there.

Yeah, thanks.

Yeah, you did a number on that ankle. I'll bring my car around. We'll get him into town.

That's okay.

Really, I c I can drive.

It's not necessary. I just need to get up and get in and get some ice on this and

Oh.

Uh that's a break. You need it set. Sure you don't need a ride.

I can drive him.

I'll carry him to your car then.

Nelson, the x-rays are back.

I can't believe you could do all that with one

Hospital? I don't need to stay in the hospital. It's just a sprain.

A broken in three places, and there's something else. I've never seen an infection act this quickly before.

Just give me some ice. I wanna go.

Overnight at the end.

Please. There's a chair there.

in the corner if you want to stay. We're going to give him a sedative now.

Doug, I need to go home and look after the house. I don't even know if we locked it up when we left. I'll be right back.

I don't want you to go back to that house, Julie.

He's slightly

No, the sedative sometimes has that effect.

Honey, I'll just be twenty minutes.

No.

God please.

Where's Julie?

To rest.

Now go back to the house.

Julie, the stairs I didn't slip.

There's one light we left on. Ooh house unlocked, lights left on, oh I needed to come back. I really needed to come back. Oh wow, it's nearly two. He's sedated. Ooh, I'll go back in the morning. Um 306? We'll set this thing for three in the morning. Oh. Uh mm

That that sounds Where is that?

Wow.

Oh you frightened me.

Uh sorry. Always been light on my feet. Uh you uh uh you been away?

Yes. You know, I never thanked you for helping us the other day.

It ain't nothing. Your husband, he's still in the hospital then.

Yes, I'm afraid his ankle is infected.

How many more days?

They say maybe by the weekend.

Uh, you uh g got some groceries there. For uh for a cup of coffee I'll carry them in for ya.

Um I really

Oh we need to talk, Mrs. Nelson.

Well thank you.

I know, I know. A woman can't be too careful. And you don't know me from Adam. But we need to talk. You can sit right next to the door, I'll sit clean across the room.

Well, I suppose you don't look too dangerous. What exactly do you want to talk to me about, Mr.

Your house, ma'am. I notice you haven't slept here the last few nights.

So, yeah.

I think I can tell you why.

Good. Thanks.

Do you like the lake?

Pretty enough.

Well, I suppose that's enough small talk for a man like you.

Don't know that I like your tone, ma'am. I'm trying to help you.

Then maybe you just better do it. I don't like your manner, mister Gunderson. I don't like mysteries.

Uh this house, you like it?

I haven't really had a chance to get to know it.

And do you like it? They tell you it's history down at the real estate office.

We know all about it. She told us there'd been a crime. A woman died. She didn't tell us more than that. My husband was in love with the place and I didn't want to know.

Didn't you?

Mr. Gunderson, you said you could explain my house. What did you mean by that?

Your house is a bit of a hobby of mine, Mrs. Nelson.

Really?

Really? There was a murder here, it's true. But maybe they didn't tell you. There were actually two murders.

They might have mentioned it.

Uh no, they did not. Trust me. If they had, you would have not bought the place. First crime, that was seven years back. This place belonged to a family down the cities. Had it for generations they did, till the only one left was a son. He and his wife come up for summer weekends, see the leaves in the fall, typical city folk things.

Of course.

The young man, he found out about this. Maybe he was a little off beforehand. Maybe it was her cheating on him that changed him. I don't know. All's I know is what happened that October. I guess he talked her into driving up for the weekend. He only bought a small bag. There was an old fellow lived in my house then. He had one of them little dogs who needs to be walked in the middle of the night. He's out walking his dog on the beach there and Here's what sounds like a skill saw.

A what?

A circular saw. A power saw.

I'm I'm sorry. Go ahead.

a saw there in the basement of your place. Now this old fella, he knows the young man, never so much as put a hammer to a nail in his life. So he gets curious. He went and looked in the basement window, and well

Very well.

They think he strangled her first and then went to work disposing of her. Old fella called the cops, and they took the guy away quietly. Of course, they tried to make it out insanity, but turns out the young men had been buying tools for a month, going to different stores in the cities, paying cash, hiding the stuff around the house. You know what they call that in court? They call it premeditation.

Well it sounds like quite the local legend.

No man, you've got it wrong. That there is called local news. The legend part, that's what happened next. They gave him life and put him away down in still water. That's when your legend started. They called him the ghost, kept to himself fanatically. Good way to get yourself killed inside, but not him. He spooked the general prison population. He'd talk in rooms when he was sitting and lone.

The escape?

Without a tunnel or anything. Corrections Board investigated the hell. Sure he'd bribed a guard to let him out, never proved anything.

You said there was a second murder?

Older couple were renting your house then. They think he got in through the window. They found him in the basement. He had arranged the couple just like he had arranged her the year before, and he'd stopped working just about the same place he'd stopped on his wife. But there was no dog walker this time. Cops didn't find the bodies till the next day. It was like he had to stop there, because he had to recreate his crime.

Next you're gonna tell me he just disappeared?

Oh no. They found him easy enough. still wearing prison orange, covered in dried blood. He was wandering in the woods out there about two miles away, is all, within sight of the road yet.

What happened?

Pneumonia. Two days later. They'd never even had a chance to question him.

Ah mister Gunderson, you're either some kind of kook or sadistic.

Why? Cause I tell you the truth.

Well, I don't know what that story was, but I sincerely doubt it was the truth.

Public record, all of it. Yep, course those may be harder to find. Corrections Board wasn't too keen on letting that one out. I see I've outstayed my welcome.

Is there some particular reason you moved next door to this house, mister Gunderson?

I told ya, the case is a bit of a hobby with me.

Mm pretty gruesome hobby.

It passes the time. The days stretched long sometimes when you're retired.

What are you retired from? Writing horror stories?

No man corrections officer.

Still here. Yeah.

Sorry, you startled me.

How is he doing?

I thought that's what you were supposed to tell me.

Wives always know more than doctors. I have other patients after all. You just have Doug. Okay. Seriously. We don't know what's going on. It's a coma, that much is certain, but nothing that happened to him adds up to coma. What else besides the infection has happened to him? We gave him a standard course in antibiotics, treated the infection. He has no history of allergic reactions. I

So you're saying you have no idea.

I think it's time we consider moving him. He's stable. There's no reason to expect any problems taking him to Duluth or even Mayo.

It's just what he wants. Uh nothing. Let me think about that. I I need to go home and take care of a few things. I'll let you know in the morning.

Should we prep him for travel?

I need to take care of a few things.

Julie, have you been sleeping?

Oh does it show?

You know, under the circumstances I could prescribe something to help. You could sleep right through the night.

H have you worked here long? In this town, I mean.

Eight years now.

So you were here when the murders happened?

What?

The murders? I live in the house out on the lake.

Yes, I understand that. The nurses noticed the address from your forms.

Well, I

No one connected with that ever came to this hospital Wait.

Bye.

I'm wrong. They brought him in. After they caught him, he was in pretty bad shape. How did you know?

I've been doing research.

It wasn't pneumonia then. It developed pretty quickly, however. I guess he died in the van on the way back to Stillwater. What's so important about that murder?

I think we will be moving him after all. Duluth will be fine.

You're making the right decision, Julie. We need to know what happened to him, and we simply can't determine that here. Do you want to stay here for the night?

Uh no. No, I need to get some things at the house.

Alright. You can do this. Just take it one step at a time. One moment at a time. There's nothing to be afraid of. First step, Julie. Take the first step. Okay two, three, four that's good, that's good. You can do this. Fear never kept you from doing anything. Oh you know, this is ridiculous. There's nothing in the house. Nothing.

Oh.

Okay, now wait just a minute. Just think about this. If there's someone back. Behind the house, I should call the police. I should tell them to come out here and check it out. What they tell you to do, isn't it? You should just head back to town and tell them. Okay. Well, except The driveway goes all the way round to the back. I could drive back to the storage shed and and check the house from inside the car. I'd never have to get out. I can still turn around. I could see if I could see what.

no reason

Oh there's one window, basement window, that's intact. Another one? That's fine. Well what if there is a broken window? Well you call the cops, that's what you do, you call the cops. What they tell you to do. But I heard the crap. Well there's no reason even to think about it. I should just stop right here and I should get

Someone's in the kitchen.

He's looking at me!

Yeah.

wearing prison orange. That's impossible! No

Go, please, go, go, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, please.

and said he's dead! Oh there's no way!

Oh my god!

Alright, alright, alright, alright. Calm down. Walk. This was the anniversary of the Old town, I suppose. Y'all go playing a joke? That's the only way.

Kidding yourself all worked up.

I've got a pullover.

Okay. Okay, maybe I I maybe I won't pull over just yet. I'll just I'll just check the mirror. I'll make sure he's not following

Mr. Gunderson. Mr. Gunderson.

What is it?

Oh you frightened me.

What do you want?

I'm Cheryl from the real estate office.

I know who you are.

I wouldn't have bothered you, but you didn't answer your phone. You heard?

Of course.

I guess once they took him to Duluth everything started to clear up. He wanted to sell, of course.

My wife dies like she did, I'd want to sell too. What do you have? Some papers for me?

No, that's all been taken care of. You own the house again free and clear. But sir, I think you should reconsider. Selling or even renting the house.

What do you get? You keep earning a commission on it. Only reason I buy it back every time is so's no one can come along and tear it down.

And that's what I'd like to see. I'd like to see it torn down or even burnt down. Renting this house over and over to people so that you can try and figure out some ghost story.

Don't talk about things you don't understand.

I don't need to understand. All I know is that you keep selling this house and people keep dying. Could you at least board it up and take it off the market?

Oh sense, it's just the house.

I don't believe that, and neither do you.

You're not the only agent in town, but times are pretty hard. I thought you'd appreciate the business.

Why do you live next door to it? Why did you buy it? Why do you keep buying it whenever it comes back on the market?

'Cause it can't be changed. I want it to stay just the way it is until new people come.

How many new people are gonna come and go through this place? What is it that you're trying to do?

Someone.

And how many people is it going to be?

As many as it takes. As many as it They said I let him out. But I'll catch'em. I'll show em all. I'll catch'em.

Pick X.

And directed by the

Karen Chickle as the doctor.

As Douglas.

Kirsty Sinclair, as the real estate agent. Neil Smith as Mr. Gunderson. and starring Victoria Olson as Julie. Sound effects and sound design by Dave Irwin and Jeffrey Adams. This program copyright two thousand nine by the Icebox Radio Theater. On the web at iceboxradio.org.