Crowley finds another purple body. Curtis makes his final threat.
How i Died is an Audiohm Media original, starring Vince Dajani as Jon Spacer; Shaina Waring as Sheriff Fran Crowley; David Dixon as Curtis; Caitlin Roberts as Amelia; Vyn Vox as Dr. Kim. Guest starring Kirsty Woolven as Bianca Matthews.
Support the show and get bonus content at https://Patreon.com/HowiDied
Written and created by Vince Dajani. Directing and sound design by Vince Dajani and Chroma Sikora. Mastering by Eric Howell.
The How I Died theme song was created by Mike Lynch at SilentMikeMusic.com.
Show notes and transcript available at https://audiohmmedia.com/howidied/
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Transcript: How i Died S2 E07: Moving On
This transcript is adapted from the episode’s original script, so the final audio may differ slightly.
[Someone dragging a body in the woods. They dump it. Intro Phone rings]
Jon: Hello?
Crowley (ON PHONE): SPACER!
Jon: What?
Crowley: I almost hate to tell you this… We found a purple body.
Jon: Another heavily decomposed person?
Crowley: No… Well, yeah. Definitely looks like it’s been here a while, but it’s purple and bloated… Like the old case files.
Jon: You’ve got to be shitting me.
Crowley: There’s an ambulance leaving in five to head here. Make sure you’re on it.
Jon: I can do that.
Crowley: Good.
Jon: Crowley, did you take my… Nevermind. I’m on my way.
[Hangs up. Door opens. Jon is startled.]
Jon: Sheesh. Curtis. Why are you here?
Curtis: Jon.
Jon: Out of the way. I need to catch an ambulance.
Curtis: I don’t want to burden you, but I-
Jon: Move. I don’t want to walk through you.
Curtis: It’s just…
Jon: Ugh.
[Jon starts walking.]
Curtis: Wait! I need to talk to you.
Jon: Please stop. I don’t care what you have to say.
Curtis: You will.
Emt: Doctor Spacer, we’re about to leave.
Jon: (to emt) I’m all set. Is Amelia coming?
Emt: She’s off today. Here. Hop in the back. Will you be okay alone?
Jon: (mumbling) I wish.
[Doors close. Siren starts. They drive]
Curtis: Jon…
Jon: (whispering) Curtis, I’m just biding my time until you can’t stand to exist any more.
Curtis: Are you going to forget me, forget me when I’m gone?
Jon: Yes, Curtis – After you move on, and my hip heals, I’m never going to think about you again.
Curtis: Even if-
Jon: It makes sense why you’re sticking around now. Killers get off on seeing their victims again, huh?
Curtis: What? After all this time, you still think I killed them?
Jon: I’m done with you.
Curtis: (yelling) I know who the killer is.
Jon: Because it’s not you?
Curtis: No. It’s not.
Jon: Okay then. Who did it?
Curtis: You know… For months now, all I’ve wanted to do is talk-talk-talk to you. But you never wanted to listen. Now that I have the power-
Jon: Nevermind. You’ve been losing your mind for two months. That’s for damn sure.
Curtis: 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-
Jon: Are you lying to me just so I’ll listen to you complain?
Curtis: You know what? Fine. You’ll regret trying to get rid of me.
Jin: Why’s that?
Curtis: 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.
Jon: Good. Bye.
Curtis: I hope you never catch her.
Jon: Wait. Her?
[Long silence. Pound on the door. EMT: We’re here. Emergency sirens Stop and doors open and close.]
Crowley: (distant) Over here!
Jon: Where are we?
Crowley: On the side of route 83.
Jon: "You are now entering Springfield." I remember this road…
Crowley: You should’ve turned around.
Jon: Funny. Where’s the body?
Crowley: You were the one who started the small talk. Off the side of the ditch down here. You know… Surrounded by all this crime scene tape.
Jon: You’re just abandoning all pretense of us getting along, huh?
Crowley: Come on.
Jon: We’re pretty far in… No way you could see something from the road. How did someone find the body?
Crowley: Guy named Greg Casa who called it in. Says he went to go take a leak in the woods, but…
Jon: Back this far?
Crowley: Yeah… I don’t like it either. So I don’t know whether he knew the body was here, or hebput the body here…
Jon: Creepy… But then why call it in?
Crowley: Who knows. But if you can get ToD, we can answer that quickly.
Jon: If the body really is the same kind as the others, time of death is going to be hard to confirm out here.
Crowley: Hmph. That’s what I figured.
Jon: Then why call me if I’m just going to need to look at it back in the lab?
Crowley: 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.
Jon: Look, I’m sorry. I just want to get to the bottom of this. Especially if it really is something. I never meant to –
Crowley: Here.
Jon: Geez. You didn’t mention that it…
Crowley: Yep. It’s missing a head.
Jon: Why didn’t you say anything on the phone?
Crowley: I mention a purple body missing a head and you instantly jump to Stephen Maur from last year.
Jon: Well I mean… Maybe… But this is a woman’s body.
Crowley: She’s also missing fingertips. That, plus the head, are probably to prevent us from ID’ing.
Jon: And she’s covered in leaves.
Crowley: Exactly. Which means that whoever put her here didn’t want her to be found.
Jon: That’s weird… The other bodies weren’t hidden at all. Two were out in the open.
Crowley: Yup. They’re embarrassed about this one. Or afraid. If this was their first kill, it could’ve been someone they knew or someone who was a stand in for their type of victim. Most serial killers are sloppy like that, especially early on.
Jon: This is another woman.
Crowley: That’s two men and two women, right?
Jon: Right. You’ve been studying up on the past cases?
Crowley: I was never ignoring them. It’s just… There was another case taking precident.
Jon: And now?
Crowley: It’s still ongoing.
Jon: Did anything you notice on these point to Curtis?
Crowley: Not at first.
Jon: Well what was first? An unlucky case of Shock sickness?
Crowley: Storm Shock.
Jon: Right. It decays a body like this?
Crowley: No idea. I’ve only seen it before it kills people.
Jon: Your son…?
Crowley: If you want to know the medical part, ask someone from the hospital.
Jon: …sorry.
Mendez: (distance) Boss lady and super doc. Back to look at the body.
Crowley: Mendez.
Jon: Hey.
Mendez: Cheery bunch as usual.
Crowley: What’s up?
Mendez: I got a confession from the creepy dude.
Jon: He confessed to killing her?
Mendez: Nah. He did confess to finding her and moving some of the leaves.
Jon: So we’ll find some DNA of his on her, I’m sure…
Crowley: We found her mostly like this. None of my guys touched the body, but we did comb the scene around here.
Mendez: We also got some drag marks from the road down to here. You probably saw the markers.
Crowley: Spacer, if you can take a look and give us an estimate to how old those are.
Jon: The tracks? Sure.
Mendez: Right behind you a few steps.
Crowley: Watch the –
Jon: I know. I know.
Mendez: Greg’s a skinny dude, and dead bodies are heavy. It’s possible he had to drag here here.
Crowley: Yeah but why here? Why in the middle of the woods in a shallow gave?
Jon: They don’t look… Recent. But that’s about all I can tell.
Crowley: Well how recent is recent?
Jon: I would need to look at the sediment…
Crowley: A guess, Spacer.
Jon: A few weeks old, maybe.
Crowley: And when did Greg say he found her?
Mendez: Today.
Crowley: First time?
Mendez: Yep.
Jon: And do you believe that?
Crowley: Maybe.
Jon: What are you thinking?
Crowley: I’m thinking what I’m thinking.
Jon: Please don’t start this again. This body clearly isn’t here by accident.
Mendez: She could have been out for a run when she collapsed.
Crowley: Into a ditch about the same size as her body?
Mendez: I’m just offering theories.
Crowley: She’s not even wearing shoes.
Mendez: Because her feet are so swollen.
Jon: Let me see.
Crowley: A shallow grave, drag marks, and a piss poor job of covering up the body..
Mendez: Plus no shoes.
Crowley: It all points to a rush job. Like whoever did this was in a hurry.
Jon: Patichial hemorrhages.
Mendez: What?
Jon: Small patches of blood under her skin from internal bleeding. Look at her leg. It’s not completely purple.
Crowley: What does that mean?
Jon: It looks like the same type of death, but inconsistent.
Mendez: Cryptic. I like it.
Jon: Well, from what I can see here, here right arm and all of her stomach are very bloated… But if you look at her left at least from what’s sticking out…
Crowley: It’s not as stretched.
Jon: Yeah. I’m not sure what that means yet, but it could be a new clue.
Mendez: Another clue that points to this being a rush killing.
Jon: You don’t think this was an accident any more?
Crowley: I never thought it was an accident. It was either storm shock or Curtis.
Mendez: Plus, we’ve been kind of dealing with another big issue around here…
Jon: And now?
Crowley: Now it’s either an old body, and still Curtis… Or…
Mendez: Or a killer that’s still out there.
Curtis: Knock it off.
Jon: Is that how this works? You just go from one theory to the other?
Mendez: When one fits.
Jon: I had one that fit months ago.
Crowley: 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.
Jon: And if someone else goes missing?
Mendez: Then it obviously isn’t Curtis.
Jon: And more people die because you don’t believe me.
Crowley: There wasn’t anything to do then.
Jon: You could have looked into it. You could’ve not cremated potential evidence.
Crowley: Mendez, do you mind?
Mendez: Sure thing, boss.
Crowley: Spacer, I am not the bad guy. But if you want to argue with me or accuse me of fucking up, then you do it one on one. Do not do it in front of my team.
Jon: Don’t want to look like you’re bad at your job?
Crowley: I’m done fighting with you. There’s so much shit going in this fucking town that no one knows what evicence belongs to what.
Jon: And that’s an excuse?
Crowley: No. It’s not. But I won’t be missing anything again. I believe you that this isn’t a freak accident.
Jon: Oh… Well good… Because Becca said that –
Crowley: What?
Jon: What?
Crowley: You said Becca said…
Jon: Yeah… As in, the evidence I got from her body… Told me…
Crowley: Like… They spoke to you.
Jon: No. I misspoke. The evidence from Becca’s body told me that she was held against her will.
Crowley: …sure. But that wasn’t in any of your records.
Jon: I didn’t really have time to get much off of the body.
Crowley: And I was getting pressure to release the body to the family. We both screwed up here.
Jon: Pressure from who?
Crowley: The hospital. (Pause) but don’t go getting any crazy ideas.
Jon: Like how the hospital could be involved in the cover up?
Crowley: You said it was the Sheriff’s Department, too.
Jon: You were in charge. You should have seen this, too.
Crowley: I wasn’t the sheriff in 2014. I got promoted after. And that was a very shitty year.
Jon: Right… But I think there’s some sort of conspiracy going on around here.
Crowley: Are tinfoil hats contagious now?
Jon: 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.
Crowley: Roger?
Jon: You knew him?
Crowley: Of course I knew him. He was the pathologist right before you.
Jon: And he’s the one who signed the old case files.
Crowley: I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose.
Jon: Why?
Crowley: Because he wouldn’t do anything like that.
Jon: How well did you know him?
Crowley: Well enough.
Jon: Mhmmm. Well what happened? I can’t find anything on him.
Crowley: He… Killed himself. About 9 months before you started.
Jon: Oh geez. I’m sorry.
Crowley: It’s fine.
Jon: Do you know…
Crowley: I have no idea. Maybe this place was too much for him. He was always nervous toward the end…
Jon: Maybe he was pushed into signing those documents…
Crowley: You really do love crazy theories. But… Who knows. I didn’t investigate it.
Jon: Didn’t you listen to my tapes?
Crowley: No, what tapes?
Jon: The… Tapes. My tapes. My recordings of case files.
Crowley: 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?
Jon: I’m sorry. I thought you took the tapes. They’re missing.
Crowley: Wasn’t me, Spacer. Find another scapegoat.
Jon: The door was locked. Only you and I have keys. I just assumed you took them since you wanted to get me fired.
Crowley: Why would the tapes get you fired…?
Jon: They… Wouldn’t. It would just be a way to look for dirt or something. Prove I’m not doing my job.
Crowley: Ha. I have more than enough evidence for that, don’t worry.
Jon: Come on…
Crowley: It’s not about getting you fired. Okay… It might have been at first. But other than that, it’s ahout the disrespect and the overstepping.
Jon: Yeah well maybe now that you start opening your eyes to what’s really going on here…
[Crowley grunts]
Jon: Sorry. I mean… Well I mean that, but I should have said now that we’re coming together with thinking about these cases.
Crowley: And who says therapy doesn’t work?
Jon: Ugh. Don’t remind me.
Crowley: But first: Time of death. Before we go agreeing on any time of killer or conspiracy, I need the proof. Do what you do. I’ll do what I do.
Jon: I can do that…
Crowley: Call me down here if you need anything.
Jon: Uhh… Thanks. (Pause) Weird… Okay… Let’s see what we’ve got… The first thing of note is obviously the missing head… The curf marks look smooth, just like the Stephen Maur case from last year… Whoever did this has both the tools and knowledge. She is fully clothed, at least where the clothes didn’t rip due to the bloating… There are… Puncture wounds or some sort of track marks on her arm. I’ll have to ask her about drug usage, if I can find her…
Jon: Is anyone here…? Please still be here. I have no idea how long it’s been… They could’ve moved on a long time ago. Damnit.
[Shaking starts]
Jon: Oh my shit… Hello?
Bianca: Hello? Are you talking to me?
Jon: Yes, I am. Where are you?
Bianca: I’m… I don’t know.
Jon: I can’t see you…
Bianca: I can’t see you either.
Jon: Wait, really? What do you see?
Bianca: Nothing at all. I’ve been… Laying here. I think I’m laying.
Jon: Wait… Are you still… Inside your body?
Bianca: Is this a Hallucination, or a dream? I’m not sure what you’re asking me.
Jon: What’s your name?
Bianca: I’m Bianca… I think. Bianca Matthews. Yeah.
Jon: You couldn’t remember?
Bianca: It all feels… Fuzzy. Like I know a name but it doesn’t feel like it was mine.
Jon: Interesting… Bianca… I don’t know how to tell you this, but… you are dead. I’m Jon, a pathologist with the sheriff’s department. We found your body… Or… You in the middle of the woods.
Bianca: The woods, huh?
Jon: Yeah, off of route 83. Do you know how you got here?
Bianca: Not a clue. So this isn’t a nightmare after all…?
Jon: I’m afraid not.
Bianca: I guess I should’ve known that.
Jon: Why?
Bianca: I couldn’t wake myself up. I can usually wake myself up from a dream. Especially one like this.
Jon: Do you know how long you’ve been here?
Bianca: Oh yeah… It’s been forever.
Jon: Years? Months?
Bianca: Oh. No… I was being facetious. It’s been… Maybe a week or a week and a half.
Jon: Wait. Seriously?
Bianca: Yeah. I thought I’d be trapped here indefinitely.
Jon: I’m kind of glad you stuck around…
Bianca: I had other options?
Jon: To be honest… I’m not sure. You said you’re stuck?
Bianca: I think so.
Jon: Inside your body?
Bianca: Where else should I be?
Jon: Normally you appear nearby your body as a ghost and you’re free to move around… And move on when you’re ready.
Bianca: Well ain’t that some shit.
Jon: How sure are you about the time you’ve been here?
Bianca: 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?
Jon: If it’s really only been a week… Hell, even a few months means that Curtis didn’t do this… Someone else did. Damnit… Was he telling the truth?
Bianca: Curtis? Is that name supposed to mean anything to me?
Jon: No. I… I don’t think so. But could you tell me if any other names do sound familiar?
Bianca: Sure.
Jon: Becca Camden?
Bianca: Hmmm… No. It’s not ringing a bell.
Jon: Jake Drazzer? Frank Reynolds?
Bianca: Both of those. Why?
Jon: How did you know them?
Bianca: Hmm… It’s right there… On the tip of my tongue… I knew them years ago, I think. I went to… High school with Jake.
Jon: Really? What about Frank?
Bianca: He was… Hmmm. I don’t know. But it sounds familiar. I think I knew him somehow.
Jon: Is there any other connection between you and Jake? Just high school?
Bianca: That’s it. I think I went to senior prom with him. No wait! I went to his senior prom. I was a junior. Late birthday, haha. Why?
Jon: Did you know that he died in 2014?
Bianca: Oh man… That does sound familiar. That’s super sad. I went to the funeral…
Jon: Hmmm. Did you go to Frank Reynolds’ funeral.
Bianca: He died too? Damn. Now that you mention it… I remember hearing about it, but I didn’t go. Maybe that’s where I heard it.
Jon: Maybe.
Bianca: 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?
Jon: The stuck part, I have no idea… But I am certain those two deaths are related to yours. Do you remember anything about what happened or how you ended up here?
Bianca: Hmmm. I remember being moved a few times… At one point I could see, Most of it was dark, but I could hear. And feel, for the most part.
Jon: What did you hear?
Bianca: Umm… Let me think. I heard… A low hum… Or a… whistling?
Jon: Whistling?
Bianca: Wait. Yeah. Both. A whistling Like someone walking around making noise to themselves. And the hum was… A machine of some sort. And it made a click over and over. Like a strobe.
Jon: Any flashing?
Bianca: 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.
Jon: And then you were here.
Bianca: Laying on the cold, hard ground and stuck inside my head, thinking for a week…ish.
Jon: Wait. Cold ground? Are you telling me… You can feel the ground?
Bianca: Yeah… Why?
Jon: You’re kidding me. Can you feel this?
Bianca: Ouch. Yes! I felt everything this whole week – leaves falling on me. Animals walking over me. You’re not even the first person to visit me, but the last two people didn’t respond…
Jon: Two people? You mean the police officers that were just here? Or the creepy guy who discovered you earlier today?
Bianca: Well, the creepy guy earlier, but also the person a few days ago.
Jon: Who was that…?
Bianca: No idea. They didn’t say anything, or touch me. I just heard them walk up and just stand there, breathing.
Jon: Hmmm… I need to look around here then.
Bianca: What about me?
Jon: We’ll need to move you back to my lab… But I’ll need help, and I can’t talk to you with other people around.
Bianca: You’re going to leave me…
Jon: I’ll talk to you again soon. I promise.
Bianca: Okay… Just… Don’t let me be stuck in here, please.
Jon: I won’t. I promise. I’ll be back…
Bianca: I’ll be here…
Jon: Crowley! We’re ready to move her.
Crowley: All set? Alright guys. Let’s get her loaded up. Anything we need to be aware of?
Jon: Not for moving the body. But I have some other news.
Crowley: Oh?
Jon: 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.
Crowley: Done. What’s the other thing?
Jon: I’ve got an estimated time of death… It was in the last few weeks….