Episode 26: Cold Case

Narrator: Welcome to Ghost Wax, a Far and Tall Tales Production. The following story may contain graphic content. Listener discretion is advised. 

Intro Music

 Episode 26, Cold Case.

Recorder clicks on

Voncid: Recording has begun. I must admit to an... unusual excitement for this case. For it is not new. I am not even the first reclaimer to investigate it. With luck, though, we may find the answer to some long standing questions. In our line of work, solving cold cases are even more of a rarity.

Luca: This is the first time you’ve really talked about other reclaimers… other than the fact that they are all gone.

Voncid: These gifts are exceedingly rare, for good and ill.  The close contact with death is even more hazardous than the other mystical disciplines.  However, past a certain threshold, I suppose… well lets just say there’s a bottleneck of sorts to get through. The last reclaimer to investigate this case did not pass that filter, sadly.  

Remembering They were a brilliant person, much more innovative and adaptable than I, they taught me a great deal, and from their Remembrances I still gain enlightenment… in fact I need to commit more of those to the wax, remind me.

As talented and thorough as they were, they did not uncover every mystery they sought, and several of the... ‘unfinished’ cases they investigated continued to bother them throughout the rest of their life and after those Remembrances were given to me… now they bother me. This case is one of those. Indeed, they filled half a stack of journals and many rooms in The Vault with speculations about what happened, even though the only information they had to go on was a perfunctory police report and only slightly-more illuminating reports in the Ardent archives.

Luca: And nothing from the body?

Voncid: BodIES. Nine in total. And no, nothing. Every single one was… empty, and no animus was able to be contacted.  No thread was followable.  

Luca: Is that possible?

Voncid: Possible, yes. Individuals vacating their old bodies so completely is actually fairly common, but not in our line of work. Moreso after long illnesses, lives lived with little regret. Situations where the end is not a surprise, or is welcome, and so they feel little reason to remain. But since the ones we investigate tend to have come to an end more... abruptly, it is rare. It does still happen, and it can be particularly annoying when the testimony one requires is unavailable due to an acceptance of their own end, but I suppose there are worse problems than knowing an innocent victim is at peace without our help… in cases like that, there are other… more complex methods of extracting information if the brain is intact… and failing that we go down to a cellular level and failing that… pardon I’m rambling.  Suffice it to say that these bodies were hollow at any depth that we sounded. 

Luca: I’m assuming to have that be true of all nine victims...

Voncid: Is without precedent. Especially since eight of them were killed so brutally and in such a seemingly physical manner. None in the same way, not exactly. It was late January of 1974, at a snowed-in cabin. Not usually a remote place, but made so by an ongoing blizzard. A group of six, and three more who were connected tangentially, slaughtered violently. All but one, who was missing when the murder investigation began and was therefore the prime suspect. Until he was found 48 hours later, frozen to death in the woods. The coroner estimated he had been dead for some time, perhaps even before the last of the other victims, although his results were... somewhat contradictory. The body had frozen, but apparently with a questioning lilt unevenly, almost as though from within. It had been outside, exposed, but there were no signs of predation from scavengers. Similarly, several of the other bodies had inconsistencies that were only apparent upon further investigation. Wounds that could well have been fatal, but were found to not be the cause of death. Conflicting evidence for timelines; who was killed in what order, how long each had been dead when their bodies were found. Nothing too unusual by itself, life is full of apparent contradictions. But the sheer number in one situation was worthy of note. The local authorities watched the area for some time after, in case there was some kind of predatory animal to blame, a wolf or bear. We watched as well, in case of... other hunters. But nothing ever arose. Which reminds me, did you pull the data on deaths by the lake in the time since?

Luca: Yes, um. Nothing concerning; three deaths since 1975. Two drownings, one fall from a roof? Nothing that indicates anything more sinister involved than alcohol.

Voncid: As I expected. Nothing in the history before stood out, either. My predecessor grew obsessed with the case, not from what it contained, but from what it didn’t. For a time, they would visit the victim’s graves once a year, see if any hint of contact could be made, always with no luck.

Luca: So why now?

Voncid: Ms. Philippa did a reading recently for the Order that hinted at “Old business becomes new”.  A few other details that led me to suspect it was connected to this case. And sure enough, a check of all remaining victims revealed a spark in one body, which I had quietly removed and brought here to The Ardent.

Luca: Which one?

Cosa: The last one, the frozen man. One Justin Hawkins.

Cosa speaks in an almost stilted way, with little emotional inflection and almost robotic pauses

Luca: small jump Oh, Cosa, I didn’t hear you come in.

Cosa: Do you usually?

Luca: I guess not.

Voncid: This body does not look like it's been in the dirt for fifty years.

Cosa: No. Some kind of advanced mummification. Just a moment, let me examine the exhuming operatives report. The body of Justin Hawkins was recovered without incident from the grave sight.  The coffin had almost completely broken down into the surrounding dirt but the body was unearthed in a dehydrated, but intact state.  Initial cursory observation notes lack of post-mortem predation by local annelids, insects, fungus, and bacteria consistent with presence of O.E.

Luca: O.E.?

Voncid: Otherworld Energies.  The street level operators leave as much of the… ‘magic’ business out of their paperwork and lingo as possible. Cosa, are you available to help us with preparation of Mr. Hawkins?

Cosa: I am.

Voncid: Well then let's get to it.

click click. The sounds of reclaiming fade.

Justin: distant What’s happening? Is someone… is someone there? I’m cold. I’m so cold.

Voncid: It’s all right. You’re safe now. Come towards my voice, Justin.

Justin: closer Are you real? Hello?

Voncid: You’re almost here. And yes, I’m real. You’re safe.

Justin: present Oh GOD. Oh my... Jesus Christ, oh, am I... where am I?

Voncid: You’re in my... call it a lab. I’m sorry, due to your situation, I haven't been able to use my usual calming techniques. This likely feels very alarming.

Justin: It feels like SOMETHING, that’s welcome at least. I’ve been, uh... I was in the dark, in the cold, ever since I... since I... I’m dead, aren’t I?

Voncid: You are. I’m sorry.

Justin: It’s okay. Wow... it… really is okay. Huh. I guess it would have been worse for all that to happen, and still be alive.

Voncid: It often is. Now, if you feel up to it, I need to know what happened.

Justin: You don’t… know?

Voncid: Not everything. Not the way you know.

Justin: I, um... all right. Okay. Uh, I’ll... just start at the beginning, I guess. It wasn’t my cabin, it, it was Randall’s, but I had a key and free reign to head up whenever I wanted. But this weekend, a bunch of us were going; me, Randall and Terri, and Carl and Phil. I was the odd man out; Randall and Terri were engaged, and Carl and Phil were... uh. They were a couple. concernedly I hope that isn’t-

Voncid: It’s all right. That is far more accepted now than it was for you, and for them.

Justin: Now? How long has it-

Voncid: Time for that later. Please continue your story.

Justin: Ok. Anyway, they were a couple, although they only really felt free to seem like one when we went up to the cabin. So it was me and two couples, and I figured this was the perfect time to invite Wendy. She wasn’t... I was interested, and I’d asked her out, but she’d shot me down. I realized this was perfect. Us - as friends of course - and two couples. She’d get a room to herself while I’d take the cot in the side room, it’s a couple of weeks to Valentine’s Day, so I- I wasn’t inviting her on the day and being weird, but it would be in the back of her mind that it was coming up and she was single, so maybe that cute guy who invited her on a fun vacation with only other couples and was taking the cot was worth a second thought? I wasn’t going to... push. Ya- y’know? Not just because that would make me... well. But because, for me, it doesn’t count if you aren’t… chosen. So I’m not a saint, but I’ve always taken a no as a no. I- I was just creating a situation where that no might change. And if it didn’t, okay. That sucks, but we’d just go home Sunday night and no big deal. 

Plus, I knew something she didn’t. That cot is SUPER comfortable. It’s better than the beds! And the side room has no outside walls, so it’s actually the warmest room in the cabin. If I was going up solo, I’d probably end up on the cot anyway. I wasn’t lying to her, just letting her think maybe I was more of a martyr than I was. 

Anyway. She said yes to the invitation, and we all headed up. Randall and Terri in their truck, the rest of us crammed into Phil’s little Volkswagen Rabbit. Joke of a car, but it meant Wendy and I were sharing the tiny backseat, so, I wasn’t complaining. And Randall swore his truck could drive straight up a wall, so if we got snowed in he could attach the plow and get us out. Still, when we arrived we called the sheriff, let him know we were staying the weekend, just in case. All the other cabins on the lake were empty; no one else so stupid as to risk getting trapped, except for McGurdy’s, of course. Old guy, lived there full time. Kind of a weirdo, but the fun kind, and he didn’t cause trouble, everyone sort of loved him. The local kook. We didn’t see him, but we saw the smoke coming out of his chimney, so we knew he was all right. Anyway, it was nearly nightfall by then, so we went to bed pretty soon after it got dark.

And, my strategy with Wendy was working. She felt bad I was taking the cot, and I insisted “No, no, it's really surprisingly comfortable, really” and EVERYONE can see what I’m doing, but they’re all playing along because... well, I’m really not lying. But they aren’t wising Wendy up, because... I don’t know, they were rooting for me, maybe? It was a great moment. I- I remember that. How great it was. Um, the next morning was pretty great, too. I woke up early, watched the early morning sun spread across the frozen lake. Then- then Wendy comes in, we chat a bit, I say I’m thinking of taking a morning walk down by the lake, see if it’s safe to walk on, and she asks to come along. She asks! The rest of the house is stirring by then; Carl and Phil head out to chop some wood, probably not a euphemism, Terri and Randall start making breakfast. It’s starting to snow, looks like it might be bad later but right now it’s just flurries. So, Wendy and I put on our boots and head down to the lake. And it’s… beautiful, y’know? Gorgeous. Perfect. We’re chatting, not much, we’re enjoying the morning. But enough that the silence doesn't feel awkward. And I’m feeling REALLY good about my odds. I’m charming, at ease, no pressure. 

For the rest of the statement there is an extremely faint almost siren sounding noise as music ebbing and flowing in the background, it gets louder as the episode continues

I see an eagle take off from a tree, and I’m about to point it out when Wendy starts screaming. Not just screaming, SHRIEKING. I whip my head around to see what she’s looking at, and out… out on the ice... it’s McGurdy. He’s been disemboweled. No, that seems too gentle... he’s gutted. In front of him is a huge spray of blood and intestines lying on top of the snow. He- he’s CLOSE, too; I have no idea how we didn’t see him earlier! He’s maybe 8 feet away, head twisted upward, facing us. I can see his eyes, his facial expression, and it’s... fear, and pain, and rage. It’s awful. Wendy collapses, still screaming. If she hadn’t been there, I’d probably be doing the same, but all I can think is that I have to get her out of there, so I half-carry her back up the trail, talking nonsense about how it’s alright and we’ll get someone and you’re safe and it’s okay and… anything else my mouth could say without getting my brain involved. 

All  I can think is about the picture seared into my vision of a broken human with its insides blown outwards. How they’re on top of the snow, how there’s no frost on them. How this must have just happened! But- but I've seen animal kills before; from hunting, and one time when I saw a deer that had been torn apart by dogs. And McGurdy’s body wasn’t fresh. almost disbelieving It- it was cold, but the body wasn’t steaming. It had been there. And the guts were still there. They weren’t eaten, weren’t dragged around. Whatever had done that had left them alone. There was something else, too. I saw it then, but I didn’t realize it until later. The blood, the guts, were all on top of the snow, perfectly. Not sunken in, not staining the snow. They hadn’t melted it at all. Just... sprayed on top. 

I snap back into reality when we get close to the cabin. Phil comes running to help and we get Wendy inside. Terri grabs a blanket to wrap around Wendy, and, Phil and I grab the phone to call the cops. As we’re making the call, the snow starts REALLY coming down. 

The sheriff takes the report, says it sounds like an animal attack and he’ll be up as soon as he can, not to go outside until then. No problem. NO one wants to. We put Wendy in the side room in the cot; she’s not screaming anymore, but she’s still pretty freaked out. We all huddle in the main room; no one’s really talking, but nervous chatter pops up every now and again. A couple of hours pass, the snow gets REALLY heavy, and the sheriff calls back, says he’s sorry but he CAN’T make it out. Too many traffic accidents already, those take precedence. I’m glad Randall answered the phone, I probably would have cussed him out, but Randall takes it well. Sheriff tells us to stay inside, be careful, don’t touch the body, etc etc. The way it’s been snowing, we probably couldn’t FIND the body. 

We’re not sure… what to say, whether to be angry, or scared, or what, when Wendy comes out and looks right at me and says “You son of a bitch.” Everyone tenses. “That cot IS surprisingly comfortable.” And we all just explode with laughter. We’re almost hysterical for a minute. We all needed that, so badly. I was almost crying. After that, the tension was broken, it was still awful what had happened, but it wasn’t IN us, you know? It was, out there. 

It was only early afternoon, but the snow was falling so thickly it was nearly dark. Which is a problem, because we had to go out. I mean, we’re not SUPPOSED to, but Carl and Phil hadn’t just been chopping wood to get alone time. We only had enough to last until nightfall, and the cabin had a phone line but no electricity. No wood, no fire, no heat. So we HAVE to go get some. 

We decide that Phil, Carl, and I are going to go out and fetch wood. By now the snow’s too deep to use the wheelbarrow, so we need one or two people to haul, and the third for lookout. Fortunately, there’s enough already in the pile that we don’t need to chop any, just… grab and run, so Phil is going to be the lookout with the axe. The first trip goes fine, but we couldn’t carry enough wood to get us through the night. We had to go back out.  The snow? It’s so thick now that we can barely see where we’re going, can barely see each other. I don’t even realize we’re separated until I hear Carl calling our names. 

I look around, I- I don’t know where I am. I can’t see either of them, I can’t see the cabin, I can’t even see the trees. It isn’t dark, exactly. It’s just… gray. This uniform twilight dimness as far as I can see. 

We start to hear the faint sounds of blowing winds in the background

I notice that Carl isn’t yelling anymore and something keeps me quiet. Some... intuition. That I shouldn’t make myself known. I hear something- a thumping, rhythmic, steady the described sound can be heard. Wood on wood. And for some reason, I walk towards it. I don’t know why that feels safe, and crying out feels dangerous. Maybe I just need a direction to walk, and if I’m following a thump… at least I know I’m not going in circles. I walk for... minutes. Five, maybe more. It- it’s hard to say without any landmarks and there’s nothing out here in the gray. 

Finally, I see a treeline, just barely, up ahead. I almost get there when the thumping stops sound in the audio also stops, and Carl EXPLODES out of the trees, running like a bat out of hell. He grabs my arm and yells “RUN!”, so I do. Between gasps for breath, I ask him where Phil is. “Phil’s DEAD,” he says.  Just like that. “Phil’s dead.” 

I look back, but then the thumping starts again can again be heard, and I stop trying to see and just try to keep up with Carl. And we run... forever. WAY more than five minutes. But there’s nothing. Just snow. Just, us. And then suddenly we’re there. At the cabin. But the wrong side of it.  It- it’s the side with the chimney. said matter-of-factly, but with confusion But that side faces the lake, not the woodpile, that doesn’t make sense. But we don’t have time to think.  We run around towards the front… but it’s a blank wall. I swear, we run around five corners and just see blank cabin walls, no door, not even the chimney again, before we get to the porch. 

Background winds die down

Everyone’s looking out, frightened, and Carl just yells to get inside, and- and they do, and we do. And we’re inside. No Phil. No axe. Just us, sucking in air, our lungs burning from sprinting through snow drifts for... miles? 30 feet? The others asked where Phil was, and Carl said “Phil’s dead. We got separated, then I heard him calling out, I ran towards him and found him on the woodpile. He was slamming his head into it. Over, and over, and over. But I could still hear him calling, from further away. A- and he... he looked at me. His eyes were… so... but his head. It was completely caved in, his brains were everywhere, I felt them HIT ME... I ran. I found Justin, and I ran.” 

That’s when I realize Carl has blood on him. Not a lot. But on his hands, spots on his face, and, the front of his coat. The others looked at me. They needed me to confirm that Carl hadn’t... but I hadn’t seen. I hadn’t seen the woodpile, I hadn’t seen Phil, I- I hadn’t. But I had heard the thumping, and I’d heard it continue after Carl appeared. So I told them it was true. Maybe it wasn’t. But, whatever had happened, I- I knew it had kept happening after Carl left it. Randall didn’t look convinced, and he opened his mouth to ask more questions, but then I realized “Where’s Terri?” And Randall and Wendy looked around dumbly. Terri wasn’t there. starts stuttering while trying to puzzle out memories I- I couldn’t remember if she’d been at the door when Carl and I got back. I- I thought she had been, but I couldn’t remember clearly. I couldn’t remember ANYTHING clearly. I was pretty sure no one had left after we came in. Pretty sure? Unless Wendy had...? No, she was still here. Why did I...? Didn’t matter, we had to find Terri. Wendy remembered her saying she was going to use the bathroom, so we went upstairs and flicked on the light... but the cabin didn’t have electricity, so what did we... Doesn’t matter. I’m getting lost in the details. 

Um, we- we couldn’t find Terri anywhere in the cabin. And we looked; there were maybe three places in there for someone to hide, but we checked anyway. Every inch of every room.

We kept… forgetting where we’d looked. I spent five minutes trying to find the way into an attic that didn’t exist. Randall swore he saw Terri in the kitchen, but just for a moment. Wendy forgot who we were searching for! She was trying to find Carl.  When we told her we were looking for Terri, she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Oh, she’s on the roof.” Which… I can’t even COUNT the reasons that doesn’t make sense. But she was so certain, we all went right for the door. 

Randall was the only one who went outside, though. The rest of us... we hit the doorway, and it was like there was a... force, a barrier. Something we COULD push through, but we didn’t want to… We just stopped, right inside the door, watching Randall run out, turn, and frantically scan the roof. She wasn’t there. No surprise. I half-expected her to join us at the door, looking out. N- Nothing made sense!

It was too much for Randall. He stumbled further out, so far we almost couldn’t see him through the snow, screaming for Terri. I- I wanted to go after him, pull him back. At least call out for him to stop, to come back for his coat! But the same force that kept me inside… kept me quiet. No one else moved, either. No one said anything.  We just… watched Randall, circling, yelling for Terri. in confused calmness He got smaller, but never got more distant… uh, that sounds wrong. He always stayed just on the edge of visibility. Always a silhouette, that we could JUST barely tell was Randall. 

We all watched him like hawks, still an- and silent as we stared.. Then I thought I heard a footstep off to my left, in the direction of the lake, and my eyes flicked that way for just a moment, and Wendy let out a choked cry. I looked back… and Randall was gone. 

Wendy yelped that something had grabbed him, pulled him off, and Carl pointed off towards the woods, and said it had pulled him that way. Somehow that broke the impulse not to move, and we all started running towards the treeline. I- I’m thinking how stupid this is, how we should be barricading ourselves inside, how even if nothing weird was happening that running into the woods in snowblind conditions is STUPID, but we kept going. 

Blowing winds pick up again

We found a drag trail immediately, and followed it. And lost it. And found TWO drag trails that merged together into one. Lost it.   Found three drag trails, and... one of my gloves? One of the gloves I had ON my hands. I reached out to touch it, to compare it, but I stopped right before I reached it. Because... what if it didn’t like touching itself? We all looked at each other, and Carl said “We have to get back inside.” So we walked back. And I mean WALKED. Trudged through the snow, no hurry, more concerned about twisting ankles and falling than with whatever had grabbed Randall. And we reached the cabin in seconds. Whatever was going on, we knew that, in that moment, it wasn’t interested in us. 

We got inside, searched the entire cabin, blocked the door, searched the entire cabin again. All without a word. And we searched EVERYWHERE. At one point, I caught myself looking under a rug! Carl checked the chimney, reaching around the fire with a poker and stabbing randomly upwards. We weren’t checking for anything, not exactly. Just… checking. Getting to know every inch of that cabin, so if anything changed, went out of place, we’d… know it. 

But it was a small cabin, and we could only distract ourselves for so long. It was dark by then, proper nighttime. We gathered in the main room, by the fire, and tried to figure out… what to do. Only then, after all that, did I realize we needed to call the sheriff again. The phone was dead. No surprise, the snowfall was heavy enough to disconnect the line. It wasn’t the first time it had happened. But it was the last thing we needed. We started planning… and got as far as ‘wait until morning, dig truck out, run’, when we all felt it. The Presence. 

A low hum, like the sound of static electricity, can be heard

It was at the door, right beside it. Pushing in. Not… physically. The door wasn’t… bulging or shuddering or anything. There was no sound, no sight of anything, no... I don’t know, smell? But it was there, at the door, feeling inside, towards us. We could all FEEL it, like when you get that tingle on your neck and know someone’s looking at you. No. No, not that focused, that direct. More like... when you’re driving, and you can TELL that someone’s going to change lanes or turn without signaling? They aren’t paying attention to you, don’t even know you’re there, but you can feel that they’re about to be a huge asshole, so you give them space. That’s what this felt like; it didn’t know we were here, was just groping around blindly, and we had to... give it space. Stay out of its way. 

Which, weirdly, meant holding completely still, but focusing ALL our energy on the door. Making a barrier with our focus. Keeping it out. So we did that. No words, no movement, just focus. I couldn’t tell you how long we stood there, didn’t notice the passage of time, but the sun came up and none of us had moved a muscle.  

The dawn didn’t exactly… chase off the Presence, but it didn’t stay for long in the light. All of sudden, with no fading or warning, it was gone background hum instantly silences. We all felt it- everyone slumped at once. Up all night, every muscle tensed, staring at the door, barely daring to blink, we were exhausted. 

Wendy opened her mouth to speak, but… something heavy slid off the roof and landed next to the cabin with a thump, cutting her off. I’m not sure who screamed... uh, maybe all three of us? But we still didn’t feel the Presence, so it felt safer. No, not safer. Still out of control, still dangerous, but in a way we could comprehend. Uh, Carl still had the fire poker. W- Wendy grabbed a knife from the kitchen. I broke a chair and took one of the legs as a club. Armed, we headed out, a- and circled the cabin to see what had slid off. It was Terri. At least, we think it was? None of us had ever seen her without her... her- her skin. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I- I can't…

Voncid: It's all right. Let's take a break. I will endeavor to alleviate your anxiety. To that end I am going to need to gather some further reagents. 

Justin: That would be nice. I- I think I need that, v- very badly. This body feels... wr- wrong. I can't feel my heartbeat. I'm still cold. Not as bad, but I can tell I don't have... blood… flowing.

Voncid: spoken softly Rest now. Just lie back, close your eyes. We will restart presently. Cosa, Luca, a word.

Door closes

Luca: This is insane.

Voncid: Cosa. When was the last time the safety protocols were refreshed on the examination rooms?

Cosa: May first.

Voncid: Is Olivia Biers-Weather still on the property?

Cosa: She is.

Luca: I actually saw her in the lounge earlier? She scared the hell out of me.  

Cosa: Why?

Luca: Last time I saw her, she jumped out of a helicopter and… like, fought the ground.

Voncid: Cosa, if you would be so kind as to request her presence.

We hear a faint metal ringing

Cosa: So requested.

Luca: What’s going on?

Voncid: Hopefully I’m being overly cautious… hopefully it’s just some anomaly of memory, or the intervening time… but…

Cosa: The deaths he's describing, and the ones in the case record…

Voncid: Yes.

Cosa: They don't match.

Voncid: No.

Luca: shocked What? I didn’t think the dead could lie to you.

Voncid: beat they can’t.  Which means something has changed his memory of the events… or…

Luca: Oh wow.

click