Nov. 26, 2025

7 Teeth: Thanksgiving Asylum Horror Story

7 Teeth: Thanksgiving Asylum Horror Story
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Thanksgiving horror story on the Weekly Spooky podcast: a snow-dusted asylum turns festive decorations and Jenga games into a slasher-mystery nightmare.

Patients go missing. A “therapy” session ends in blood. And seven broken teeth point to a cover-up thicker than gravy. If you’re craving holiday horror, asylum terror, and killer-on-the-loose suspense for your Thanksgiving drive—or to hide from family after pie—this episode’s your perfect Black-Friday binge. 

7 Teeth — by David O’Hanlon.

🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week!

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🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here !
👨‍💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
WEBVTT

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Paper, turkeys sway, the janga tower tips, and somewhere outside

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a tent zipper screams. The lights flicker, a shadow lifts

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a hatchet and whispers Happy Thanksgiving. The door locks behind

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you and on the floor, that's not cranberry sauce.

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What's that you want to be scared? He come with me.

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You will experience tales over over a ghosts and it

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is not recommended for the weeded art listeners in the

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dark ark. It's more fun than Way Way Way. This

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is Weekly Spooky.

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Hello, my spookies, It's Wednesday, and you know what that means.

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It's time for a little spooky in your weekly I'm

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your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and

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I hope all you spookies are going to have a

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very fun and safe holiday. If you happen to be

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traveling or preparing large meals, well, I have a twisted

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tale that you won't want to eat during but will

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help uneventful tasks become twisted and scary. And now I'm

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here to announce officially that every day until Christmas, there

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will be a show to listen to right here on

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Weekly Spooky. About a dozen scary stories and novellas as

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well as our this Week and horror History are terrifying

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and true which will all be Christmas themed folklore and

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true terror and of course some cutting deep into horror

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episodes all about Christmas favorites you may have missed out on,

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so make sure you're subscribed right here for your source

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for Christmas horror, and I do want to mention this

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episode is sponsored by Save Arista Coffee delicious high quality,

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bold flavored coffee in half calf or decalf for those

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story and not from caffeine. Head to save Aista dot

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it supports the show directly. That's Savearista dot Com promo

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code spooky. Thank you guys for giving save Arista a chance,

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and thank you Save a Rista for supporting the show. Now.

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As for tonight, imagine a locked up ward trying to

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look cheerful, paper Turkey's taped to cinderblock walls, a TV

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mumbling a holiday movie, and a Jenga game waiting for

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steady hands. Now, imagine the night shift goes quiet, the

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wreck room door clicks shut from the outside. What if

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the only thing left behind was a neat, little pile

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of seven hard rattling souvenirs. Tonight, follow the fresh footprints

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through the snow to the record's office, and be thankful

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if you're good at tabletop games. Seventeenth by David O'Hanlon.

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Richard de Paul had been a patient at the Metropolitan

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Psychiatric Hospital for thirty three years. Only Melvin Watts had

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been there longer. Richard didn't like Melvin. He won every

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game they played and was actually Loony Tunes crazy, not

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like Richard. His situation had just been a big misunderstanding.

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Fifteen year old Richard had told his parents the new

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house was bad, but they hadn't listened. He didn't want

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to move to Nantucket in the first place, and they

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thought he was acting out. Once those horrible wriggling things

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in the soil had crawled into the brains of his family,

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Richard had tried to get help. He'd told everyone about

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the evil worms that lived in his backyard. No one

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believed him, however. In fact, they tried to lock him

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up for even talking about it. The worms had gotten

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to them too, Richard figured. With the town under parasitic control,

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Richard had to rid his parents and four siblings of

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the parasites himself. He'd taken as much care as he

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could when he'd cracked their skulls open with a splitting maul.

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Apparently he still hadn't been careful enough. Oh well, he'd

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saved them from the worms, and that was what mattered.

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Apparently he'd even gotten the queen or master or whatever

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bizarre monarch they followed, because the rest of the town

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returned to normal soon after. No one remembered being under

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the control of the worms. Unfortunately, he had saved Nantucket

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and possibly the entire world. There was no sense crying

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over spilled brain matter. Besides, the asylum had its perks.

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Richard had volunteered for a study on the psychiatric benefits

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of psilocybin mushrooms for starters, he also got to spend

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most of his day outside. They let him keep a

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cat in his room, there was always orange jello at lunch,

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and they had a fuck tent. The tent started out

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as just blankets and broom handles and had been something

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of a game between the staff and the patients. The

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orderlies would find it and tear it down, only for

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someone to set up a new one somewhere else on

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the grounds. After a small outbreak of chlamydia, doctor Chambers

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decided to start handing out birth control and condoms with

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the daily medications. Since it was obvious the tent was

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going to remain a permanent fixture of the hospital, the

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doctors had even given them a proper one to protect

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against the elements. It had been a big boost to morale,

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and the therapy sessions had become more and more productive as

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a result. Even though Richard had never personally been invited

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to the tent, he still visited it regularly. Sitting in

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the gently falling half frozen rain, he giggled at the

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way his erection pitched up the front of his poncho.

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It was too cold to keep the front of the

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tent open, but the electric lantern cast the whole scene

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on the nylon like pornographic shadow puppets. Richard found that

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somehow more scandalous than his normal voyeurism. He tugged his

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thermals down enough to free the throbbing organ and gripped

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it with his mittened hand from the voluminous silhouette riding

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cow girl. Richard was certain it was Big Jenny inside.

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The plummeting temperatures weren't going to be an issue. He'd

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caught several of her performances in the tent and hadn't

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lasted more than three minutes even once. Big Jenny had

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unnatural athleticism for her size. She was grinding some lucky

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son of a bitch straight into the earth while whooping

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like Annie Oakley. Her shadow leaned forward, letting her gargantuan

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breasts smother whoever was underneath her. Richard heard a muffled

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voice shouting between the meaty boulders. He couldn't make out

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the words, but whatever the man was saying was working

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for Jenny. Richard stroking quickened to match the pace of

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Jenny's ass, slamming down on her partner. Thunderclaps of flesh

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punctuated the sounds of drizzling sleet. Jenny sat upright, arching

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her back and cutting loose and wore gasmic howl. Her

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erect nipples cast long shadows across the tent, and that

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was all it took. Richard wrestled with his poncho to

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get it clear of his expulsions. He convulsed and then

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collapsed against the tree trunk, Still weakly pumping at himself.

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He watched as Jenny dismounted and moved onto all fours.

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The show wasn't over, Richard cursed under his breath. He'd

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never made it to the end of one of Big

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Jenny's performances. It wasn't a stamina issue. He'd once whacked

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it for over three hours straight watching Nurse Horn, after all.

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He eyed the curves of Jenny's body and twisted the slick,

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soiled bitten around his deflating member. Big Jenny was one

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hell of a woman. She'd left a pair of her

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panties in the tent once Richard had squirreled them away

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under his pillow. Some nights he didn't even bother going

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to the tent to see a show and just stayed

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in his room with the underwear tied over his nose

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and mouth. The icy pellet stung on his bare flesh,

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but he wanted to watch just a little longer. Maybe

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she'd leave behind a fresh pair of muff covers for him.

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Jenny's face went down to the floor. What are you

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waiting for? She purred like an old alley cat. Richard

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watched Jenny's lover rise to his knees behind her. Then

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he saw a new silhouette and stared at it stupidly.

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He'd peeped on a lot of people in the tent

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and seen a lot of strange things, including an assortment

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of industrious home made sex toys, but he'd never seen

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anything like that shadow, except once he'd see the exact

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same thing cast on the living room wall. When he'd

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seen a similar tool to Jenny. He shouted, but it

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was too late. The hatchet came down and fluid sprayed

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across the nylon. The man swung again and again. Richard

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scrambled to his feet, struggling with his thermals as he

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ran for the main building. The cracks of breaking bones

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melded with the racket of the sleet, now coming down

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in sheets. Richard fell up the front steps. The long

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johns wriggled down his legs, and he tried to kick

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them off, which only tangled them around his ankles. Richard

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screamed for help. He pressed himself up to his knees

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when the front door opened. Suddenly, what the hell is

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going on out there? Johnny Washington asked. Richard waddled to

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the orderly on his knees and grabbed the man's shirt,

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climbing up it like a housecat until he was standing

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and squeezing Johnny's face between his mittens. You you have

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to help, Okay, Okay, calm down, Richie. Johnny pushed Richard

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to arm's length and held him by the elbows. I

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need you to be cool. And why are your pants down? Richie?

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We have to get the guards. We have to go

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out to the fuck tent. The fuck tent. Johnny was

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suddenly all too aware of the moist, sticky sensation on

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his cheek. He rubbed at it with obvious revolt. Dude,

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is this fucking jiz? It's the brainworms, Johnny, they're here.

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Richard shoved Johnny out of the way and shuffled into

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the building. They murdered Big Jenny. The brainworms. They made

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them chopper up. That was the last thing he said

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before he felt the needlestick. The thorazine worked fast, and

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he was asleep before he could feel his nose breaking

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on the cold linoleum. I think we can forego any

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further investigation. Doctor Chambers said solemnly, Richard had a relapse.

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He was having such a good run of things too,

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a relapse. Johnny repeated, I don't think that's what happened, sir.

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I mean, I've known Richie Richard since I started working

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here fourteen years, and he ain't never been violent or

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aggressive with nobody. He's the one that came for help

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with his pants down. Chambers sighed and leaned back in

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his oversized desk chair. Mister Washington, you said it yourself.

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He admitted to being at the fornication tent and he

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was ranting about brain worms. You were made privy to

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Richard's case history when you started, were you not. Johnny hesitated,

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then gave a tentative nod. I was. But that was

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over thirty years ago, sir. You should have seen him,

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doctor Chambers. He was. He was scared shitless. The doctor

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scowled at him. Your colorful diagnosis of Richard's mental state. Notwithstanding,

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there are considerations, mister Washington. When we searched Richard's room,

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we discovered a rather personal item of Jennifer's under his mattress.

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What kind of personal item, Johnny asked, Are you sure

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it's hers. Doctor Chambers removed a plastic evidence bag from

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a cardboard filing box. He shook out the contents and

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held the panties up with both of his hands. There

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aren't any initials in them, but I think it's a

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safe assumption that they belonged to Jennifer. Yeah, all right,

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those are definitely Big Jenny's drawers. Johnny slumped in his seat.

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Don't worry, Richard, Chambers reassured him. We won't be involving

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the police. Johnny snapped forward on the edge of his seat.

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You can't just not tell the cops. Of course I can.

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Chambers dropped the evidence back into the box. If I

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contacted them, they would come to the same conclusion I have.

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Richard is essentially serving a life sentence for the murders

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of his family. There is nothing that can be added

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to that. And what about Big Jenny. We will provide

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her with a proper funeral and notify any relatives of

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her tragic passing. They will be saddened, but understanding given

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her weight and history of drug abuse. Chambers gage Johnny's

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body language and sighed, honestly, mister Washington, would you prefer

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the truth if you were in their shoes, knowing that

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she was brutally hacked up and suffered excruciating pain at

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the hands of a murderer who can never be punished,

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or would you like to hear that she passed peaceably

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in her sleep? Man, this is Johnny rested his head

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in his hands. We can't just sweep it under the rug.

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I understand your concerns. Chambers laced his fingers together over

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his chest. If you would like me to proceed according

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to procedure, I will begrudgingly comply. There will be a

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formal investigation, of course, that means a thorough look into

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our culpability. I'm sure you're aware of Senator Boulder's recent

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investigations into the state's mental health services. Any opportunity to

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hold someone on the staff accountable would greatly strengthen the

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Senator's allegations. Richard cannot be punished for Miss Howard's death,

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but the orderly on duty a few hundred yards from

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her murder could be you mother. Johnny snapped up with

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his fists clenched. He slowly let them relax and kicked

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the desk. Guess that wraps this up, then, like a

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perfect little present fitting given the season. Chambers turned in

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his chair to stare out the ice over window, speaking

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of which tomorrow is Thanksgiving? Will you be attending the

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staff dinner? Guess that depends whether the orderly that was

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on duty one hundred yards from a murder still has

227
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a job. He wouldn't, Chambers stated bluntly. The orderly that

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was on duty during a tragic heart attack would, however,

229
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guess I'll see you there, Doc Johnny said with a smirk.

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It was a small victory, but he knew the doctor's

231
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disdain for the diminutive title. Johnny walked to the door

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and opened it. That served as enough of an invitation

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for Grant Lister, the head of the hospital's minuscule security team.

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The guard shouldered past him with a half assed apology.

235
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With his horseshoe of graying hair and thick unibrow, Grant

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reminded Johnny of Sam Eagle from the Muppets. Johnny scoffed

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at the man and walked out. We took care of

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the tent, Sir Grant said, as soon as the door closed.

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The crazies aren't going to be happy. Get the word

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out that it was on account of the weather. We'll

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get them one better suited for the cold. Surely one

242
00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:45.079
of your malfisons is competent enough to purchase a tent.

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Maybe I should send a couple of them, just to

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be sure. You know, lots of the nuts are going

245
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to be cracked up about Big Jenny. Grant snickered at

246
00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:01.960
his cleverness. Do you have a point? Chain asked, maybe

247
00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.200
we can name the new tent after her or something.

248
00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:09.880
What do you think that might boost their morale? Perhaps

249
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:13.160
we should leave the mental health concerns of our patients

250
00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:18.119
to the professionals. Chambers said, where are we on the

251
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Anne Davis situation? Same place we were when the Senator

252
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brought it up three months ago. Sir Grant bleue dramatically

253
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across his palm. She vanished into thin air. I had

254
00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:34.240
a discharge form worked up and buried it in a

255
00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:37.559
random box in the basement. We can say it was

256
00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:43.559
a simple clerical error on our part. Destroy it. Chambers

257
00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:48.160
spun his chair around. Bolder wants to prove that we

258
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are incompetent. You want to show him we can't even

259
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file paperwork. Sorry, sir, it was the best I could

260
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come up with. Bolder won't be able to gather his

261
00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:05.319
lynch mob until after New Year's Chambers told him, you

262
00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:15.400
will have a better plan before then. Ten four Boss.

263
00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:20.680
The wreck room used to be calm and docile until

264
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Nurse Horn introduced the residence to Milton Bradley's newest game, Jenga.

265
00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:32.240
It had been an instant hit, and Chambers had purchased

266
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a dozen more sets to keep everyone occupied. Ed Hanke,

267
00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:43.400
a compulsive gambler, had organized a high stakes tournament that

268
00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:47.839
ran every week. The hospital had a small movie theater,

269
00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:51.640
and the winner got to pick a double feature for

270
00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:57.440
that Saturday. Aside from the official prize, the players ran

271
00:21:57.720 --> 00:22:03.480
side bets for medication, smokes, snacks, and whatever else they

272
00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:08.799
could think to throw into the pot. Jesus Christ Shell

273
00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:13.960
Carter Copeland groaned. He used a discarded block to push

274
00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:19.319
the dentures back to the elderly nymphomaniac. You are not

275
00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:24.240
betting your dentures, of course not. I need them to chew.

276
00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:28.039
Think of a more like a poker chip. You win

277
00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:31.279
and you can cash them in later. She gave him

278
00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:36.599
a wink behind the oversized lens of her bifocals. I'll

279
00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:41.839
gum that hog till you're squealing all the way home, youngster. Tempting,

280
00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:45.279
but maybe you could just put a couple reds on

281
00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:50.079
the line. Carter gestured to the Seco barbitol Shelley had

282
00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:56.359
won in her last match ed serving as referee, laughed, Shit,

283
00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:59.240
if the new guy doesn't want the blowjob, I'll take it.

284
00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:03.680
Can't have it. Shelley told him, you don't have a

285
00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:06.799
snowball's chance in hell of beating me in this game.

286
00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:07.119
Ed.

287
00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:13.160
Carter tossed two cools into the pot. Fine, I'll see

288
00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:16.599
the hummer and raise you. Now we got ourselves a

289
00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:20.599
real game. Shelley stood up and leaned over the tower

290
00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:24.920
to pick her next move. She made a show of

291
00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:28.680
the process, letting everyone around the table get a good

292
00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:33.000
look down her gown. Carter was on a ninety day

293
00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:37.240
hold for evaluation after he walked into a donut shop

294
00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:42.440
and started a fight with seven cops inside. Not nearly

295
00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:47.119
long enough for those saggy spotted pendulums to look appealing.

296
00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:52.240
Shelley paused and prodded a block, then looked at Carter.

297
00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.759
She pushed her tongue rhythmically against the inside of her

298
00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:03.359
jaw and pulled the block, the tower crashing across the table.

299
00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:10.720
The crowd booed, and Shelley feigned surprise. Sometimes you gotta

300
00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:15.480
lose to win, she could. Don't take too long coming

301
00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:18.839
to collect Carter. I like to be in bed by seven.

302
00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:25.240
Shelley sauntered away, swaying her twice replaced hips as well

303
00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:28.759
as she could, before joining a circle near the wreck

304
00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:34.559
room's bay window that was working on more Thanksgiving decorations.

305
00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:39.440
There were already too many for Carter's taste, but everyone

306
00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:42.720
had been working diligently to make more ahead of the

307
00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:48.240
big Turkey dinner the next day. He collected his winnings,

308
00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:52.799
minus the dentures, and stood to leave. He checked the

309
00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:55.880
bracket on the easel to see who his next opponent

310
00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.759
would be. Looks like I got time for a walk

311
00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:03.680
before for my next match, he said. Send someone to

312
00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:06.039
get me. When it's time, I'll be at the fountain

313
00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:14.240
the fountain, Ed repeated, it's barely even forty degrees out there, exactly.

314
00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:18.400
It'll lower my heart rate so I can focus, he lied.

315
00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:22.640
I'll see you in an hour. Don't forget your winnings.

316
00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:27.359
Ed hurriedly picked up the false teeth. Shelley gives the

317
00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:31.759
best head in the wing she's not exactly my type,

318
00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:37.920
Carter said, she will be. Ed laughed. Maybe I'm saving

319
00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:41.880
myself for Nurse horn Hugh. Better make some more friends.

320
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:46.960
Ed informed him, Nurse Horny only goes for group action.

321
00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:51.240
Say you think that means multiple Mark has a chance.

322
00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:56.960
He's got like nineteen personalities, so that's basically a gang bang. Right,

323
00:25:58.119 --> 00:26:01.680
that's what your mother told me. Carter dry swallowed a

324
00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:05.880
pair of muscle relaxers he'd won. He got way too

325
00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:10.200
much free time, Eddie, gonna have a lot more since

326
00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:17.359
Jenny got killed. Ed said, somberly killed. Carter raised an eyebrow.

327
00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:22.359
I thought Chambers said it was a heart attack. He did,

328
00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:25.960
but I saw the tent when General Grant and his

329
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:30.960
dingleberries dragged it to the incinerator. Blood dripped out all

330
00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:35.119
over the damn floor. Ed propped a foot onto the table,

331
00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:40.440
showing the soles of his slip resistant sock. I stepped

332
00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:43.599
in some before they could clean it up. You don't

333
00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:48.400
bleed out from a heart attack, You sure don't. Carter

334
00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:56.640
pocketed the dentures. The looney bin just got crazier. Carter

335
00:26:56.839 --> 00:27:00.000
sat down on the edge of the fountain and puffed

336
00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:04.559
a cigarette. To life. The menthol seemed stronger in the

337
00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:09.559
frigid air. He watched the few meandering residents on the lawn.

338
00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:13.799
Doctor Chambers said it was part of the therapy to

339
00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:18.680
let the patients wander the grounds freely, but really it

340
00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:23.559
was just because the hospital was an unmanageable mess. They

341
00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:28.200
were housing three hundred patients in one hundred and eighty rooms,

342
00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:33.279
while only six guards sharing two high school diplomas, were

343
00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:38.279
responsible for the security of the entire compound. The buildings

344
00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:43.039
were a century old, and trustees handled any repair. They

345
00:27:43.079 --> 00:27:47.200
also took care of the cooking, cleaning, and landscaping to

346
00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:50.839
free up funds for more nurses and orderlies, who were

347
00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:55.680
mostly there to steal medications. Chambers had the only computer,

348
00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:59.480
and record keeping was done by a patient volunteer on

349
00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:03.759
a type with a missing K. It was no wonder

350
00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:09.279
they'd misplaced seventeen patients in two years. Most had simply

351
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:14.599
wandered off, but Anne Davis still couldn't be accounted for.

352
00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:19.440
Carter pulled the loose brick from its housing and peeled

353
00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:24.480
away the plastic bag taped to its inside edge. He

354
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:29.000
slipped out the note inside and read it twice, committing

355
00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:33.480
the information to memory before dropping it into the fountain

356
00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:39.160
behind him. The note shriveled instantly, bawling in on itself

357
00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:44.640
before breaking down into a white mist that drifted away completely.

358
00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:50.359
Carter slipped his own note into the bag. He replaced

359
00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:55.440
the brick with his findings nestled safely on its backside.

360
00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:59.480
Carter enjoyed his cigarette while digesting what he'd just read.

361
00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:05.799
His psych evaluation being conducted at the Metropolitan was no coincidence.

362
00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:11.880
Carter was hyperthymic. He needed almost no sleep and could

363
00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:16.559
work endlessly no matter how bad things got. He was

364
00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:21.000
always a beacon of positivity. His brain was tuned for

365
00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:27.079
high speed, high stress situations. Fear and anxiety were foreign

366
00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:32.359
concepts that all sounds well and good until there's nothing

367
00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:38.000
to do. That's when Carter would get himself into trouble.

368
00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:45.400
He'd been in and out of juvie as a youth

369
00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:49.079
and a judge thought a stint in the military might

370
00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:54.119
fix things. It had too up until the conflict in

371
00:29:54.319 --> 00:30:00.200
Vietnam ended. Back in the world, Carter had nothing to

372
00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:06.160
keep him occupied and an extremely dangerous skill set to

373
00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:12.720
put to use, so he started a business. Carter considered

374
00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:17.759
himself a free lance secret agent. He solved problems for people,

375
00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:25.680
industrial espionage, political snooping, strike breaking, leg breaking, blackmail, even

376
00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:31.000
the occasional wet job. He wasn't particular, as long as

377
00:30:31.079 --> 00:30:35.680
the work kept him busy. Under Cover gigs were always

378
00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:40.480
his favorite. However, He'd spent four months raising hell within

379
00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:44.240
Boston's Irish Mob until he got caught up in a

380
00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:48.920
police sting. That was how he ended up on Senator

381
00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:54.599
Boulder's radar. Strange things were afoot at the Metropolitan, and

382
00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:59.519
the Senator needed a man on the inside. Carter closed

383
00:30:59.559 --> 00:31:04.480
his eye. Boulder had received an anonymous letter from someone

384
00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:10.920
at the Metropolitan claiming unusual deaths and disappearances at the hospital.

385
00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:18.039
The Senator's investigation turned up two overdoses, four suicides, and

386
00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:23.400
three accidents in less than twenty four months. They did

387
00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:26.400
good work, but none of them could figure out what

388
00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:32.720
happened to Anne Davis. Carter walked himself through the information again,

389
00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:39.000
mentally retracing Anne's last known movements. Anne was a shy,

390
00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:45.119
homely girl, sickly thin, with flat, straight hair the color

391
00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:49.039
of friar grease, and a nose too small for the

392
00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:54.920
freckles that sprawled across it. She'd never been popular and

393
00:31:55.039 --> 00:32:01.079
occupied her time playing with matches. That's what land in

394
00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:07.519
the Metropolitan. Even there, she hadn't made many friends. The

395
00:32:07.640 --> 00:32:12.039
Jenga games were just gaining traction. Or maybe she would

396
00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:17.440
have been playing that during the Christmas party. Instead, she

397
00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:21.279
went out to the fuck Tent to unwrap someone's package.

398
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:26.400
According to her sister, Anne had never dated in school

399
00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:31.440
or even attended a party or dance. It was likely

400
00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:34.559
the first time anyone had shown an interest in her,

401
00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:39.799
so of course she went with them. It took Carter

402
00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:44.799
two weeks of careful prodding to get that information without

403
00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:50.680
setting off alarms. The only problem was nobody knew who

404
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:56.119
she'd gone with, only what had happened next. He'd gotten

405
00:32:56.240 --> 00:32:59.759
that part from Richard de Paul. There'd been a foot

406
00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:03.240
of snow on the ground, but Anne had never been

407
00:33:03.319 --> 00:33:07.960
to the tent before. That was a special occasion for

408
00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:12.759
the Peeper, so he had diligently braved the elements to

409
00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:18.839
catch her debut performance. Ritchie's recounting of the events was

410
00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:23.920
extremely detailed, right down to the grip he'd been using

411
00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:28.559
on himself When the camera flashed. It took him a

412
00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:32.359
moment to understand that that is what it had been

413
00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:38.759
until there was another. After the third, Anne started shouting

414
00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:42.200
at whoever she was with to stop and give her

415
00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:46.480
the pictures that meant it had been an instant camera

416
00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:52.240
someone at the hospital. Someone at the hospital had taken

417
00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:57.000
polaroids of Anne, and Carter was sure he'd find them

418
00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:03.480
on campus. The photographer did not stop. More snapshots followed,

419
00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:09.199
lighting up the tent and drawing desperate cries from Anne.

420
00:34:09.320 --> 00:34:13.000
She fumbled out of the tent a moment later. Stark,

421
00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:17.519
nude and blind with tears, she ran through the snow

422
00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:23.639
until she tripped and disappeared from sight. That's when Ritchie

423
00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:29.360
panicked and ran inside to get Johnny Washington. The orderly

424
00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:33.840
called the guardhouse. The weather had been frightful, and so

425
00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:38.239
had the incompetence. Carter had been at the asylum all

426
00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:41.800
of a day. When he dug one of her fingernails

427
00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:46.599
out of the fountain's mortar. He was sure it was hers,

428
00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:50.920
from the last few chips of polish that hadn't worn off.

429
00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:55.800
She always painted them the same dull shade of pink,

430
00:34:56.360 --> 00:35:00.800
according to her sister. Carter opened his eye and looked

431
00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:04.239
over his shoulder at the dead grass where the fuck

432
00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:09.239
tent had been, and Davis had run in a nearly

433
00:35:09.719 --> 00:35:16.199
straight line, and yet the staff couldn't find her. But

434
00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:24.480
someone had. Hey Carter, the shaky voice said, Ed says,

435
00:35:24.519 --> 00:35:29.639
it's almost time for your next match. Carter stared past

436
00:35:29.719 --> 00:35:34.480
the messenger at the security stooges unpacking a new tent.

437
00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:39.960
Didn't waste any time getting us a replacement. Hey man,

438
00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:43.559
why should the turkey be the only thing getting stuffed

439
00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:50.719
around here? A couple hours later, Carter was up an

440
00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:56.880
entire pack of mixed smokes, two expired queludes, a hustler,

441
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:01.719
half a baby Ruth, and four twink It wasn't a

442
00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.800
bad haul, and he was sitting in the finals, to

443
00:36:04.840 --> 00:36:10.000
be played the next day before Thanksgiving dinner. The other

444
00:36:10.119 --> 00:36:12.880
half of the bracket would be decided in the morning.

445
00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:18.400
In order to determine his challenger, Carter scanned the board

446
00:36:18.880 --> 00:36:22.599
and ran the odds for each He was sure he'd

447
00:36:22.599 --> 00:36:27.800
be facing Melvin Watts based on the pairings. Melvin played

448
00:36:27.920 --> 00:36:32.719
Jangle like he was sun Zoo reincarnated. His matches would

449
00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:37.239
take time, and Carter could slip away to check the

450
00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:43.079
dead drop before Boulder's agents took off for Thanksgiving. The

451
00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:46.880
civil servants weren't about to pass on a paid holiday.

452
00:36:48.119 --> 00:36:51.960
He thought about what their last note had said as

453
00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:57.320
he went to stash his winnings. New letter arrived and

454
00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:05.079
Davis dead basement filebox three zero four AF confirm finding

455
00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:11.920
be careful x Phil Monday. The information sat sourly in

456
00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:17.159
Carter's stomach. Either this new letter was from a different author,

457
00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:23.360
or someone was fucking with him. Carter laid down on

458
00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:26.960
his mattress and stared at the ten glow in the

459
00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:31.400
dark stars a previous occupant had glued to the ceiling.

460
00:37:32.639 --> 00:37:38.039
In Vietnam, they'd learned to sleep whenever they could. The

461
00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:44.000
enemy was everywhere, watching over his long range patrol, like

462
00:37:44.199 --> 00:37:51.079
monsters in closets, but sleep was a requirement. He could

463
00:37:51.159 --> 00:37:58.280
hear the Kong in the bush, sharpening bayonets and setting traps.

464
00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:04.840
It became a twisted lullaby. Night after night. Carter rolled

465
00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:09.239
onto his side and let the familiarity of certain death

466
00:38:09.960 --> 00:38:14.440
swaddle him as he drifted off. He was going to

467
00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:18.480
have a busy night, and he needed a few hours

468
00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:27.480
to recharge. Carter awoke a little more than four hours later.

469
00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:33.280
Thanks to his condition, he needed very little sleep. He

470
00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:38.000
peeked into the hallways. They were deserted, but he could

471
00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:43.199
hear johnny stereo coming from the wreck room. Carter checked

472
00:38:43.199 --> 00:38:48.559
the time to be sure, then cursed Johnny was running

473
00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:53.199
behind schedule. He didn't want to hurt the orderly, but

474
00:38:53.320 --> 00:38:56.239
he needed to cross the wreck room in order to

475
00:38:56.320 --> 00:39:02.599
access the basement. He tiptoedal long the linoleum until he

476
00:39:02.639 --> 00:39:07.400
could see Johnny. The man danced along with the music,

477
00:39:07.880 --> 00:39:13.199
moonwalking with a plastic chair before gracefully stacking it onto

478
00:39:13.239 --> 00:39:19.119
a table. Carter watched his entire Michael Jackson routine until

479
00:39:19.159 --> 00:39:22.960
the song ended and Johnny struck the MJ pose with

480
00:39:23.079 --> 00:39:30.079
a tee hee for good measure. Carter smiled malevolently. The

481
00:39:30.199 --> 00:39:34.119
VC had used a lot of sneaky tricks during the war.

482
00:39:35.079 --> 00:39:39.760
He'd seen guys impaled on pongee steaks and blown apart

483
00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:46.360
by land mines, but a good soldier could spot a tripwire. Gonorrhea,

484
00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:50.960
on the other hand, wouldn't start showing symptoms for two

485
00:39:51.079 --> 00:39:56.800
or three days. His long range reconnaissance patrol would be

486
00:39:56.880 --> 00:39:59.960
in the bush for weeks, and half the team would

487
00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:04.960
be pissing razors and bleeding from the ass The most

488
00:40:05.079 --> 00:40:09.440
dangerous weapon in war were your own soldiers with free

489
00:40:09.480 --> 00:40:15.000
time and blue balls. He backtracked down the hall and

490
00:40:15.159 --> 00:40:19.960
quickly jimmied the cheap lock to access the room. He

491
00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:23.519
crept to the bunk and placed his hand over the

492
00:40:23.559 --> 00:40:27.960
open mouth of the sleeping patient so she didn't wake

493
00:40:28.079 --> 00:40:33.559
her roommate. Shelley's eyes snapped open and she started to

494
00:40:33.639 --> 00:40:38.199
bolt upright when she realized it was Carter holding her down.

495
00:40:39.639 --> 00:40:42.440
She licked his palm and quickly caught him by the

496
00:40:42.519 --> 00:40:48.199
wrist when he recoiled. The octogenarian sucked Carter's index finger

497
00:40:48.840 --> 00:40:54.960
with noisy slurps. She gummed the tip and moaned, keep quiet.

498
00:40:55.719 --> 00:41:01.360
Carter whispered, don't worry about Doris. Her hearing aids are out.

499
00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:08.840
Shelley purred, come to return my teeth something like that.

500
00:41:09.920 --> 00:41:12.519
Johnny is having a rough go after what happened to

501
00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:17.760
Jenny last night. That's a shame. Did you know I

502
00:41:17.880 --> 00:41:22.880
don't have a gag reflex. Shelley swallowed Carter's finger again

503
00:41:23.519 --> 00:41:28.880
until it tickled her uvula I do Carter jerked his

504
00:41:28.920 --> 00:41:33.199
finger free with a wet pop. I need you to

505
00:41:33.280 --> 00:41:38.559
do me a favor. I'm trying Okay, I need you

506
00:41:38.679 --> 00:41:43.480
to do that favor, but do it to Johnny. Carter

507
00:41:43.639 --> 00:41:48.960
produced the dentures. I'm cashing in on his behalf. He's

508
00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:52.480
in the wreck room. I can't do that in there.

509
00:41:53.360 --> 00:41:58.039
That would be Lewde. That's right, it would be. Carter

510
00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:01.360
helped her sit up. That's why you're going to do

511
00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:05.599
it in Horn's office. Wouldn't be the first time someone's

512
00:42:05.599 --> 00:42:10.960
gotten sucked off in there, Shelley's toothless smile stretched wider,

513
00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:14.559
but it will be the first time someone's enjoyed it

514
00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:19.840
this much. Carter stood guard at the door while Shelley

515
00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:25.199
fixed her hair top and bottom. Ten minutes later, he

516
00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:30.960
was watching her drooping bare ass strut into the recreation room.

517
00:42:31.360 --> 00:42:35.480
Carter followed a safe distance behind, but lost sight of

518
00:42:35.519 --> 00:42:40.480
her as she rounded the corner. Even with the music playing,

519
00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:45.880
he could hear Johnny's shocked squeal. Carter edged to the

520
00:42:45.960 --> 00:42:51.119
corner and chanced a glance into the room. Shelley was

521
00:42:51.159 --> 00:42:54.599
twisting her nipples like she was tuning a television set

522
00:42:55.239 --> 00:42:59.920
as she backpedaled into Horn's office. Johnny followed her to

523
00:43:00.199 --> 00:43:05.239
the door, trying to coax her out. Carter moved low

524
00:43:05.559 --> 00:43:10.960
and fast ducking behind the cleaning cart. You need to

525
00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:13.239
come out of there, or I'm going to call the nurses,

526
00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:17.519
Johnny said. If they come down here, you're gonna get

527
00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:22.639
the shot. That's not the prick I'm looking for. She

528
00:43:22.840 --> 00:43:26.159
sang it like a nursery rhyme. Are you going to

529
00:43:26.199 --> 00:43:31.480
come in here? And come in here? Carter could imagine

530
00:43:31.519 --> 00:43:36.400
what had happened by Johnny's very loud gag. It was

531
00:43:36.480 --> 00:43:40.519
time to move. He sprang from cover and dived into

532
00:43:40.559 --> 00:43:43.239
a role that carried him the rest of the way.

533
00:43:44.199 --> 00:43:47.639
He hoped Johnny would forgive him for the trauma, but

534
00:43:48.440 --> 00:43:52.480
there was work to be done. Many of the hospital's

535
00:43:52.559 --> 00:43:57.320
non essential doors had never been updated with modern locks.

536
00:43:57.840 --> 00:44:00.880
Carter had filed a copy of the Centree old key

537
00:44:01.000 --> 00:44:04.119
from a bolt he'd pulled out of his own bedframe.

538
00:44:04.639 --> 00:44:08.800
It wasn't an exact match, but it was close enough.

539
00:44:09.559 --> 00:44:14.280
Carter braced himself for the squeak, but the door opened smoothly.

540
00:44:15.199 --> 00:44:18.719
He glared at the hinges. The first week after he

541
00:44:18.800 --> 00:44:21.719
got sent to the hospital, he'd made it a point

542
00:44:21.760 --> 00:44:26.559
to check the basement and old death tunnel. The door

543
00:44:26.639 --> 00:44:31.559
had been loud as hell that night. Someone else had

544
00:44:31.599 --> 00:44:42.159
been sneaking into the basement. Carter moved down the stairs cautiously.

545
00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:47.239
Nothing really prepares you for falling down a dark staircase,

546
00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:51.519
though by the time he reached the bottom his eyes

547
00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:55.639
had adjusted enough to see the ambient light coming in

548
00:44:55.719 --> 00:45:01.679
through the basements dingy windows. Cas nose twitched from stirring

549
00:45:01.760 --> 00:45:05.880
dust and mold in the air. He pinched the bridge

550
00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:10.280
to hold back the sneeze. The basement was a labyrinth

551
00:45:10.320 --> 00:45:16.239
of unsteady shelving laden with filing boxes stuffed with patient records.

552
00:45:17.159 --> 00:45:21.280
Most of them were water damaged or chewed up by rats.

553
00:45:22.320 --> 00:45:26.159
Peter Lanski had done all the typing for the last

554
00:45:26.199 --> 00:45:30.880
sixteen years he'd worked as a stenographer before having a

555
00:45:30.960 --> 00:45:35.039
mental breakdown and amputating one of his legs to force

556
00:45:35.119 --> 00:45:40.440
feed his overbearing mother. Carter wondered how many boxes Pete

557
00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:45.760
had filled since his culinary aspirations went down the drain.

558
00:45:47.480 --> 00:45:52.280
He could hear the rodents rustling amongst the pages and

559
00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:55.639
had been missing almost a year, and there was a

560
00:45:55.639 --> 00:46:01.159
good chance whatever evidence was contained in Box three zerof

561
00:46:01.960 --> 00:46:07.239
had already been shredded by the vermin. Carter flicked his

562
00:46:07.360 --> 00:46:12.239
lighter and scanned the nearest labels. They appeared to be

563
00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:17.239
the oldest. He continued deeper into the half assed aisles

564
00:46:17.840 --> 00:46:22.280
and repeated the process several more times, trying to find

565
00:46:22.519 --> 00:46:26.920
order to the dates. After nearly an hour of wandering

566
00:46:26.960 --> 00:46:32.400
the rose, he discovered the start of Pete's system. It

567
00:46:32.480 --> 00:46:35.559
made as much sense as one could expect from a

568
00:46:35.679 --> 00:46:41.960
nuthouse secretary, but it was better than nothing. Carter grabbed

569
00:46:41.960 --> 00:46:45.159
a random box and jerked it from the shelf to

570
00:46:45.239 --> 00:46:49.559
the stone floor. The rats had taken inspiration from the

571
00:46:49.599 --> 00:46:55.199
patients and built their own version of the fuck tent inside.

572
00:46:55.400 --> 00:47:00.239
One scurried up Carter's arm to express its displeasure with

573
00:47:00.360 --> 00:47:05.000
the cock blocking human. Carter shook it off and pulled

574
00:47:05.039 --> 00:47:10.119
out several pages, twisting them into a tube. The old

575
00:47:10.199 --> 00:47:14.360
paper ignited easily with a touch from his bic, giving

576
00:47:14.440 --> 00:47:19.639
him ample light to find the correct box. He dropped

577
00:47:19.639 --> 00:47:24.239
the makeshift torch beside him. The pages unfurled and the

578
00:47:24.320 --> 00:47:28.599
flames spread across them, spilling a tidy pool of light

579
00:47:28.840 --> 00:47:32.280
for him to see buy Carter gave the box a

580
00:47:32.400 --> 00:47:37.280
shake and listened for disgruntled rats before he popped off

581
00:47:37.320 --> 00:47:43.159
the top. He grimaced as he lifted the polaroid and

582
00:47:43.559 --> 00:47:47.840
looked shocked at the photographer's betrayal as she tried to

583
00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:53.360
cover herself with her skinny, freckled arms. He dropped the

584
00:47:53.400 --> 00:47:58.639
photo onto the burning pages, watching the film bubble up,

585
00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:03.760
looked back into the box and pulled out a single

586
00:48:04.519 --> 00:48:10.760
typed page. You got to see her. Now I see you,

587
00:48:10.760 --> 00:48:17.920
You're dead, snitch. Carter looked around the room, expecting someone

588
00:48:17.960 --> 00:48:22.360
to come rushing at him from the shadows. Instead, he

589
00:48:22.480 --> 00:48:28.679
saw a tiny blinking light in the corner. He stood,

590
00:48:29.119 --> 00:48:33.719
grinding the flames out under his slipper. He waved at

591
00:48:33.760 --> 00:48:39.079
the security camera and now I see you too, dick weed.

592
00:48:43.000 --> 00:48:48.679
Carter paused outside the security room. Whoever was inside would

593
00:48:48.760 --> 00:48:53.960
be expecting him, but they didn't know what to expect

594
00:48:54.280 --> 00:48:59.079
from him. They wouldn't have been playing games if they did.

595
00:49:00.280 --> 00:49:04.599
He mule kicked the door, and when no one opened fire,

596
00:49:05.199 --> 00:49:10.239
he stepped inside. You should have shot me, He fished

597
00:49:10.280 --> 00:49:15.760
the pack of assorted cigarettes from his pocket. Care for one,

598
00:49:15.960 --> 00:49:22.280
got menthol and regular. It's a filthy habit, Grant said,

599
00:49:22.480 --> 00:49:26.480
turning his chair away from the bank of camera monitors

600
00:49:26.880 --> 00:49:31.760
to face him. You a cop. Carter lit a cigarette

601
00:49:32.159 --> 00:49:37.920
with a bemused grunt. You wish, so what then? You

602
00:49:38.159 --> 00:49:42.480
just nosy? Grant shrugged and rose from the chair a

603
00:49:42.679 --> 00:49:48.760
concerned citizen. I'm just here for the free pajamas. Slippers

604
00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:53.039
are pretty comfortable. Too. Too bad you're not a cop.

605
00:49:53.920 --> 00:49:58.400
Grant slid the long flashlight from his belt. Too bad

606
00:49:58.440 --> 00:50:01.800
for you. That is a cop falling down the stairs

607
00:50:01.800 --> 00:50:06.239
would be hard to explain, some random nut. That's a

608
00:50:06.280 --> 00:50:11.719
different story one you've told a lot. I'm guessing Carter

609
00:50:11.880 --> 00:50:16.559
took a deep pull from the cigarette. That what happened

610
00:50:16.599 --> 00:50:20.239
to Anne? You make her fall down some stairs after

611
00:50:20.280 --> 00:50:24.719
your little photo shoot? Didn't have nothing to do with that.

612
00:50:25.679 --> 00:50:29.440
Grant switched on the mag light and made a rudimentary

613
00:50:29.519 --> 00:50:35.760
shadow puppet of walking legs. Little Firebug ran away. Maybe

614
00:50:35.800 --> 00:50:38.760
she went to one of the homeless camps. Maybe she

615
00:50:38.880 --> 00:50:43.719
died from exposure. Either way, we never saw her again.

616
00:50:45.119 --> 00:50:48.840
Were you the one with her in the tent? Wrong again?

617
00:50:49.960 --> 00:50:53.960
The guard moved the light to Carter's face. You saw

618
00:50:54.000 --> 00:50:57.719
the pictures. Her freckles were bigger than her tits. That's

619
00:50:57.760 --> 00:50:59.400
not the kind of lay you go out in a

620
00:50:59.400 --> 00:51:04.599
snowstorm for my turn to ask a question. Go for it.

621
00:51:05.760 --> 00:51:10.760
The senator sends you here or the bitch's sister one

622
00:51:10.880 --> 00:51:15.960
and then the other. Carter admitted the senator wanted proof

623
00:51:16.039 --> 00:51:19.960
you dipshits were up to no good. Checked all those boxes,

624
00:51:20.440 --> 00:51:24.840
so mission accomplished. The sister wanted me to find out

625
00:51:24.880 --> 00:51:28.199
what happened to Anne. I'm still working on that one,

626
00:51:28.320 --> 00:51:33.519
but you're about to tell me already. Did Grant aimed

627
00:51:33.559 --> 00:51:38.159
the light at the window. She took off, probably jumped

628
00:51:38.159 --> 00:51:40.440
the north wall where the oak used to reach over.

629
00:51:41.320 --> 00:51:43.840
We chopped them all down after that, just to keep

630
00:51:43.840 --> 00:51:48.320
any others from doing it too. Man, We looked everywhere too.

631
00:51:49.000 --> 00:51:52.159
Don't think we didn't. We got a good thing going

632
00:51:52.199 --> 00:51:56.599
for us here, free drugs, plenty of pussy, a steady paycheck.

633
00:51:57.360 --> 00:52:01.079
Some naked escapee turning up in town fucked that all up.

634
00:52:01.880 --> 00:52:04.719
We searched for hours and went through the woods soon

635
00:52:04.760 --> 00:52:07.440
as it was light out. If she made it to

636
00:52:07.480 --> 00:52:12.199
the main road, hell, who knows, some truck driver might

637
00:52:12.199 --> 00:52:16.000
have picked her up, probably working a truck stop gloryhole

638
00:52:16.039 --> 00:52:20.880
in Pennsylvania. By now, If you didn't take the pictures,

639
00:52:20.920 --> 00:52:26.159
then how'd you get them? Grant looked visibly uncomfortable at

640
00:52:26.159 --> 00:52:29.800
that one. Not the look of someone caught with his

641
00:52:29.920 --> 00:52:32.960
hand in the cookie jar. It was the look of

642
00:52:33.000 --> 00:52:38.880
someone holding another person's dirty laundry. Carter nodded to himself.

643
00:52:39.920 --> 00:52:43.960
Grant was dumb but big. No one was going to

644
00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:47.199
bully him into being their muscle. It had to be

645
00:52:47.320 --> 00:52:51.039
someone with the money to afford him, or the brains

646
00:52:51.199 --> 00:52:56.639
to manipulate him. Whichever the case, it's still only left

647
00:52:57.079 --> 00:53:01.039
one option. I think it's time to get on with

648
00:53:01.159 --> 00:53:06.320
your accident, Grant said, patting the light against his palm.

649
00:53:06.679 --> 00:53:10.159
Carter flicked his cigarette at the guard, buying him enough

650
00:53:10.199 --> 00:53:14.320
time to cover the space between them. The flashlight swished

651
00:53:14.360 --> 00:53:18.199
overhead as Carter dropped low and bobbed up to deliver

652
00:53:18.280 --> 00:53:23.599
a two punch combination that sent his opponents staggering. Grant

653
00:53:23.719 --> 00:53:27.000
took a desperate backhand swing with the light that Carter

654
00:53:27.159 --> 00:53:32.159
intercepted with ease. He redirected the bigger man's momentum. The

655
00:53:32.199 --> 00:53:37.320
window shattered, and Carter watched the spit polished shoes going

656
00:53:37.360 --> 00:53:41.960
over the sill. A pair of panicked screams came from below.

657
00:53:43.079 --> 00:53:48.840
Carter took a cautious peek outside. Grant's body, laid in

658
00:53:48.920 --> 00:53:52.199
the middle of the newly erected tent with one of

659
00:53:52.239 --> 00:53:58.159
its poles protruding from his neck. The occupants were struggling

660
00:53:58.199 --> 00:54:03.320
to free themselves from the nylon entrapment. Guess it's a

661
00:54:03.360 --> 00:54:13.639
threesome now. After dumping Grant out the window, Carter destroyed

662
00:54:13.679 --> 00:54:17.639
the security tapes and returned to his room, expecting an

663
00:54:17.679 --> 00:54:23.280
emergency head count that never happened. He used the time

664
00:54:23.400 --> 00:54:27.119
to meditate on the facts. He knew who had taken

665
00:54:27.159 --> 00:54:32.960
the pictures that night, but that left another problem. Big Jenny,

666
00:54:34.079 --> 00:54:37.079
the guard had said Anne wasn't the type of girl

667
00:54:37.199 --> 00:54:41.199
you go into a blizzard to have sex with. As

668
00:54:41.239 --> 00:54:44.119
he paced the room waiting for the police to show up,

669
00:54:44.639 --> 00:54:49.840
he'd realized that Grant had a point. Anne was scrawny,

670
00:54:50.320 --> 00:54:54.880
barely in her twenties, and mousey. She was the exact

671
00:54:55.039 --> 00:54:59.719
opposite of Jenny in every way. They wouldn't have attracted

672
00:54:59.719 --> 00:55:05.199
this same lover, but they might have attracted the same killer.

673
00:55:06.800 --> 00:55:10.039
The Senator's people had only looked at the last two

674
00:55:10.199 --> 00:55:16.800
years for strange deaths and disappearances amongst the patients. Carter

675
00:55:17.000 --> 00:55:20.960
wondered what they'd find if they looked back further. He

676
00:55:21.079 --> 00:55:25.199
went to the window and checked his watch. Doctor Chambers

677
00:55:25.239 --> 00:55:29.159
had shown up an hour after Carter killed Grant, but

678
00:55:29.280 --> 00:55:33.920
there still weren't any police. Either they had the worst

679
00:55:33.960 --> 00:55:38.559
response time in the country, or Grant had been disposed

680
00:55:38.599 --> 00:55:44.119
of simply as the bloody tent. Carter didn't like that.

681
00:55:44.119 --> 00:55:47.840
That meant Chambers had covered up at least two murders

682
00:55:48.320 --> 00:55:51.320
to keep his own ass out of the slang. He

683
00:55:51.480 --> 00:55:55.400
wondered how many employees had suddenly stopped coming to work

684
00:55:55.880 --> 00:56:00.840
over the years, and felt his stomach tighten. It was

685
00:56:00.920 --> 00:56:05.960
the same feeling he got right before an ambush. Someone

686
00:56:06.039 --> 00:56:11.639
had turned the Metropolitan into a hunting ground. He lit

687
00:56:11.679 --> 00:56:15.239
a cigarette and put his slippers on with a happy groan.

688
00:56:16.480 --> 00:56:21.480
They really were comfortable. It had been almost five hours

689
00:56:21.960 --> 00:56:26.280
and the doctor's car was still out front. He padded

690
00:56:26.320 --> 00:56:30.119
out of his room and carefully navigated the halls of

691
00:56:30.159 --> 00:56:35.280
the East Wing. If Johnny had escaped Shelley, he'd be

692
00:56:35.400 --> 00:56:39.719
finishing up his five o'clock rounds before the morning nurses arrived.

693
00:56:40.719 --> 00:56:44.840
Chamber's office was in the Central Annex, which meant Carter

694
00:56:44.960 --> 00:56:48.199
would have to exit through the lobby to get back

695
00:56:48.280 --> 00:56:52.480
to his room. He checked his watch and sputtered his

696
00:56:52.599 --> 00:56:58.079
lips he was going to be cutting it close. He

697
00:56:58.199 --> 00:57:02.280
detoured slightly to peek in at the security room. His

698
00:57:02.440 --> 00:57:07.000
instincts were correct. Someone had tidied up, and the rest

699
00:57:07.039 --> 00:57:11.760
of Anne's photos were spread out on the desk, illuminated

700
00:57:11.800 --> 00:57:16.199
by the black and white monitors. A fresh page hung

701
00:57:16.280 --> 00:57:19.599
from the typewriter, sitting next to a half bottle of

702
00:57:19.679 --> 00:57:24.599
jim Beam. The paper flapped in the cold fall breeze

703
00:57:25.119 --> 00:57:29.480
coming in through the broken window. Carter didn't need to

704
00:57:29.519 --> 00:57:33.840
read it to know it was a suicide note. He

705
00:57:34.000 --> 00:57:36.440
stepped into the room and took a swig from the

706
00:57:36.480 --> 00:57:41.119
bottle before pouring it over the photos and striking his

707
00:57:41.280 --> 00:57:45.960
lighter to them. He watched the scared, embarrassed face of

708
00:57:46.039 --> 00:57:51.239
Anne disappear as one of the photos crinkled into a ball.

709
00:57:52.519 --> 00:57:56.199
If it hadn't been for Chambers, Anne never would have

710
00:57:56.280 --> 00:58:01.519
run off that night. She'd still be alive. Carter tried

711
00:58:01.559 --> 00:58:05.519
to remember the last Thanksgiving he'd spent with his family.

712
00:58:06.760 --> 00:58:11.320
His mom always got up before dawn. That could be

713
00:58:11.440 --> 00:58:15.000
Anne waking up right about then to help her sister

714
00:58:15.119 --> 00:58:19.360
get the turkey started. Instead of being nothing but a

715
00:58:19.400 --> 00:58:25.239
dozen burning polaroids on a nuthouse desk, Carter watched the

716
00:58:25.320 --> 00:58:30.039
flames consume the images until he was sure no one

717
00:58:30.360 --> 00:58:34.559
could salvage them. It was enough that she'd been murdered.

718
00:58:35.360 --> 00:58:40.599
No one needed to know she'd been humiliated first. Carter

719
00:58:40.719 --> 00:58:45.960
would settle that account himself. He backtracked to the stairwell

720
00:58:46.360 --> 00:58:50.000
and took the steps too at a time. The remaining

721
00:58:50.079 --> 00:58:54.079
guards would be looking for an escaped patient. They'd assume

722
00:58:54.280 --> 00:58:58.079
Chambers was safe if he stuck to the office, so

723
00:58:58.280 --> 00:59:02.440
Carter felt comfortable making some noise to get there quicker.

724
00:59:03.320 --> 00:59:06.320
He'd never been to the third floor, but he was

725
00:59:06.400 --> 00:59:09.239
sure it wasn't supposed to look the way it did.

726
00:59:10.320 --> 00:59:13.679
He froze on the final step and listened for a

727
00:59:13.719 --> 00:59:19.360
full minute before advancing. A dark puddle of blood was

728
00:59:19.480 --> 00:59:23.519
drying on the teak floor. There were handprints on the

729
00:59:23.599 --> 00:59:27.800
wall where someone had braced themselves as they limped away.

730
00:59:29.000 --> 00:59:32.480
It didn't look like they'd made it wherever they were going.

731
00:59:33.920 --> 00:59:37.960
Carter paused next to a partially opened door and bumped

732
00:59:37.960 --> 00:59:41.760
it open with his toe. One of the guards sat

733
00:59:42.000 --> 00:59:45.320
cross legged in the floor with feathers from a duster

734
00:59:45.800 --> 00:59:50.760
stapled to his balding head. Blood had been smeared on

735
00:59:50.800 --> 00:59:54.239
his face like war paint, and his torso had been

736
00:59:54.360 --> 00:59:58.320
hacked up. Two severed heads sat on the floor in

737
00:59:58.360 --> 01:00:03.280
front of him, where paper pilgrim hats like Nurse Horn

738
01:00:03.360 --> 01:00:06.639
had made with all the patients earlier in the week.

739
01:00:07.639 --> 01:00:11.760
Carter thought they were the other nightguards, but he remembered

740
01:00:11.800 --> 01:00:19.239
them being taller. Well, that's certainly festive, he whispered, before

741
01:00:19.280 --> 01:00:25.880
continuing on. The doctor's door was wide open. Carter looked

742
01:00:25.920 --> 01:00:30.159
around for a weapon. Aside from an antique desk and

743
01:00:30.239 --> 01:00:35.880
a potted ficus, the hull was barren. He cursed silently

744
01:00:36.360 --> 01:00:41.440
and stepped into the office. The sight left him sickened,

745
01:00:42.599 --> 01:00:48.079
but also strangely impressed by the creativity. A rib cage

746
01:00:48.199 --> 01:00:51.519
laid on one end of the desk with an arm

747
01:00:51.679 --> 01:00:56.559
shoved through the neck. Organs, fingers, and fruit from the

748
01:00:56.599 --> 01:01:02.840
cafeteria had been arranged carefully inside, while the intestines had

749
01:01:02.880 --> 01:01:08.719
been delicately spread around like garnish framing the serving platter

750
01:01:09.360 --> 01:01:14.559
that held Chamber's head. The psychiatrist was turned into a

751
01:01:14.639 --> 01:01:20.960
macabre parody of the thanksgiving cornucopia. Carter scanned the room

752
01:01:21.119 --> 01:01:27.599
for remaining body parts, but came up with nothing, saving

753
01:01:27.639 --> 01:01:31.760
them to make a Nativity for Christmas, he said, as

754
01:01:31.800 --> 01:01:36.280
he quickly rummaged through the drawers. He lifted a manila

755
01:01:36.480 --> 01:01:41.119
envelope and held it close to the lamp. Carter flipped

756
01:01:41.159 --> 01:01:46.239
through the dossier for someone named Marvin Waltz. He didn't

757
01:01:46.280 --> 01:01:51.159
recognize the name, but there was a mugshot dated nineteen

758
01:01:51.360 --> 01:01:58.360
fifty one. There was something familiar about the face. He

759
01:01:58.480 --> 01:02:03.480
was only seventeen, with big eyes, high cheek bones, and

760
01:02:03.559 --> 01:02:08.679
a narrow chin that made Carter think of wasps. His

761
01:02:08.840 --> 01:02:14.239
dark hair was worn in a high, stylish pompadour. Carter

762
01:02:14.440 --> 01:02:18.719
skimmed the pages for clues. Marvin had been arrested for

763
01:02:18.840 --> 01:02:24.159
kidnapping two brothers, ages nine and eleven. He'd kept them

764
01:02:24.199 --> 01:02:28.199
almost a week before bashing their heads in with a hammer.

765
01:02:29.400 --> 01:02:33.239
One of them hadn't survived the ordeal, but the other

766
01:02:33.840 --> 01:02:37.519
had been able to crawl for help. There was a

767
01:02:37.559 --> 01:02:41.480
picture of the boys. The older one had a splash

768
01:02:41.519 --> 01:02:46.360
of large freckles that covered most of his face and stringy,

769
01:02:46.480 --> 01:02:51.480
long hair almost to his shoulders. With her slight build,

770
01:02:51.960 --> 01:02:57.800
Anne Davis hadn't looked much different than the child. Carter

771
01:02:57.960 --> 01:03:02.440
stared at the mugshot again. The man would be around

772
01:03:03.039 --> 01:03:08.920
sixty now. But the eyes never really change, at least

773
01:03:09.480 --> 01:03:15.840
not what's inside them. That's what Carter recognized. He'd definitely

774
01:03:15.920 --> 01:03:20.840
seen the man before, but Marvin was incarcerated in a

775
01:03:20.880 --> 01:03:27.039
federal sanatorium several counties away. He closed the file and

776
01:03:27.159 --> 01:03:31.639
his eyes drifted over the handwritten name on the folder's tab.

777
01:03:32.639 --> 01:03:38.000
He reached over Chambers, disembodied spleen to retrieve a fountain pen,

778
01:03:38.639 --> 01:03:42.880
and proceeded to edit three of the letters, got you

779
01:03:43.079 --> 01:03:47.880
now you bastard. Carter bolted from the office. He was

780
01:03:48.000 --> 01:03:50.559
running out of time and he needed to make a

781
01:03:50.639 --> 01:04:00.320
stop before confronting his quarry. The wreck room lights were

782
01:04:00.360 --> 01:04:04.320
on by the time Carter arrived. He leaned on the

783
01:04:04.360 --> 01:04:07.920
wall to catch his breath. The run down the stairs

784
01:04:07.920 --> 01:04:11.199
and then all the way across the hospital had kicked

785
01:04:11.199 --> 01:04:14.960
his ass. He decided quitting smoking was going to be

786
01:04:15.119 --> 01:04:19.000
his New Year's resolution. He used the pit stop to

787
01:04:19.079 --> 01:04:23.960
take in the room's holiday makeover. The patients that could

788
01:04:23.960 --> 01:04:28.519
be trusted with scissors had been making construction paper turkeys

789
01:04:28.559 --> 01:04:32.960
all week that were then carefully glued together to make

790
01:04:33.039 --> 01:04:38.679
garland strands. Others had painted miniature pumpkins that now sat

791
01:04:38.840 --> 01:04:43.639
festively on the tables. It had been Nurse Horn's idea

792
01:04:43.760 --> 01:04:47.360
to keep everyone busy. She must have come in early

793
01:04:47.440 --> 01:04:51.920
and put the decorations out. Carter didn't know if Johnny

794
01:04:51.960 --> 01:04:56.239
and Shelley had helped or simply been caught fornicating in

795
01:04:56.320 --> 01:05:01.480
the office, but all three of them to the plastic

796
01:05:01.599 --> 01:05:06.480
chairs around the center most table with Melvin Watts and

797
01:05:06.559 --> 01:05:12.119
a stacked Jenga tower. No one liked Melvin, and Carter

798
01:05:12.320 --> 01:05:17.760
understood why. Aside from playing dirty Jenga, he looked like

799
01:05:17.800 --> 01:05:21.400
someone put a two pey on a skeleton, and if

800
01:05:21.480 --> 01:05:26.119
he ever blinked, then Carter hadn't seen it. That's why

801
01:05:26.159 --> 01:05:30.880
the eyes were so familiar to him. Canned cranberry sauce

802
01:05:30.920 --> 01:05:35.039
had been plopped out onto paper plates for the three

803
01:05:35.280 --> 01:05:40.559
reluctant guests. Carter joined them at the table, keeping the

804
01:05:40.599 --> 01:05:45.800
file folder in his lap as he sat down. Finals

805
01:05:45.800 --> 01:05:50.559
aren't until this afternoon, he said, figured we'd skip the

806
01:05:50.559 --> 01:05:55.320
epic showdown. Melvin told him, too bad, we don't have time.

807
01:05:56.239 --> 01:05:59.039
Carter nodded to the wall clock. Someone had put a

808
01:05:59.079 --> 01:06:03.559
paper pumpkin frame around staff. Shows up in twenty minutes.

809
01:06:04.719 --> 01:06:08.480
I can beat you in ten. Melvin sat a bent

810
01:06:08.760 --> 01:06:14.840
composition notebook on the table, Carter saw property of Anne

811
01:06:14.920 --> 01:06:20.840
Davis scrawled on the front in pink ink. He'd been

812
01:06:20.880 --> 01:06:25.239
given a similar one when he arrived. Chambers thought journaling

813
01:06:25.360 --> 01:06:30.000
might help the patients gather their thoughts for sessions. It

814
01:06:30.159 --> 01:06:34.119
wasn't enough that she'd been humiliated and murdered, but the

815
01:06:34.159 --> 01:06:36.719
son of a bitch had gone so far as to

816
01:06:36.800 --> 01:06:41.400
read her diary as well. Carter set the folder on

817
01:06:41.440 --> 01:06:46.280
the table, overlapping Anne's journal with the edited name, where

818
01:06:46.320 --> 01:06:51.519
the nurse could read it. I'll see your bet and raise, Marvin,

819
01:06:52.199 --> 01:06:57.760
Carter said. The Metropolitan doesn't take violent criminals, especially not

820
01:06:58.000 --> 01:07:02.079
child killers. Little pen pokes was all it took for

821
01:07:02.199 --> 01:07:06.440
you to trade places with the real Melvin Watts. I

822
01:07:06.440 --> 01:07:08.840
can't believe it took so long for someone to figure

823
01:07:08.880 --> 01:07:12.159
it out, the killer said. I gave it a week

824
01:07:12.320 --> 01:07:16.519
tops before they realized what happened. I actually planned on

825
01:07:16.599 --> 01:07:20.039
it even But no one cares about the mentally ill

826
01:07:20.800 --> 01:07:24.599
Melvin or Marvin. It doesn't matter, just another nut in

827
01:07:24.639 --> 01:07:28.320
the same shell. So they all went about their days

828
01:07:28.920 --> 01:07:32.239
thinking I was the half wit and not paying one

829
01:07:32.400 --> 01:07:36.920
damn bit of attention to me. Then you saw Anne

830
01:07:37.519 --> 01:07:41.039
Carter added, she looked like the boy that got away,

831
01:07:42.039 --> 01:07:46.760
at least enough for a degenerate dickhead like you. We

832
01:07:46.840 --> 01:07:51.280
should begin. Marvin picked an easy block and pulled it

833
01:07:51.320 --> 01:07:55.920
from the tower, tapping on his hatchet for luck before

834
01:07:55.960 --> 01:08:01.280
adding it to the top. By the way, playing for keepsies.

835
01:08:01.960 --> 01:08:04.960
They sent you to stop me, and that's not something

836
01:08:05.000 --> 01:08:11.280
one lets slide. Actually, they sent me for chambers. Carter

837
01:08:11.440 --> 01:08:15.400
pulled a block with little thought to the move. Speaking

838
01:08:15.440 --> 01:08:19.960
of which, the therapy obviously hasn't been working for you.

839
01:08:21.439 --> 01:08:25.600
I have my own sort of therapy. Marvin danced his

840
01:08:25.760 --> 01:08:29.359
fingers on the axe. I used to climb the wall

841
01:08:29.359 --> 01:08:33.159
where the oak tree stretched over. I'd take this hatchet

842
01:08:33.199 --> 01:08:37.640
with me. As far as alibis go, being committed to

843
01:08:37.720 --> 01:08:42.359
an asylum is tighter than a duck's asshole. Didn't know

844
01:08:42.479 --> 01:08:47.640
you were into veterinary proctology. Carter tapped a cigarette from

845
01:08:47.640 --> 01:08:54.000
his pack. It's your turn. Marvin studied the stack carefully,

846
01:08:54.119 --> 01:08:58.920
probing a precarious block. Carter made sure to direct the

847
01:08:59.000 --> 01:09:05.239
smoke at him. Marvin coughed slightly and pushed the block through,

848
01:09:06.000 --> 01:09:10.640
giving it a little twist to disrupt the adjacent pieces.

849
01:09:11.239 --> 01:09:16.880
Carter snickered at the dirty move. They cut down the branches.

850
01:09:16.920 --> 01:09:24.439
After Anne disappeared, he said, no more nights out for you, Marv. Ironically,

851
01:09:25.079 --> 01:09:29.000
I was the one tasked with removal. He leaned over

852
01:09:29.079 --> 01:09:32.399
and took a bite from Horn's plate of cranberry sauce,

853
01:09:33.119 --> 01:09:38.359
slurping it loudly from the plastic spoon. The real Melvin

854
01:09:38.680 --> 01:09:43.159
loved landscaping, so Chambers let me have the job here.

855
01:09:43.960 --> 01:09:47.640
I took down those branches with Anne's blood still on

856
01:09:47.720 --> 01:09:51.840
the blade. What did you do with her? Carter pulled

857
01:09:51.880 --> 01:09:55.159
from the bottom of the stack, and the tower wobbled

858
01:09:55.159 --> 01:09:58.960
from the fast jerk. He put it on top with

859
01:09:59.079 --> 01:10:03.880
the same non s salance. I buried some. The ground

860
01:10:04.000 --> 01:10:08.399
was frozen, and I got tired after three or four holes.

861
01:10:08.439 --> 01:10:13.000
Marvin lifted a small jewelry box from the floor. Then

862
01:10:13.039 --> 01:10:17.840
I remembered the incinerator and dumped the rest in it. Well,

863
01:10:18.680 --> 01:10:23.319
most of the rest I raise. Carter tossed the rest

864
01:10:23.319 --> 01:10:29.439
of the smokes onto the documents. I'm all in. Marvin

865
01:10:29.520 --> 01:10:34.720
opened the jewelry box. The box was hers too, and

866
01:10:34.840 --> 01:10:39.760
so were these. Marvin took a small satin pouch from

867
01:10:39.760 --> 01:10:44.680
the box and turned it upside down. Seven teeth slid

868
01:10:44.720 --> 01:10:49.319
down the Manila folder and on to the table, dried

869
01:10:49.439 --> 01:10:53.279
blood stained the broken roots where they'd been smashed from

870
01:10:53.279 --> 01:10:58.239
the young woman's mouth. Carter couldn't feel stress or fear,

871
01:10:59.039 --> 01:11:04.560
but anger was something else. He turned to Johnny and Shelley,

872
01:11:05.439 --> 01:11:09.520
then to Nurse Horn. You killed Jenny because you can't

873
01:11:09.520 --> 01:11:13.199
get out anymore, he said. The pressure got to be

874
01:11:13.319 --> 01:11:16.640
too much and you needed to let it off. But

875
01:11:16.760 --> 01:11:21.000
that means Chambers didn't have time to uncover your real identity.

876
01:11:22.039 --> 01:11:25.880
He already knew if only you put that much thought

877
01:11:25.960 --> 01:11:30.119
into your moves, you might actually win a game. Marvin

878
01:11:30.159 --> 01:11:34.640
took another piece from the tower. Chambers built the first

879
01:11:34.720 --> 01:11:39.359
tent himself. He's been taking his little pictures for years.

880
01:11:40.159 --> 01:11:44.039
He liked taking pictures. Sometimes he came with me when

881
01:11:44.079 --> 01:11:46.800
I went out at night so he could take more.

882
01:11:48.039 --> 01:11:53.079
And now you're cleaning house, Carter added, that's why these

883
01:11:53.159 --> 01:11:56.359
three aren't dead. If they weren't here, i'd come over

884
01:11:56.399 --> 01:12:00.479
the table and split your fucking wishbone. But you can

885
01:12:00.520 --> 01:12:03.720
get to Johnny before I can get to you. You

886
01:12:03.840 --> 01:12:07.640
need to kill me in self defense. Photos of your

887
01:12:07.760 --> 01:12:11.640
victims will be found with Chambers belongings, and everyone will

888
01:12:11.680 --> 01:12:15.000
think I took my job too far and killed everyone

889
01:12:15.039 --> 01:12:19.119
else to cover it up. The Senator shuts this dump down,

890
01:12:19.159 --> 01:12:22.760
and you moved to a new lax facility that you

891
01:12:22.840 --> 01:12:26.960
can escape from easily. At least that's how I would

892
01:12:27.000 --> 01:12:32.520
do it. Something along those lines. Marvin stirred the teeth

893
01:12:32.600 --> 01:12:36.000
with the wooden game piece and tapped one closer to

894
01:12:36.079 --> 01:12:51.039
Carter before placing it. The tower wobbled slightly. It's your move, now, yeah,

895
01:12:51.399 --> 01:12:55.720
I suppose it is. Carter snuffed his cigarette in a

896
01:12:55.760 --> 01:13:01.640
slice of cranberry and sputtered his lips. I always preferred scrabble.

897
01:13:02.439 --> 01:13:05.760
My old man loved that game. The week before I

898
01:13:05.840 --> 01:13:10.720
went to Nam. The first time we played, he died

899
01:13:10.800 --> 01:13:14.560
before I got back, So maybe that's why I always

900
01:13:14.600 --> 01:13:20.399
remember it. You're stalling, not at all. The story is

901
01:13:20.600 --> 01:13:26.520
just apropose. Carter leaned back in his chair. The tile

902
01:13:26.600 --> 01:13:30.319
bag was not being friendly to him. He kept getting

903
01:13:30.399 --> 01:13:34.479
vowels and crappy letters like J and X. He was

904
01:13:34.520 --> 01:13:37.800
desperately trying to put anything on the board. But I

905
01:13:37.880 --> 01:13:40.479
was up more than forty points and had two tiles

906
01:13:40.560 --> 01:13:46.079
left easy pickings. He had five tiles left, including that

907
01:13:46.199 --> 01:13:50.279
goddamn X and then he plays right off. My last move,

908
01:13:50.840 --> 01:13:54.359
uses every one of them and finishes on a triple

909
01:13:54.399 --> 01:14:00.520
word score eighty one points. Just like that, the word

910
01:14:00.720 --> 01:14:06.840
was asphyxia. The lampchord cinched into Marvin's flesh before he

911
01:14:06.880 --> 01:14:10.720
could comprehend what was happening. Not only were the slippers

912
01:14:10.800 --> 01:14:15.319
damn comfortable, but they were quiet too. Richie jerked hard,

913
01:14:15.600 --> 01:14:19.560
flipping Marvin's chair over and dragged the man across the floor.

914
01:14:20.439 --> 01:14:25.920
Carter calmly took a piece from the tower and stacked it. Hey, Marv,

915
01:14:26.600 --> 01:14:30.479
it's your turn. He turned to the nurse. I guess

916
01:14:30.520 --> 01:14:34.359
he's busy. Do you want to play for him? Nurse

917
01:14:34.399 --> 01:14:38.960
horn mumble screamed through her gag. Marvin couldn't be sure,

918
01:14:39.079 --> 01:14:42.560
but it sounded a lot like get me the fuck

919
01:14:42.600 --> 01:14:47.479
out of here. Marvin's legs were flailing wildly while Richie

920
01:14:47.560 --> 01:14:52.439
avenged Big Jenny. Aside from axe murdering his family that

921
01:14:52.560 --> 01:14:58.279
one time, Richie wasn't a killer. His form was all wrong,

922
01:14:58.920 --> 01:15:02.840
and he left himself too little slack in the improvised garrot.

923
01:15:03.600 --> 01:15:07.319
It created more tension, but required a lot more energy

924
01:15:07.399 --> 01:15:11.319
to keep it on. Carter saw what was coming. He

925
01:15:11.399 --> 01:15:15.560
grabbed the hatchet and cut Johnny loose. Get them out

926
01:15:15.600 --> 01:15:20.359
of here, he snapped, before charging at Marvin. It was

927
01:15:20.439 --> 01:15:24.239
too late. Richie's arms were tiring and he was wheezing

928
01:15:24.319 --> 01:15:30.439
with exertion. Marvin twisted around, kicking the compulsive masturbator's square

929
01:15:30.479 --> 01:15:34.079
in his horn o plenty. He used the cord to

930
01:15:34.119 --> 01:15:37.520
pull Richie into Carter's path sending all three of them

931
01:15:37.600 --> 01:15:43.199
toppling to the floor. The hatchet spun across the linoleum.

932
01:15:43.640 --> 01:15:47.279
Marvin went for it. Carter caught the cord still looped

933
01:15:47.319 --> 01:15:51.239
around his throat, and pulled him back. Sorry to be

934
01:15:51.279 --> 01:15:54.640
a pain in the neck, he said, trying to regain

935
01:15:54.720 --> 01:16:00.560
his footing. But we're still playing here and it's my turn,

936
01:16:01.000 --> 01:16:06.000
Marvin growled, launching himself from the floor. They crashed through

937
01:16:06.039 --> 01:16:10.720
the table game pieces and tiny pumpkins scattered across the floor.

938
01:16:11.359 --> 01:16:16.039
Marvin's fingers clawed at Carter's face, tearing trenches through the skin.

939
01:16:17.119 --> 01:16:20.960
Carter took a wild swing that narrowly missed, and Marvin

940
01:16:21.039 --> 01:16:26.399
returned fire with primal clubbing blows from both hands. Richie

941
01:16:26.479 --> 01:16:28.960
grabbed the killer's shirt and tried to pull him off.

942
01:16:29.960 --> 01:16:37.079
Marvin twisted and bit Richie's hand. Hey Gord Knight, asshole.

943
01:16:37.880 --> 01:16:41.760
Carter swung one of the tiny pumpkins up, driving the

944
01:16:41.840 --> 01:16:48.680
stem into Marvin's eye. The killer rolled away howling. Carter

945
01:16:48.840 --> 01:16:52.159
didn't waste time. He clamored to his feet and kicked

946
01:16:52.159 --> 01:16:55.960
Marvin in the ribs until he heard bones break, then

947
01:16:56.119 --> 01:16:59.680
gave him two more for good measure. The others were

948
01:16:59.680 --> 01:17:04.079
gathered around Ritchie. Carter went to the wrecked table and

949
01:17:04.199 --> 01:17:08.840
collected Anne's teeth into the jewelry box and shook Cranberry

950
01:17:09.159 --> 01:17:14.399
from her diary. He kicked blocks at Marvin. It really

951
01:17:14.560 --> 01:17:18.960
was your turn, Marv, I win. He went to Horn

952
01:17:19.039 --> 01:17:23.720
and handed her Anne's belongings. He started to speak when

953
01:17:23.720 --> 01:17:28.279
he heard the killer snarling. Marvin had managed back to

954
01:17:28.359 --> 01:17:32.199
his feet by the time Carter turned around. He ripped

955
01:17:32.199 --> 01:17:36.439
the pumpkin free with a hot crimson spurt that turned

956
01:17:36.439 --> 01:17:41.319
into a trickle down his sunken cheek. Marvin's fingers curled

957
01:17:41.319 --> 01:17:46.000
into claws as he charged forward. Carter widened his stance

958
01:17:46.039 --> 01:17:49.880
and twisted his toes into the floor. His hand drew

959
01:17:49.960 --> 01:17:53.319
back to deliver a killing blow to the man's throat.

960
01:17:54.239 --> 01:17:59.560
Marvin screamed, animalistically as he drew nearer. When his foot

961
01:17:59.640 --> 01:18:03.439
slipped on one of the spilled plates, He crashed to

962
01:18:03.479 --> 01:18:07.800
the floor and sat up with a shriek. The hatchet

963
01:18:07.880 --> 01:18:12.960
came down, splitting his skull all the way to his nose.

964
01:18:14.359 --> 01:18:19.000
The killer dropped back, pulling the weapon from Johnny's shaking hand.

965
01:18:20.359 --> 01:18:25.039
Marvin's tongue twitched and danced beneath the blade, lapping up

966
01:18:25.039 --> 01:18:31.920
his own dripping brain matter. Well, shit, Carter relaxed. I

967
01:18:31.960 --> 01:18:34.239
didn't get to kill either of the bastards. I came

968
01:18:34.239 --> 01:18:41.479
here for what now, Johnny asked. Now we call the police. Johnny,

969
01:18:41.520 --> 01:18:45.359
that's what we do now, Horn shouted, before melting to

970
01:18:45.439 --> 01:18:49.319
the floor. And while we wait, we can all say

971
01:18:49.359 --> 01:18:53.600
what we're thankful for. Carter added, it is the day

972
01:18:53.640 --> 01:18:59.760
for that, after all. I'm thankful for garden tools, Johnny said,

973
01:19:00.359 --> 01:19:04.960
ripping the axe from Marvin's face. I'd be thankful for

974
01:19:05.039 --> 01:19:09.439
an ice pack for my nuts. Richie whined, I got

975
01:19:09.479 --> 01:19:12.680
something else you can put on them, Shelley said, with

976
01:19:12.760 --> 01:19:18.439
a wink that lingered on a full blown nap well. Unfortunately,

977
01:19:18.680 --> 01:19:23.520
the fuck tent was destroyed when I threw. When Grant

978
01:19:23.680 --> 01:19:29.359
jumped to his death, Carter corrected himself and me, I'm

979
01:19:29.399 --> 01:19:32.920
thankful the cranberry sauce was ruined. I hate that stuff.

980
01:19:34.199 --> 01:19:38.359
What the fuck happened here? Ed screamed from the hallway.

981
01:19:38.720 --> 01:19:44.119
With two dozen patients behind him. The survivor's all exchanged

982
01:19:44.199 --> 01:19:49.039
glances before silently agreeing on who to saddle with the

983
01:19:49.079 --> 01:19:53.600
responsibility of an explanation and turning their eyes to Carter.

984
01:19:54.880 --> 01:19:59.920
He sighed and tossed his hands into the air. Happy thing,

985
01:20:00.039 --> 01:20:10.880
Thanksgiving and that is our holiday helping for tonight. I

986
01:20:10.920 --> 01:20:15.439
hope you have enough for leftovers now, my spookies, I

987
01:20:15.479 --> 01:20:19.640
hope your turkey is tender, your pie is plentiful, and

988
01:20:19.680 --> 01:20:23.920
your house free of mysterious footprints in the snow. And

989
01:20:24.000 --> 01:20:29.000
if you're traveling, keep the radio low and the doors locked.

990
01:20:29.720 --> 01:20:34.039
If you're hosting, maybe count the place settings twice, you know,

991
01:20:35.039 --> 01:20:39.399
just in case. And now for dessert. This Black Friday,

992
01:20:39.720 --> 01:20:43.479
on cutting deep into horror, we're carving into the Texas

993
01:20:43.880 --> 01:20:49.600
Chainsaw Massacre from nineteen seventy four, the Quintessential Past, the

994
01:20:49.720 --> 01:20:53.800
carving Knife cautionary tale. We'll talk the grit gristle and

995
01:20:53.960 --> 01:20:58.439
why it's the perfect Thanksgiving time watch, especially after your

996
01:20:58.520 --> 01:21:02.319
third plate of stuffing, because it's all about family and

997
01:21:02.439 --> 01:21:06.920
food in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That's this Friday, so make

998
01:21:06.960 --> 01:21:11.119
sure you're subscribed. Saturday, we're releasing our first ten story

999
01:21:11.239 --> 01:21:14.720
Christmas horror compilation for you to enjoy. And on Monday,

1000
01:21:14.800 --> 01:21:17.760
we head to the Victorian era to unveil some of

1001
01:21:17.800 --> 01:21:23.119
the most terrifying, deadly elements of a Victorian Christmas. And

1002
01:21:23.159 --> 01:21:24.479
I want to say a huge thank you to our

1003
01:21:24.520 --> 01:21:27.359
Patreon podcast boosters, folks who pay just a little bit

1004
01:21:27.399 --> 01:21:29.560
more to hear their names at the end of the show.

1005
01:21:29.640 --> 01:21:33.359
And they are Johnny Nicks, Kate and Lulu, Jessica Fuller,

1006
01:21:33.399 --> 01:21:37.399
Mike Aescuwey, Jenny Green, Amberhnsford, Karen we Met, Jack Kerr,

1007
01:21:37.439 --> 01:21:39.439
and Craig Cohen. If you want to hear your name

1008
01:21:39.439 --> 01:21:43.199
on the show, head Toweeklyspooky dot com slash join for

1009
01:21:43.239 --> 01:21:45.520
as little as one dollar a month, you get two

1010
01:21:45.560 --> 01:21:49.439
bonus shows every single month, five years of creepypasta readings

1011
01:21:49.479 --> 01:21:52.760
and audiobooks, and if you contribute fifteen dollars a month

1012
01:21:52.800 --> 01:21:54.760
or higher, you'll hear your name at the end of

1013
01:21:54.760 --> 01:21:58.079
the show, just like those folks. I read very quickly

1014
01:21:58.159 --> 01:22:00.000
because I've got so much to do before I put

1015
01:22:00.119 --> 01:22:02.279
the bird in the oven. So for myself, for my

1016
01:22:02.319 --> 01:22:06.359
executive producers Rob Fields and Babbletopia dot Com, my creepy

1017
01:22:06.359 --> 01:22:10.199
composer Ray Maddis, and of course my producer Dan Wilder.

1018
01:22:10.520 --> 01:22:14.239
I'll be talking at you well very soon after this

1019
01:22:14.439 --> 01:22:16.479
Turkey coma thank.

1020
01:22:16.319 --> 01:22:20.039
You for listening. Make sure to find your way back

1021
01:22:20.079 --> 01:22:27.000
next week week. But for now you are safe, trust me,