Don't Mind | Cruxmont | Ep. 4

Speaker 1 Welcome back to Don't Mind Cruxmont. I'm K.A.
Stats, the writer and creator.

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Speaker 1 And enjoy this episode.

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Speaker 8 I've got a homicide in Springfield's North Woods by mile marker 16.

Speaker 9 You are now entering Springfield.

Speaker 3 Where's the body?

Speaker 8 Off the side of the ditch down there.

Speaker 10 You know, surrounded by all this crime scene tape.

Speaker 12 Hello?

Speaker 10 Am I dead?

Speaker 13 My name is John.

Speaker 14 I'm the new forensic pathologist.

Speaker 12 I can see you, and that's how we'll figure out how you were murdered.

Speaker 10 That means ghosts are real.

Speaker 15 Since then, I've noted multiple additional missing case files and even missing bodies.

Speaker 10 Let's say I believe you came across some record-keeping discrepancies in a string of deaths. You're not an investigator, Jonathan.
Stop trying to be one.

Speaker 16 After everything I've discovered, I just need to know why.

Speaker 18 What happened in Springfield?

Speaker 13 Going somewhere, Dr.

Speaker 19 Spacer.

Speaker 14 Listen to How I Died, a full cast police and medical procedural podcast with over 40 episodes already available.

Speaker 15 Then tune into season four of How I Died, releasing now on all podcast apps.

Speaker 1 Previously, on Don't Mind Crooksmont, after attempting to console the fretful teenager Millie, Dr. Kingston retired for the evening.

Speaker 1 The next morning while checking back in on the hospital, she received a warning from Adelaide to leave Cruxmont and not return.

Speaker 1 Gwen and Neil discussed their goals and misgivings about the village over breakfast and avoided the town constable by heading over to the local church.

Speaker 1 Along the way, they trespassed on the grounds of the Allhill Orchard and were confronted by Roger Allhill.

Speaker 1 Roger accompanied them to the church where they overheard a discomforting conversation and Gwen discovered a peculiar problem with the local graves. None of them were dated.

Speaker 1 Don't mind Craxmont.

Speaker 1 Maybe I'm interested.

Speaker 21 I'll be putting for the store, too, of course.

Speaker 22 They're always on it.

Speaker 23 Maybe a few batches really.

Speaker 24 I think it needs touching up as all a bit of sand in and a fresh layer of paint.

Speaker 24 Varnish too, of course.

Speaker 25 Wonder not to the next festival.

Speaker 27 I agree. I do.
It's just a matter of the work.

Speaker 11 We're busy enough as it is in the rules.

Speaker 27 No, but we're about sort out of the jams. Lot more local travellers stop in for jams and fizz and a picture of the orchards.
Since local travel's easier given everything, good business.

Speaker 21 Oh, good to see you, dear. Missed you in there today.

Speaker 16 Love the new hat, Mrs.

Speaker 4 World.

Speaker 21 Thank you.

Speaker 4 I finished the final touches on Friday.

Speaker 29 Now, I need to talk to you about those cars. See, those headlights come right through my window ever since the hedge rolls with it, and they come round that bend that fast, I swear.

Speaker 32 Don't worry, dear, this won't take too much of your time, and it's a matter of safety.

Speaker 4 Those cars passing through, well, they don't know how sharp that bend is.

Speaker 22 I'm without the headlights.

Speaker 26 Hurry up if you plan to ask about Colin.

Speaker 4 They won't wait around for you.

Speaker 35 Pass out your flyers.

Speaker 12 Now?

Speaker 2 Yeah, okay.

Speaker 2 Uh, hi.

Speaker 13 Please, take a flyer.

Speaker 6 Hi.

Speaker 13 My brother Colin is missing. Please take a flyer.

Speaker 26 Hi.

Speaker 13 Have you seen this man?

Speaker 27 Your brother, is it?

Speaker 26 Where are you from?

Speaker 27 You sound American.

Speaker 13 I am.

Speaker 13 And so is Colin.

Speaker 13 He was last spotted here in Cruxmont.

Speaker 26 Really?

Speaker 27 Well, we can certainly keep an eye out for him.

Speaker 11 Not a big place.

Speaker 27 Hard to lose someone here.

Speaker 13 Thanks.

Speaker 26 Oh, hi.

Speaker 13 Please take a flyer. Okay.
Yes, hello.

Speaker 13 Have you seen this man?

Speaker 24 What's all this then?

Speaker 13 My brother Colin is missing. Uh, this is his picture.
Please. Take the flyer.
Have you seen Colin anywhere? He was last spotted here in Cruxman about a week ago.

Speaker 22 An American?

Speaker 24 You know, we have a few Americans at the festival every year.

Speaker 37 Didn't come for the festival.

Speaker 24 I mean, he may not be in the village yet, so it's not

Speaker 24 until the weekend.

Speaker 13 Yes, I I know.

Speaker 13 But he wasn't coming for the festival. He was on a lone hiking tour kind of thing.
I haven't heard from him for over a week.

Speaker 3 A week?

Speaker 3 No,

Speaker 22 I'm sorry I haven't seen him.

Speaker 24 Good to have a brother like you though.

Speaker 21 So

Speaker 24 worried about him.

Speaker 13 Please, keep the flyer. There's contact information if you see him.

Speaker 13 Hi, have you seen this man?

Speaker 13 Hi, uh, please take a flyer. Okay.

Speaker 13 Hi, have you seen this man?

Speaker 38 Let me see.

Speaker 2 Maybe.

Speaker 27 There was an American man, around your age. Looked a bit like you, a bit different from this.

Speaker 13 Really?

Speaker 13 That's Colin.

Speaker 13 My brother. I'm looking for him and haven't heard from him in a week.

Speaker 27 Yeah, it was about a week ago. He popped into the shop and picked up some food.
He helped me pick up some fallen produce.

Speaker 13 Did he tell you anything about where he was going? How did he seem?

Speaker 27 What was he wearing? Slow down, slow down. He didn't speak to me much.

Speaker 4 Just a few pleasantries.

Speaker 27 I don't remember what, exactly.

Speaker 2 Yeah, uh, of course.

Speaker 13 Sorry.

Speaker 13 Thanks.

Speaker 13 Keep the flyer.

Speaker 13 If you remember anything else, you can contact me with that email address.

Speaker 27 I'll be working the entry gate of the festival. I'll keep an eye out for your brother.
But it seemed like he was on his way out of here. Not much to do in Crooksbond.

Speaker 13 Not unless you're here. Here for the festival.

Speaker 11 Exactly.

Speaker 26 Sorry, lad.

Speaker 11 We'll keep an eye out.

Speaker 13 Oh, thanks.

Speaker 26 We will.

Speaker 26 We will.

Speaker 12 Yes.

Speaker 13 Uh, wait, uh, do you run the shop with the honesty box for payment?

Speaker 26 Yes.

Speaker 13 Can you wait a second? Uh, someone wants to talk to you.

Speaker 27 All right, but only a moment.

Speaker 13 Shouldn't be long.

Speaker 13 Gwen!

Speaker 13 Gwen!

Speaker 13 Yes? This man runs the local shop.

Speaker 26 Ah! Hi.

Speaker 23 Um, I was wondering if you saw anyone in the last few days come in and purchase any jam.

Speaker 25 Specifically, the fresh plum preserves, uh, bottled juice, and some home-dried prune snacks, all bought at the same time.

Speaker 27 You mean things people buy every single day around here? Food like that gets bought together all the time. And the last few days, I've been preparing for the festival.

Speaker 27 Anyone could have gone in and picked up anything, so as long as they put a few quid in the basket, I don't mind too much.

Speaker 37 Yeah,

Speaker 37 that's what I was afraid of.

Speaker 23 Thank you for your time.

Speaker 27 If you haven't got any more questions, I'm gonna go now. Lots to get done before the festival.

Speaker 15 Good day, Miles.

Speaker 27 Thank you, Roger.

Speaker 11 Goodbye.

Speaker 27 Good luck.

Speaker 11 Sorry, you couldn't get any helpful information, lad.

Speaker 13 Well, I have a lot more places to look.

Speaker 13 Thank you for your help today, Roger.

Speaker 13 We certainly don't want to take up any more of your time, and I know you're busy with the festival coming up.

Speaker 26 Yes,

Speaker 11 I do have a lot to prepare for.

Speaker 19 Good day.

Speaker 38 Goodbye.

Speaker 13 Where are you going?

Speaker 31 Um, I want to check a few more things.

Speaker 23 Uh, I won't be too long, then I think I'll go back to the Fox and Bloom for a bit.

Speaker 13 Yeah, uh, I'll join you.

Speaker 13 I need a minute, so

Speaker 13 just come get me when you're done.

Speaker 26 Mildred Allhill.

Speaker 13 Mary Margaret Muss,

Speaker 31 Gwendolyn Acker.

Speaker 11 Can I help you find someone in particular?

Speaker 39 Father, sorry, you made me jump.

Speaker 11 Not Father Reverend John, but John is fine. Sorry to have startled you, but can I help you find someone in particular to dear? The chapel grounds may not be large, but they do sprawl somewhat.

Speaker 39 Someone? Oh, oh, the Grace, Grace.

Speaker 28 Um, no, thank you. I.

Speaker 35 I don't mean to be disrespectful, but um,

Speaker 33 some of the headstones here are

Speaker 4 they're strangely beautiful.

Speaker 39 Here, these ones.

Speaker 40 This design is so unique, I don't think I've seen anything like it before.

Speaker 11 The plums, yes. We have many graves with this motif, and they are rather beautiful.
We have a local stone carver, too, actually, Henry Moss and his daughter Dahlia, greatly talented.

Speaker 11 Their family has designed and carved every gravestone you see, going back to the late 17th century.

Speaker 26 Here,

Speaker 11 clusters of plum flowers such as these denote wives and daughters of orchard workers.

Speaker 11 Have you been in town long? I didn't see you at the service.

Speaker 30 No, no, no, not long.

Speaker 28 I didn't reach the church until the bell was about to ring.

Speaker 37 The hymn sounded wonderful, though, even from out here.

Speaker 38 So, what about this one?

Speaker 17 It's stunning.

Speaker 11 Yes, these are some of our most detailed and delicate. A fully depicted plum tree is reserved for members of the Allhill family.
And here, heavy-laden boughs from the trees denote workers' farmhands.

Speaker 30 Okay, wow, so some of these are very new.

Speaker 28 At least it appears so.

Speaker 33 Perhaps the last few years or so?

Speaker 11 Yes, the tradition holds to this day.

Speaker 11 We lost Elder Allhill just last October, and his storm is erected around Christmas.

Speaker 11 And here, another example. The plums alone, all bunched together, represents local artisans.
Those who make goods from the Allhill bounty.

Speaker 39 This stone with the boughs.

Speaker 32 Michael Turner?

Speaker 11 He was a farmhand.

Speaker 39 What year was this?

Speaker 11 Well, let's see. Michael Turner.
I think he passed away in the 1850s. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to lock up.
The festival is coming and there's a lot to do.

Speaker 37 Of course.

Speaker 33 You have a beautiful church, John.

Speaker 23 Thank you for the little tour.

Speaker 23 How do you feel about this place? The people?

Speaker 37 I understand small villages have their own history, but I've never heard of anything like this.

Speaker 28 Little eccentricities like this, they tend to get noticed, admired.

Speaker 37 Even the church would attract some quaint tourism.

Speaker 28 They seem to avoid it though, very much intentionally, and it's certainly not easy to get answers from anyone.

Speaker 31 I'm worried being too straightforward might just make me sound like a loon.

Speaker 37 Hello, can you tell me if your jams cure Alzheimer's?

Speaker 30 But these people, they don't want us here, and neither does Adel

Speaker 30 my patient. She kept telling me to leave.

Speaker 13 Just ask your questions then.

Speaker 13 Why does it matter what they think of you? This morning you were so enthused about this possible miracle, but you won't even ask someone if they know your patient.

Speaker 11 I get it.

Speaker 13 Doctor patient confidentiality.

Speaker 13 But you're not gonna get any answers by trying to polite your way through the issue. Shit, didn't you say you had names? Just tell people.

Speaker 13 If what you said is true, it's a miracle, right? So ask people. Ask the priest, or the farmer.
Maybe they help if you just ask.

Speaker 40 Neil. Neil.

Speaker 13 But no one here knows anything about him. Colin is out there somewhere, and I

Speaker 13 can't find him.

Speaker 11 He could be in a ditch or or under a bridge.

Speaker 13 I don't know.

Speaker 26 I don't know.

Speaker 13 That's the problem. I don't know.
And you,

Speaker 13 if you have more information, just tell people. You're making it harder on yourself.

Speaker 13 I have to keep looking.

Speaker 11 Thanks again for the ride, but...

Speaker 13 I can't help your search for something you don't even talk about.

Speaker 13 I need to find Colin.

Speaker 25 I'm sorry you haven't found Colin yet, but

Speaker 5 I forgot.

Speaker 37 And I apologize. I shouldn't assume you're focused on what I'm here for, not at all.

Speaker 31 You have your own valid concerns.

Speaker 33 Finding Colin is your priority.

Speaker 39 Is there any way I can help you? You can tell me the whole story.

Speaker 25 I'll listen.

Speaker 13 No,

Speaker 26 maybe.

Speaker 13 I'm sorry.

Speaker 13 I overreacted.

Speaker 13 I was just

Speaker 13 thinking about it all when you came back.

Speaker 13 Thanks. You're not obligated to help, really.

Speaker 13 I could use that drink.

Speaker 34 It's not even noon.

Speaker 13 That drink being a coffee?

Speaker 26 Ah.

Speaker 26 Help!

Speaker 13 That was loud.

Speaker 13 Who closes a church in the middle of the day?

Speaker 11 Sorry if I startled you. These doors make a real racket.
Still worth it for the beauty in them. A fine adornment for a house of God.

Speaker 25 Anil, this is Reverend John.

Speaker 13 Reverend?

Speaker 11 John is fine. Do you have a question for me as well?

Speaker 12 Oh, sure.

Speaker 13 Well, churches back in the U.S.,

Speaker 13 at least in my hometown, they almost never close.

Speaker 13 Granted, our churches suffer a lot of damage.

Speaker 13 Graffiti, burned Bibles, kids bunking up in the pews after a bender.

Speaker 11 You are correct. In Croxmont, we almost never close our doors, and we have very little in the way of vandalism.
But we do close them around the annual Plum Festival.

Speaker 11 The preparations have begun, as I'm sure you're aware. Our church has been meticulously and lovingly maintained over the centuries.
It's a gem in our little village.

Speaker 11 But during the Plum Festival, we see the highest recorded number of crimes and local disturbances. Tourists coming in, not respecting our treasures, perhaps a little deep in a bottle of plum liquor.

Speaker 11 A closed door is an effective deterrent for a drunken, easily distracted mind. So we close during the festival, which is also why we hold extra services beforehand.
No worries, though.

Speaker 11 I still deliver a sermon on Sunday morning from the festival stage for those interested in worship beneath the boughs of God's bounty. Now, excuse me, I've got an appointment to keep.

Speaker 13 Goodbye, Father.

Speaker 13 Father, Father John.

Speaker 34 Reverend.

Speaker 13 Reverend John

Speaker 13 John.

Speaker 11 Goodbye.

Speaker 32 Father John?

Speaker 13 Just put him in Robin Hood's band of merry men.

Speaker 25 That little John.

Speaker 13 Great.

Speaker 13 That's great.

Speaker 13 So, coffee?

Speaker 39 Yes, that's perfect.

Speaker 32 Here for food, dears?

Speaker 29 Uh, yes, and coffee, thank you.

Speaker 17 Not a problem.

Speaker 18 Take a seat.

Speaker 37 I'll be out to you in a jiffy.

Speaker 12 Corner?

Speaker 38 I'll meet you there.

Speaker 31 I'm just gonna pop upstairs for a few minutes.

Speaker 12 All right.

Speaker 13 Does the Wi-Fi work in here?

Speaker 35 As well as anywhere else in here, dear.

Speaker 13 Thanks.

Speaker 13 We have the corner table. I'm just gonna make a call.

Speaker 13 Hey Colin, it's uh it's Neil leaving another message

Speaker 13 if I found you and you haven't heard this one yet just like the others you can delete it

Speaker 13 Otherwise here's what's happening. Still looking for you, so I made it over to Cruxmont.

Speaker 13 I went to that uh other town first, uh the one with the castle, and walked from there.

Speaker 13 I think you would have done that too, so I looked for anything of yours on the road, but

Speaker 13 didn't,

Speaker 13 you know.

Speaker 13 Anyway,

Speaker 2 I

Speaker 13 nearly got hit by a car, and this British doctor gave me a ride into town.

Speaker 13 If you do get this message before I find you, I'm at the Fox in Bloom. I have a room here for tonight.

Speaker 13 Then I'll have to find somewhere else in town. Oh, also, I have your jacket.
Some teenager found it after he saw you on one of the hills.

Speaker 13 I'm getting closer to finding you.

Speaker 13 Oh, I took your advice.

Speaker 13 I already put it in the last message, so whatever.

Speaker 2 But yeah.

Speaker 13 At least you're around here somewhere.

Speaker 13 It's gorgeous here.

Speaker 13 You know, I haven't seen an advertisement for McDonald's or a shell station or a strip mall since I got here. Please check your messages.

Speaker 2 Or email me.

Speaker 13 Or set off a flare. I don't care.

Speaker 13 Just hope you're okay.

Speaker 18 I'll find you, Colin.

Speaker 6 I'm sorry.

Speaker 13 I'll get you home.

Speaker 13 Love you.

Speaker 13 Bye.

Speaker 13 Don't be gone.

Speaker 25 Sorry about that.

Speaker 13 Not a problem. a problem.

Speaker 13 So, what's your next move?

Speaker 4 I think I'll talk to Mary.

Speaker 2 Her?

Speaker 18 I think she might be related to my patient.

Speaker 6 Oh,

Speaker 12 well, see.

Speaker 13 That's something.

Speaker 12 Mary,

Speaker 34 do you happen to know.

Speaker 23 Do you have any sisters or cousins?

Speaker 4 Yes, of course.

Speaker 4 I have a sister and six cousins.

Speaker 30 Now, here's your coffee.

Speaker 17 Careful, very hot.

Speaker 4 Sugar and cream. Can I get you anything else?

Speaker 13 Can I see the lunch menu?

Speaker 4 Of course, dear.

Speaker 28 When we were out walking to the church, we met Roger Allhill.

Speaker 37 Oh?

Speaker 28 Yeah, I saw something under one of the trees in the orchard.

Speaker 33 He said it was a small statue of a fox.

Speaker 4 Oh, you mean a figurine of the fox?

Speaker 4 Oh, yes. Those have been going out in the orchard over the last few days.
Dear little things, aren't they? Oh, here's a menu, dear.

Speaker 13 Thanks.

Speaker 37 So, what are these figurines?

Speaker 33 He said something about the children taking them home.

Speaker 5 Yes.

Speaker 4 You see, there's a fox that lives in that orchard, bigger than all the other foxes around and about, and it keeps our trees clear of rodents.

Speaker 2 Really? How big?

Speaker 4 No, dear, I'm teasing. We just have normal foxes, but the legend says otherwise.

Speaker 25 And what's that, then?

Speaker 4 The legend.

Speaker 4 Generations ago, when the locals were chasing foxes away from their lambs and lambs, the desperate foxes rushed into the orchards, burrowing into rodent dens to escape the pursuing shepherds.

Speaker 4 As they burrowed deeper, the rats fled, and the trees of the orchard grew stronger. You see, the rodents had been chewing away at the roots, waiting for the plums to ripen.

Speaker 4 The foxes found safety in our orchards, and one night, an ancestor of the All Hills went out amongst the trees.

Speaker 4 Now, this was when the orchard was smaller, only a few of the hills we have today, and saw a larger fox so large that when it stood up on its hind legs, it could eat plums from the boughs.

Speaker 4 Well, that all hill said the great fox gave his orchards health and protected his bounty.

Speaker 37 When he told the villagers, they came looking for the fox, hoping it would give them health and protection as well.

Speaker 4 But this hurt the orchard. And over the years, this allhill ancestor told people only to come looking when the boughs were so heavy with fruit that the great fox could eat from them.

Speaker 37 That's the origin of our festival too.

Speaker 4 And if you go searching or trampling around the orchard at night, the great fox may hunt you, thinking you're a rat hurting the precious trees.

Speaker 4 So now, when local children go to the festival, they look for little hidden fox figurines the older ones have made at school. Finding one is lucky.

Speaker 4 They act like a little charm until the next festival comes round. The children get their faces painted with little fox noses and whiskers.
Then go on a hunt for the figurines.

Speaker 5 All good fun.

Speaker 13 That's cute. Must be nice to have nice local legends like that around here.

Speaker 13 Back home, we just have this legend about a scary guy who lives under a bridge and tries to pull you under if you walk over it at night.

Speaker 4 Sounds very American.

Speaker 23 Can I get you anything to eat then?

Speaker 13 The vegetable pie sounds great, thanks.

Speaker 33 Did you and your sister search for the figurines as children?

Speaker 37 Your cousins?

Speaker 39 Well, yes, all the children did.

Speaker 4 Some of my older cousins carved the figurines I found over the years, and I made some for my younger cousins.

Speaker 13 That's cute. I never really knew my cousins.
But I guess in a small village like this, family is so close and means a lot. It's nice.

Speaker 26 What were the names?

Speaker 37 Well, my sister is Anne.

Speaker 4 She's one of the jam makers. She'll have a stall at the festival.

Speaker 5 And my cousins are Henrietta, Mark, John, Edith, Adelaide, and Paul.

Speaker 12 Really?

Speaker 37 Do they still live here in town, all of them?

Speaker 12 Oh, yes. We're all local.

Speaker 4 It's nice to keep family close, isn't it? Croxmont is our home.

Speaker 30 Now, I'll get you that vegetable pie.

Speaker 17 Oh, anything for you, dear?

Speaker 2 Uh, no, thank you.

Speaker 13 There, was that when you needed?

Speaker 31 Yes, her cousin.

Speaker 33 But my patient isn't here in town.

Speaker 39 So Mary lied.

Speaker 26 Why lie to us?

Speaker 23 What is there to hide?

Speaker 13 I think there's a lot of lying going on. What are you currently thinking?

Speaker 4 My patient lied.

Speaker 28 Or more so, avoided telling me about this place. But I don't get the impression that it's because of elder abuse or the like.

Speaker 4 She talked about her memory so fondly.

Speaker 28 There is a large elderly population in the village, isn't there?

Speaker 13 Coming out of the church, it at least in the U.S. church-going populations are steadily aging.

Speaker 26 Yeah.

Speaker 37 Maybe I wasn't clear.

Speaker 34 The elderly people here, those I've seen, are extremely active for their age.

Speaker 37 Even Mary herself still holds a job, has no noticeable memory lapses, no slurred words or shaky movements.

Speaker 34 The quality of life exhibited by the elderly population here appears greater than I've seen in even the most premium of care facilities.

Speaker 13 I saw that one guy at the church with a walker.

Speaker 4 Mental quality, not physical.

Speaker 34 How much do you know about aging?

Speaker 23 Do you ever think about what life will be like for you in 50 years, 60?

Speaker 12 I'm not even 30 yet.

Speaker 13 I don't think, I don't even think I'll get to retire given how my life's going, so I don't like to dwell on it.

Speaker 25 That's the answer I get from most people your age.

Speaker 30 Something here is beneficial.

Speaker 35 Lifestyle.

Speaker 31 Fresh air, maybe.

Speaker 31 Careful.

Speaker 17 Oh, it's piping hot.

Speaker 13 Thank you.

Speaker 4 I check out Is at Noon tomorrow, just to remind you.

Speaker 25 I heard this strange noise last night.

Speaker 33 Short, punctuated sounds, a bit like yelling.

Speaker 37 Was it really the foxes? Yes.

Speaker 4 We actually put up signs during the festival, since so many of you city folk never seem to know. It's called geckering.
I mean, some foxes got into a bit of a scuffle.

Speaker 4 Nothing to worry about, except a bit of lost sleep.

Speaker 16 You get used to it.

Speaker 13 Well, whatever is helping out the locals, it's not their diet.

Speaker 13 This isn't exactly the healthiest food. And this is the vegetable version.

Speaker 26 No.

Speaker 13 What about something else like the water? Or the plums? It has to be the plums. These people eat it with everything.
Look, there are even plum slices in the water.

Speaker 13 God forbid you're born with some stone fruit allergy. The air here would kill you.

Speaker 26 No.

Speaker 2 Okay, um, not even the water. Um.

Speaker 2 Okay.

Speaker 13 Lifestyle. People working in the orchards and at their craft all day.
I had a teacher who used to say, uh, working hands never weary. But it's kind of true.
Keeps the mind sharp.

Speaker 35 Of course, regular exercise for your mind is just as important as physical exercise, but none of this explains what happened to my patient.

Speaker 4 Adelaide.

Speaker 38 I never told you her name.

Speaker 13 No, but you look surprised to hear Edith. Once you said Adelaide, your eyes narrowed.
And you did that creepy kind of side smirk, like a villain saying, aha, in their head.

Speaker 4 Rude?

Speaker 6 But not wrong.

Speaker 2 So what do you think?

Speaker 13 What's your current hypothesis?

Speaker 4 Genetics.

Speaker 4 The local population may have

Speaker 31 an adaptation against neural degenerative diseases.

Speaker 13 People can have that? Genetic adaptations like that?

Speaker 28 Everyone has genetic adaptations.

Speaker 4 What do you do for a living?

Speaker 13 I work in IT.

Speaker 13 And I don't read a lot of books.

Speaker 37 The American school system failed you.

Speaker 13 It fails us all.

Speaker 6 So, tell me more, Dr.

Speaker 13 Gwen.

Speaker 38 Well, you know some of them, I'm sure.

Speaker 40 Genetic adaptation can be anything from skin pigmentation to whether or not you can tolerate milk products.

Speaker 2 Oh, okay. Yeah.

Speaker 26 I didn't know that.

Speaker 37 Well, it can also apply to a variety of adaptations far less well known.

Speaker 28 Each is part of the adaptive evolution of individual groups across the globe.

Speaker 35 Sometimes two groups come to the same adaptation, even when separate.

Speaker 28 For example, separate populations living in the Andes and the Tibetan Plateau developed a genetic adaptation to better survive in high-altitude, hypoxic environments.

Speaker 28 Additionally, groups can adapt to combat or avoid disease.

Speaker 37 For example, malaria and the sickle cell mutation.

Speaker 28 There are adaptations to avoid cholera or the effects of cholesterol, so who's to say there isn't one to combat neurodegenerative disorders?

Speaker 12 But

Speaker 12 what?

Speaker 35 But it doesn't explain Adelaide.

Speaker 37 If it were genetic, it would be internalized and inherent.

Speaker 34 She would never have been ill.

Speaker 34 Right.

Speaker 13 None of this helps you understand what happened to Adelaide since she was sick in the first place.

Speaker 13 Not a genetic adaptation, so it has to be something what?

Speaker 13 Transportable?

Speaker 13 Transportable?

Speaker 13 Huh.

Speaker 13 That's an interesting idea.

Speaker 13 Or, wild thought,

Speaker 13 Adelaide's not from here.

Speaker 13 No, I mean, sure, the stuff you found came from here, but maybe Adelaide was adopted or something.

Speaker 12 She looks a lot like her cousin, though.

Speaker 33 Same hair, same stature.

Speaker 37 Granted, they're both elderly, but they look alike.

Speaker 37 So,

Speaker 37 who's Edith?

Speaker 31 The visitor who brought the picnic basket of Croxmalt goods to Adelaide's room the night before her recovery.

Speaker 20 Okay,

Speaker 13 so they're related. Cousins, at least.
Maybe second cousins.

Speaker 13 Gwen?

Speaker 4 Something transportable.

Speaker 31 Something that could be brought to her,

Speaker 4 ingested.

Speaker 35 She had that jam.

Speaker 13 We had jam. This place sells jam by the treeload.

Speaker 32 I'll think of something.

Speaker 22 What about you?

Speaker 23 What are your plans?

Speaker 13 Well, I thought I'd go out to look at some potential campsites next.

Speaker 26 Mm-hmm.

Speaker 13 The hills, maybe, or out in the trees.

Speaker 37 The hills belong to the all-hill orchards.

Speaker 13 They may not want me out there, but that's where Jeff saw Colin running over the hill before he disappeared. And where he found the jacket.

Speaker 13 So it's my next best shot.

Speaker 12 Wait.

Speaker 21 Who's Colin?

Speaker 36 What?

Speaker 2 Colin.

Speaker 2 Um.

Speaker 38 I'm sorry. I must have missed something.

Speaker 38 Who?

Speaker 3 Don't Mind Cruxmont. Written and created by K.A.
Stats. Produced and directed with sound design by Travis Vengroff.
Edited with sound design mixing and mastering by Dane Leonardson.

Speaker 3 And with script and casting consulting by Gemma Amore.

Speaker 3 Starring Adjua Ando, Daniel Demerin, Erica Sanderson, Marcus Bentley, Sue Bomer, Sinclair Bell, and David Ault. With executive producers Dennis Greenhill, Michael Viegas, Carol Vengroff, and A.J.

Speaker 3 Punkin. Additional dialogue editing by Sarah Baczynski of Polarity Audio Works, and music by Stephen Malin.

Speaker 3 This episode would not be possible without the support of our listeners on Patreon, so please consider supporting us there at patreon.com/slash foolandscholar, or by sharing this show with a friend.

Speaker 3 This episode is copyrighted 2022 by Fool and Scholar Productions. Thank you for listening.

Speaker 8 I've got a homicide in Springfield's North Woods by Mile Marker 16.

Speaker 9 You are now entering Springfield.

Speaker 3 Where's the body?

Speaker 8 Off the side of the ditch down there. You know, surrounded by all this crime scene tape.

Speaker 12 Hello?

Speaker 10 Am I dead?

Speaker 13 My name is John.

Speaker 14 I'm the new forensic pathologist.

Speaker 12 I can see you, and that's how we'll figure out how you were murdered.

Speaker 10 That means ghosts are real!

Speaker 15 Since then, I've noted multiple additional missing case files and even missing bodies.

Speaker 10 Let's say I believe you came across some record-keeping discrepancies and a string of deaths. You're not an investigator, Jonathan.
Stop trying to be one.

Speaker 16 After everything I've discovered, I just need to know why.

Speaker 18 What happened in Springfield?

Speaker 13 Going somewhere, Dr.

Speaker 19 Spacer.

Speaker 14 Listen to How I Died, a full cast police and medical procedural podcast with over 40 episodes already available. Then, tune into season four of How I Died, releasing now on all podcast apps.

Speaker 3 A creature that can assume the form and voice of whatever it kills, infiltrates the team.

Speaker 3 As the players are picked off and replaced one at a time, can they figure out who the monster is before it's too late?

Speaker 2 Can you?

Speaker 3 Here's a quick example of what our show sounds like.

Speaker 3 As Jeff Goldblum has now joined our cast, Dark Dice is available however you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 19 You might think think you know fairy tales, and you might think that they are cute and sweet and boring. But the real grim fairy tales were not cute at all.

Speaker 19 They were very dark and they were often very grim. On Grim, Grimmer, Grimmest, we tell a grim fairy tale to a bunch of kids.
Perfect for car rides or screen-free entertainment.

Speaker 19 Grim, grimmer, grimmest activates kids' imaginations and instigates fun conversations.

Speaker 19 Because fairy tales speak to all of us at a very deep, primal level, and they raise interesting topics and questions that are worth chewing over together as a family.

Speaker 19 Every episode is rated Grim, Grimmer, or Grimmest, so you, your kids, your whole family can choose what is the right level of grim for you.

Speaker 19 Though, if you're listening with Grandma, she's just gonna go for Grimmest. Trust me on this one.
Tune in to Grim, Grimmer, Grimmest, and our new season available now.