0:00

Hey everyone out there in Podcast

0:02

Land. Jonathan here with another fun

0:04

curious matter presents. Today's show How

0:06

I Died has all those macabre

0:08

vibes for lovers of shows like

0:10

Dexter and Six Feet Under. This

0:12

series follows a coroner with a secret

0:14

ability to speak to the dead. And

0:17

the story is set in a

0:19

strange and shadowy remote town which

0:21

boasts an unusually high mortality rate.

0:23

As bodies start piling up in

0:25

the morgue coroner and forensic pathologist

0:27

John Spacer uses his ability to

0:29

talk to the dead to help

0:32

the local police solve the case

0:34

of the week, while also tracking

0:36

down clues about a mysterious serial

0:38

killer. I have writer, creator, and

0:40

star Vincent de Johnny here in studio

0:42

to tell you a little bit more

0:45

about the show. Welcome. Hey Jonathan, thank

0:47

you for having me. Yeah, for sure,

0:49

for sure. So tell me a little bit,

0:51

like what was your inspiration for creating the

0:53

series? Sure. So originally I wanted to create

0:55

something that was like big and expansive, you

0:57

know, right off the bat and it being

1:00

my first foray into audio, I was kind

1:02

of like, maybe I should try something a

1:04

little more grounded and a little smaller, just

1:06

starting out, since I planned to do pretty

1:08

much everything myself on the back end of

1:11

production. And so I came up with this

1:13

idea for a mortician who would speak to

1:15

the dead and sort of do like a

1:17

case of the week type thing that way.

1:19

But it was a little bit too boring

1:22

and you know just sitting in that

1:24

whole morgue without mystery aspect to it.

1:26

It wasn't really like my style that

1:28

I would listen to you know I

1:30

was a huge fan of murder mysteries

1:32

TV shows like bones and obviously you

1:34

mentioned like six feet under and Dexter

1:36

and those types of things. And so

1:38

I wanted to sort of add a

1:40

little bit of the medical murder mystery

1:42

vibe to it and sort of revamped

1:45

it rewrote the first episode to be

1:47

like a complete mystery where you don't

1:49

know who the killer is what happened until

1:51

the very end and then once I recorded that

1:53

as sort of like a demo I was like

1:55

okay I think we I think we've got it

1:57

here you know and then sort of took off

1:59

from there Yeah, I love the format. Well,

2:01

what kind of research goes into

2:03

writing a show like this? Seems

2:05

like there's a lot of fun

2:07

and sort of morbid rabbit holes.

2:09

You can go down trying to

2:12

figure out how to kill people

2:14

off. Yeah, for sure. I just

2:16

love reading about weird deaths, like

2:18

even before creating the show. So

2:20

it was a lot of stuff

2:22

that I've pulled from TV shows,

2:24

you know, house and bones and

2:26

things like that. how did this end

2:28

up happening in this freak accident? And

2:30

then I have a buddy who's also

2:32

a forensic tech in the city of

2:34

Baltimore. And so he's allowed me to

2:37

come do some like ride-alongs, check out

2:39

stuff down in the inner workings of

2:41

the forensic lab. So there's been a

2:43

lot of research on that end. One

2:45

of them actually in season three was

2:48

a personal thing that happened to me.

2:50

Although I didn't die from it, obviously,

2:52

I'm not speaking to you as a

2:54

ghost right now, but it was a

2:57

close call and I was like, wow, that

2:59

was interesting and it would

3:01

make a really funny case. Yeah, I

3:03

actually, I used to shoot and produce

3:05

reality TV and for a minute there,

3:08

I sort of ended up working a

3:10

lot in police shows and I actually

3:12

did a homicide show once. That's called

3:14

Crime 360 and had to follow the

3:17

detectives around for the first few days

3:19

of their investigations. So that's very cool.

3:21

Yeah, I love I love I love

3:23

a little bit of Macob storytelling. So

3:25

this is awesome. So what's your background?

3:28

What brought you to audio fiction? Sure.

3:30

I got a degree in creative writing,

3:32

which is very surprising that they actually

3:34

have a degree in that. But you

3:37

know, can't do much with it outside

3:39

of marketing and stuff like that. So

3:41

I was working in that field and

3:43

sort of like unfulfilled writing novels on

3:46

the side to try to get published.

3:48

And then I just sort of fell

3:50

in love with audio dramas as a

3:52

medium from a fan perspective first. Listen

3:54

to them for years and then just

3:57

wanted to sort of try my hand

3:59

at one. Again, I didn't really

4:01

know anything about audio, especially not

4:03

audio editing at the time. And

4:06

it sort of has been a

4:08

five to six year process of

4:10

just figuring it out as I

4:12

went and making something that I

4:15

really enjoyed making. Well, you could

4:17

definitely hear it in the show.

4:19

And it's amazing how far you

4:22

guys have been able to come.

4:24

Speaking of that, so the series

4:26

sort of evolves a little bit

4:28

from its original sort of mystery

4:31

of the week format to become

4:33

a little bit more serialized. And

4:35

you're about to go into season

4:37

four. What can we expect from

4:40

the new season? Sure. So season

4:42

four has definitely evolved. It's been

4:44

two years since season three. I

4:47

think my writing style has expanded.

4:49

And so going into this, I

4:51

didn't want to keep that same.

4:53

single-scene episodes format where like every

4:56

episode is essentially a continuous scene

4:58

that goes from beginning to end

5:00

for the first you know 20

5:03

minutes in this upcoming season it

5:05

feels much more like a TV

5:07

show which I'm hoping comes across

5:09

but we've still got sort of

5:12

the case of the week vibe

5:14

but all of season four is

5:16

a big continuous single storyline that

5:18

plays out over the course of

5:21

the 13 episodes. All right, well,

5:23

it's almost that time, guys. So

5:25

make sure to follow and subscribe

5:28

to the podcast. You can also

5:30

find it at audioommedia.com/how I died.

5:32

That's A-U-D-I-O-H-M-M-E-D-I-A.com/how I died. Well, you

5:34

know what time it is. Grab

5:37

that box of popcorn, find a

5:39

nice, comfy couch, sit down, and

5:41

enjoy the first episode of how

5:43

I died. How I Died contains

5:46

adult language and themes that may

5:48

be inappropriate for younger audiences. Viewer

5:50

discretion is advised. Stick around after

5:53

each episode for some director's commentary.

5:55

Audio Media Presents. How I Died.

6:25

Talking leave me alone Hello, huh?

6:27

Ah, it's too really for the

6:29

shit. Oh, hi Sorry, what did

6:32

you say? I asked if you

6:34

were the new doctor here. Yeah,

6:36

I am I'm John spacer Are

6:39

you sheriff Crowley? No It's just

6:41

I've been waiting here for almost

6:43

an hour on the phone. They

6:45

said get here a SAP so

6:48

I figured next time We'll tell

6:50

the victim to die faster, so

6:52

you don't have to wait as

6:54

long. I didn't mean it like

6:57

that. I meant that... Sorry. I'm

6:59

just here to let you into

7:01

the pathology lab. Go ahead and

7:04

Sheriff will be bringing in the

7:06

body soon. The hospital cafeteria is

7:08

open 24 7, in case you

7:10

need a cup of coffee or

7:13

anything. Oh, do you know if

7:15

they have tea? I don't drink

7:17

coffee. I don't drink coffee. I

7:19

don't drink coffee. Off

7:24

to a great start on

7:26

your first day. Phew. This

7:28

is a pretty big lab

7:31

for a small town. That's

7:33

two whole walls of cold

7:35

drawers. What is that, a

7:37

sink over there? Two nicely

7:39

cleaned exam tables right in

7:42

the center here. Shit. You

7:44

might be out of your

7:46

element here, John. You can

7:48

do this. You can do

7:51

this. Fresh start. your

7:53

spacer oh yeah I'm here

7:55

and then doc, I've got

7:57

a present for you. Who's

8:00

the victim? Nice to meet

8:02

you too. I'm Frank Crowley.

8:04

Oh, you're the sheriff. Oh,

8:06

aren't you a little young

8:08

to be a coroner? I

8:10

was not trying to... I'm

8:13

a forensic pathologist actually, it's

8:15

lower on the totem pole.

8:17

Look, it's late. I'm sure

8:19

you're tired. I know I

8:21

am. So let's say we

8:23

just... disregard the sexism for

8:25

a minute and move on.

8:28

I'd rather enjoy the short

8:30

time we have together. Um,

8:32

excuse me? What's that supposed

8:34

to mean? Don't worry. I

8:36

didn't mean you'll end up

8:38

like her here. I just

8:41

mean you'll cycle out eventually.

8:43

Nobody sucks around long in

8:45

this job. You said her?

8:47

The victim is a woman.

8:49

Do you have a case

8:51

file? Bear minimum. We just

8:54

found her. This is essentially

8:56

blank. Female age 31, there

8:58

isn't even a name written

9:00

down. Did we have a

9:02

wallet or personal effects? Got

9:04

our purse, but we don't

9:07

need it. That is Maggie

9:09

Lane. Did you know her?

9:11

Because we're both women? Oh,

9:13

what? No, because it's such

9:15

a small townite. Relax, Doc.

9:17

I'm just messing with you.

9:20

Ah, you got me. Not

9:22

used to people joking about

9:24

murder. Yeah, well After how

9:26

tense tonight's been I needed

9:28

a laugh What uh happened

9:30

to her exactly? Don't know

9:33

We've got a missing husband

9:35

and child Someone called this

9:37

in from their house phone,

9:39

but by the time we

9:41

arrived all we found was

9:43

Maggie. How strange? My deputies

9:46

are looking for the husband

9:48

now My bed is he

9:50

poisoned or took the kitten

9:52

flood, but That's what you're

9:54

here to confirm, Mr. Coroner.

9:56

Oh, forensic pathologists, remember? Yeah,

9:59

yeah, yeah. Just confirmed for

10:01

me what I already know.

10:03

Um, do you hear that?

10:05

Hear what? Hello? Nothing. Just

10:07

something in the pipes, I

10:09

guess. Hello? I must be

10:12

anxious just to get to

10:14

work. Whatever, Doc. Don't go

10:16

loopy on us already. Took

10:18

us long enough to replace

10:20

the last one. I've really

10:22

got to scrub up. I'm

10:25

leaving, I'm leaving. Let's see

10:27

what you can do. Yeah.

10:30

Let's see what I can

10:33

do. Hello? All right. Let

10:35

me get my mic set

10:38

up for dictation. Here we

10:40

go. What's happening? Don't this

10:43

toy? Where am I? It's

10:45

Wednesday morning. Four 24 a.m.

10:48

Dr. Jonathan Spacer conducting post-mortem

10:50

analysis. Case number one three

10:53

to eight. 31-year-old female, 117

10:55

pounds, 5-foot, 3 inches tall.

10:58

Hey you, I have a

11:00

name, you know. Pronounced dead

11:03

at the scene approximately 3

11:05

a.m. after a 911 call.

11:08

Calls of death, currently unknown.

11:10

First responders noted no signs

11:13

of pulsor breathing, but they

11:15

did note some marks on

11:18

the neck. Is this? Is

11:20

this heaven? I'll be examining

11:23

the body for other notable

11:25

external markings before beginning surgery.

11:28

Am I... am I dead?

11:30

Yes, you're a ghost. Welcome

11:32

to the afterlife. Wow. If

11:34

I would have known, I

11:37

never... wait. You're alive. But

11:39

you can hear me. How?

11:41

Is that important right now?

11:43

I guess not. So this

11:45

is what it's like to

11:47

die. is not. The escape

11:49

I was promised. Technically, this

11:51

is what happens after you

11:53

die. Who are you? Where

11:55

is everyone else? I'm a

11:57

doctor. My name's John. It's

11:59

just us in the lab,

12:01

and it's my job to

12:03

determine how and why you

12:05

were killed so that we

12:08

can put whoever did this

12:10

behind bars. It's a little

12:12

late for that. It doesn't

12:14

really matter who killed us

12:16

now, does it? Have you

12:18

done this before? You don't

12:20

seem freaked out to see

12:22

me. I... This is a

12:24

pretty standard post-mortem exam. I've

12:26

done dozens of these on

12:28

cadavers, but... But what? You've

12:30

never done it on a

12:32

real case? Holy shit. Calm

12:34

down. You're not the first

12:37

ghost I've seen if that's

12:39

what you're wondering. And I've

12:41

done autopsies with ghosts around

12:43

before, just... There's always been

12:45

someone else with me, so

12:47

I've never been able to

12:49

talk to them about the

12:51

case. I'm kind of figuring

12:53

out what I need to

12:55

say to you as we

12:57

go. You don't need to

12:59

say anything to me. Just

13:01

write down that my husband,

13:03

Mark Lane, poisoned me and

13:06

Danny. It's unfortunate, but I

13:08

need some hard evidence. We're

13:10

dead. There's your evidence. We?

13:12

Is Danny your daughter? Damn

13:14

it. You don't know anything.

13:16

Sheriff Fran should have just

13:18

done this without you. Note,

13:20

victim does not appear to

13:22

have any physical markings on

13:24

her body other than her

13:26

neck. I'm going to check

13:28

for signs of sexual assault.

13:30

You're going to what? Just

13:32

get someone else in here

13:34

to do this, kid. Look!

13:37

You're dead. I'm sorry about

13:39

that. And I'm sure it

13:41

is a lot to take

13:43

in right now, but you

13:45

need to either get over

13:47

it quickly or figure out

13:49

how to deal with it

13:51

yourself so that I can

13:53

focus on this case. You're

13:55

an insensitive ass, you know

13:57

that? I'm trying to help

13:59

you, but I can't answer

14:01

your questions while trying to

14:03

examine your... So I suggest

14:06

you let me do my

14:08

job before your husband gets

14:10

away with murder. Gets away

14:12

with murder. For the record,

14:14

there are no signs of

14:16

sexual assault. Whoa, you said

14:18

Mark was going to get

14:20

away with murder. What does

14:22

that mean? Hmm. Looking at

14:24

the victim's wrist, I've noted

14:26

a slight shadow or some

14:28

sort of indentation. Did you

14:30

wear a bracelet here? I

14:32

used to. It was a

14:35

gift from me, Mama. an

14:37

old family heirloom. I must

14:39

have been some large bracelet

14:41

to make that kind of

14:43

outline. Note, return to this

14:45

later. If the wrist still

14:47

has an indent from the

14:49

bracelet, it could be a

14:51

sign of a skin or

14:53

bruising problem. You think the

14:55

fact that I've got an

14:57

indent on my wrist is

14:59

important? I think every detail

15:01

can be important. And now

15:03

what are you doing? I'm

15:06

drawing blood for a toxicology

15:08

report. Why are you wasting

15:10

time? My husband killed us

15:12

all! That's the important detail!

15:14

Well, as soon as this

15:16

report is done, we'll figure

15:18

out what type of poison

15:20

it was. That's not what

15:22

I meant. Another note. There

15:24

are small tracings. They look

15:26

like red marks on the

15:28

upper torso, leading to the

15:30

victim's neck. No signs of

15:32

a struggle, though. Maggie. My

15:35

name is Maggie. There seems

15:37

to be no damage to

15:39

the epidermis around the neck.

15:41

These red bumps are more

15:43

consistent with an allergic reaction

15:45

rash. I'll need to check

15:47

the victim's throat. You're treating

15:49

me like I don't even

15:51

exist? What I have to

15:53

say could help you. You're

15:55

right. I'm... I apologize. Did

15:57

you know Sheriff Crowley well?

15:59

What? You called her Fran.

16:01

And then you got mad

16:04

at me when I didn't

16:06

know who Danny was? I'm

16:08

assuming that you saw the

16:10

sheriff in here a minute

16:12

ago. I'm deducing that means

16:14

you two were on a

16:16

first-name basis. Yeah, Danny, went

16:18

to kindergarten with friend's son,

16:20

Josh, you know, years ago.

16:22

Before what? It's not my

16:24

place. I'm going to have

16:26

to cut open your throat

16:28

to examine the inside. You

16:30

may want to look away.

16:32

Fine. Talk to me then.

16:35

Um, I don't know what

16:37

to say. What is Danny

16:39

like? Oh, she was a

16:41

wonderful little kid. Always so

16:43

happy about everything. She loved

16:45

pigs and cows. I'd always

16:47

catch her at the neighbor's

16:49

pens after school. She said

16:51

she wanted to be a

16:53

farmer when she grew up

16:55

and... and now... You'll miss

16:57

her, I'm sure. Of course,

16:59

I'll miss her. Your kids

17:01

are the light of your

17:04

life. You do anything to

17:06

keep them safe. You think

17:08

you weren't able to keep

17:10

dating safe? No one could

17:12

have. This world, it's... No

17:14

place to raise kids. She

17:16

she was being bullied in

17:18

school and there wasn't a

17:20

damn thing I could do

17:22

about it Mark lost his

17:24

job and We were gonna

17:26

lose our home, too. We

17:28

we had no options So

17:30

you don't blame Mark of

17:33

course I do Mark was

17:35

a bastard We we had

17:37

Downey right out of high

17:39

school when he was cruel

17:41

from the moment I got

17:43

pregnant He took out all

17:45

his frustrations on me. He

17:47

beat me and drank all

17:49

day and night. I tried

17:51

to keep Danny away from

17:53

it, but I couldn't. I

17:55

couldn't let her go on

17:57

in this terrible world to

17:59

grow up and be abused

18:01

by her husband. Have the

18:04

world shit on her world

18:06

shit. It's a fucking an

18:08

unavoidable cycle that's not worth

18:10

living through. Death is the

18:12

only thing that breaks the

18:14

cycle. I didn't notice any

18:16

bruising or indications of past

18:18

beatings during my initial exam.

18:20

Are you saying I'm lying?

18:22

No, no, no, not at

18:24

all. But I wasn't looking

18:26

for the signs. I might

18:28

have missed something that only

18:30

an extra I could see.

18:33

Can you tell me what

18:35

happened tonight before you ended

18:37

up here? You care what

18:39

I have to say now?

18:41

You asked me to talk

18:43

to you. I'm perfectly fine

18:45

just taking notes as I

18:47

operate. Fine. I, um, see,

18:49

I came home and, um,

18:51

Mark had made dinner for

18:53

us, which was surprising. You

18:55

don't seem so sure. Oh,

18:57

I don't know. Maybe the

18:59

details are just fuzzy because

19:02

I'm dead. Did you ever

19:04

think of that? Maybe. Continue.

19:06

If you want to. I

19:08

came home and Mark had

19:10

dinner on the table. I

19:12

didn't know at the time

19:14

when it was, but we

19:16

ate. And we talked, like,

19:18

a real family for once.

19:20

He seemed happy. I was

19:22

happy. And then I started

19:24

to have trouble breathing. An

19:26

allergic reaction? That's what it

19:28

felt like. It was just

19:30

like itchy at first. Then

19:33

it felt like someone was

19:35

putting their hands around my

19:37

neck, slowly choking me of

19:39

air, and I panicked, and

19:41

I hit the ground hard.

19:43

I'm seeing red rashes, tightened

19:45

muscles, and a closed airway

19:47

on the inside of your

19:49

throat. It's definitely consistent with

19:51

anaphylaxis. I will never forget

19:53

that feeling of just sitting

19:55

at the table across from

19:57

him. And we so happy

19:59

to look at him and

20:02

watch him eat. And I

20:04

squeezed Danny's hand as she

20:06

ate dinner too. And then

20:08

I saw it. The look

20:10

of fear in her face.

20:12

My little baby saw me

20:14

hit the floor and I

20:16

tried to just hold on

20:18

to her as it happened.

20:20

It had to happen that

20:22

way. And then I was

20:24

at peace. Finally. Damn. I'm

20:26

sure they'll catch Mark and

20:28

find Annie safe. I wouldn't

20:31

worry. What? The police haven't

20:33

been able to locate them

20:35

yet. What do you mean?

20:37

They were in the room

20:39

with me. Wait, when you

20:41

died? Yes. We're all deathly

20:43

allergic to shellfish, and they

20:45

ate the food just like

20:47

I did. Maybe more. Are

20:49

you telling me you could

20:51

taste shellfish in the dish?

20:53

What? No, I'm just assuming

20:55

that's what it was, but

20:57

you're... You're telling me that

20:59

Danny and Mark are still

21:02

alive? Actually, now that you

21:04

mentioned it, I don't know

21:06

that for sure. Sheriff Crowley

21:08

said there was a 911

21:10

call placed from your home.

21:12

Your husband's car was missing

21:14

from the driveway, and I

21:16

guess the police were assuming

21:18

that they were on the

21:20

run. Hold on just a

21:22

moment. They're... Oh God, they're

21:24

alive? That is impossible. I...

21:26

Where are you going? I'm

21:28

actually done with the surgery.

21:31

I think I've found all

21:33

the information that I can

21:35

glean from your body, other

21:37

than a stomach pump. But

21:39

you just told me what

21:41

I'll find. Shellfish, or at

21:43

least something that's cooked with

21:45

it that won't be detectable.

21:47

And that sound was the

21:49

toxicology report finishing up. This

21:53

was supposed to be

21:56

our escape according to

21:58

this you've got a

22:00

ton of codeine painkiller

22:03

in your system and

22:05

trace amounts of closapine

22:07

haliparidol loracetone? Those medications

22:09

are antidepressants and an

22:12

antipsychotic? Interesting. But the

22:14

amounts show inconsistent or

22:16

not recent usage. Why

22:19

would you have that

22:21

much painkiller in your

22:23

system endless? That's not

22:26

possible. They shouldn't be

22:28

alive. I saw

22:30

their faces. Danny was

22:32

so afraid she couldn't

22:34

breathe either. And Mark

22:36

I know is allergic to

22:39

shellfish. They shouldn't be alive.

22:41

And I shouldn't be

22:43

the only one dead.

22:45

This is John Spacer.

22:47

I'm the new forensic pathologist.

22:50

Yeah, the new coroner. If

22:52

you could ask her to...

22:55

Oh, she's still at the

22:57

hospital. Could you radio

22:59

for her to come

23:01

down to the pathology

23:03

lab? Yes, as soon as

23:06

possible, please. Thank you. Sheriff

23:08

Crowley's on her way down.

23:11

Please tell her that Mark

23:13

poisoned us, and if

23:15

they do find him,

23:17

he did it. I

23:19

will, if that's really what

23:22

happened. Of course it's what

23:24

happened. Why wouldn't it be?

23:27

What did you have for

23:29

dinner? What? Why? The

23:31

devil is in the

23:33

details. And right now,

23:35

there are a few that

23:38

aren't adding up. Screw you!

23:40

You don't know anything. You

23:43

thought they were both dead.

23:45

Screw you! You! You

23:47

don't know anything. You

23:49

thought they were both

23:51

dead. You! You! You! You!

23:54

You! You! You

23:57

also immediately went to shellfish as

23:59

the ingredient How did you know

24:01

that? Tell me, the indent on

24:04

your wrist? That was from wearing

24:06

a medical alert bracelet, wasn't it?

24:09

Why did you take it off?

24:11

What did you find, Doc? I

24:13

need answers now. There's a shit

24:16

storm upstairs. Sheriff, here, come, come

24:18

see. Fran, Fran. Fran? Mark killed

24:20

me. He tried to kill all

24:23

of us, but... What? Why are

24:25

you making me look at this?

24:28

She... She can't hear me, can't

24:30

she? Fran? Fran! I assumed you'd

24:32

want to know what I found.

24:35

Not like that. Fuck. Just tell

24:37

me. The cause of death was

24:39

anaphylaxis. After ingesting something she was

24:42

allergic to. Shelfish. What? That was

24:44

my guess. How did you? How

24:47

did you? How did you? How

24:49

did you? That's all you have

24:51

for me? I found that out

24:54

already. No. No! Wait. How? We

24:56

found Maggie's husband and her daughter.

24:58

They're upstairs in the ER right

25:01

now. You found them? You found

25:03

Danny? Yeah. I was hoping you

25:06

had more answers for me. It's

25:08

not looking good. They are going

25:10

to die. What happened? Denny pulled

25:13

up to the ER entrance with

25:15

her dad in the passenger seat

25:17

before we even arrived. She drove

25:20

here? Yeah. Eleven years old. Can

25:22

you believe it? Apparently she knew

25:25

her parents were having a reaction

25:27

and tried to find their happy

25:29

pens. When she couldn't, Mark hobbled

25:32

out to his car with her

25:34

and Maggie, well, Maggie was already

25:36

unresponsive. Danny told the intake nurse,

25:39

her dad was having an attack.

25:41

They gave him some steroids and

25:44

he's doing fine. Holy crap. She

25:46

was having a reaction too. I

25:48

don't know. Neither do the doctors

25:51

up there. I was just with

25:53

her. She's not responding to steroids.

25:55

It's too late. If she's not

25:58

responding to steroids, that means... Wait

26:00

a second. What? If I'm remembering

26:03

biology correctly, which I am, allergies

26:05

aren't always passed down genetically. So?

26:07

So Maggie has a massive amount

26:10

of codeine in her system. Danny

26:12

never ate fish before? If she

26:14

was the one who tried to

26:17

kill the family... Maybe she gave

26:19

Danny codeine as well as a

26:22

way to mercifully numb the pain.

26:24

You're thinking Maggie did it? Oh,

26:26

what was the extension of the

26:29

ER again? Ah. Hey, this is

26:31

Dr. Spacer in the pathology lab.

26:33

You have a patient, a young

26:36

girl named Danny Lane, who isn't

26:38

responding to steroids, right? I'm pretty

26:41

certain she's suffering from some overdose

26:43

of codeine and other medications. Run

26:45

a urine or a blood test

26:48

to confirm, but she's gonna need

26:50

her stomach pumped immediately. Yeah. Actually,

26:53

send the test down and I

26:55

can run it for you. Thanks.

26:57

She wasn't supposed to suffer. Neither

27:00

of us were... But, Mark... How

27:02

the hell can you prove any

27:04

of this? I... I can't, really.

27:07

Then how do you know? And

27:09

how did you know their daughter's

27:12

name was Danny earlier? Oh, um...

27:14

It's just something I heard around

27:16

town. I put two and two

27:19

together and, you know... I guess

27:21

word travels fast around here. Rumors

27:23

aren't going to cut it here.

27:26

I'm going back upstairs to see

27:28

if we can question Mark. He's

27:31

conscious, but at this point, it's

27:33

his word against a dead woman.

27:35

I hope he does get blamed

27:38

for it. He took this away

27:40

from all of us. That's it.

27:42

Sheriff, wait. What now? The purse.

27:45

What did you say you found

27:47

in it? I didn't. But we

27:50

found it in Maggie's car. Still

27:52

parked at the house. Why? It

27:54

wasn't in the home. No. We

27:57

were all supposed to be at...

28:01

Look, holy shit, are those...

28:03

Happy pens. Three of them.

28:05

And I bet they're labeled

28:07

for prescription too. Yeah. Mark

28:10

Lane, Danny Lane, and Maggie.

28:12

And a bottle of codeine,

28:14

also prescribed to Maggie. Circumstantial

28:17

evidence. How do we know

28:19

she didn't just leave them

28:21

in there normally? Uh... You...

28:23

Forgive me, but it sounds

28:26

like you don't want her

28:28

to be guilty. Guilty. Calm

28:31

it down new kid

28:33

guilty or innocent isn't

28:35

for either of us to

28:38

decide All I want

28:40

is enough evidence for

28:42

a judge It doesn't

28:44

matter anymore. Damn Don't worry

28:46

doc You might have just

28:49

said a little girl

28:51

tonight And all before

28:53

son up That's a

28:55

pretty good first day Hey,

28:57

sheriff Krelli is Are

29:00

they all going to be

29:02

like this? Like what? This

29:04

ambiguous. I mean, it's my

29:06

job to find the evidence

29:08

so that we can put

29:10

it together, but what if

29:12

we can't ever know for

29:14

certain? Kid, I'm not your

29:16

shrink. I'm not your mentor

29:19

either. Figure that shit on

29:21

your own. But you shouldn't

29:23

be surprised around here. Why

29:25

not? They really didn't tell

29:27

you when you accepted the

29:29

job, huh? Tell me what?

29:31

We've got the nation's highest

29:33

rate of unsolved deaths. Not

29:35

for a lack of trying

29:37

either. Seems everyone here dies

29:40

in a weird way. And

29:42

that, well, starts to get

29:44

to people. And that's why

29:46

no one wanted this job.

29:48

Welcome to Springfield, Doc. Enjoy

29:50

your stay while it lasts.

29:52

It wasn't supposed to be

29:54

like this. Why did you

29:56

do it? We were

29:59

promising. salvation. I was lied to.

30:01

You kept saying I should trust

30:03

you and listen to you, but

30:05

you lied to me too. You

30:08

tricked me. The worst part of

30:10

all of this, this whole exam,

30:12

this whole back and forth, just

30:14

to solve an attempted murder by

30:17

a woman who can't ever be

30:19

proven guilty? How is that fair?

30:21

Even if you and I know

30:24

the truth, the outcome is the

30:26

only thing that matters here. What

30:28

are you doing? And what is

30:30

that box for? Huh. When I

30:33

was looking through your purse, I

30:35

saw your license. You had a

30:37

heart on the back, which meant

30:39

you're an organ donor. Stay away

30:42

from my body. If all that

30:44

codeine damaged Danny's heart or her

30:46

liver, she'll need a new one.

30:49

Don't touch me. And even if

30:51

she's not a match, your death

30:53

will save someone else. That might

30:55

be the only positive thing to

30:58

come out of all of this.

31:00

I'll haunt you, I swear. Note.

31:02

Victim, Maggie Lane, shows undeniable evidence

31:04

to the cause of death being

31:07

suffocation and anaphylactic shock due to

31:09

allergic reaction. Thankfully, we'll be able

31:11

to harvest some usable organs for

31:13

potential transplant. She may save her

31:16

own daughter's life. You

31:19

can do this,

31:21

John. No! I

31:23

can do this.

31:36

This is Vince De Johnny, creator of How I Died, and

31:39

the Voice of Dr. John Spacer. I just wanted to pop

31:41

in real quick and say a personal thank you for listening

31:43

to our show. It's been a huge undertaking going through about

31:45

five separate rewrites, multiple recastings, and a ton of time to

31:47

perfect it. And we couldn't be more proud of the cast

31:49

crew and everyone involved in working with the show. It means

31:52

the absolute world to us that you personally took the time

31:54

to listen and hopefully enjoy it. Now, before I spend an

31:56

hour saying thank you. Let me get

31:58

into the credits. the credits. I Died is

32:00

an audio media original production, co -starring

32:02

Vince DiGiani as Johnny as John Spacer and

32:05

as as Sheriff Fran This episode featured

32:07

amazing guest performances by Melissa by

32:09

as Sheldon as Mike Lynch as Lynch as

32:11

the Audio editing and sound design

32:13

by Vince DiGiani and Vince De

32:15

at and Eric Hal at Sound media. Sound by

32:17

Foley .org are created in -house at

32:20

Audio in-house at audio How I Died

32:22

I song was created by Mike

32:24

Lynch at Lynch at .com, with additional

32:26

music by by you If you show

32:28

the to help support it, head

32:30

to patreon .com. to patreon.com for bonus

32:33

episodes, crime scene photos, scene case

32:35

files, and more. files, and Thank

32:37

you again for listening, and until

32:39

next until next Not To Die. Not

32:41

to Die.