Episode 202: Speak No Evil, Think No Evil
(Theme song)
ALEX: From Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale, it’s season two of The Black Tapes podcast, I’m Alex Reagan. This season we’re continuing our exploration of the Strand Institute’s enigmatic president and founder, Dr. Richard Strand. We’re telling the story of The Black Tapes in order, every two weeks. So if you haven’t listened to the first few episodes, go back and start there. We’ll be here when you get back.
(Intro music)
ALEX: The last episode of The Black Tapes podcast ended with the return of Dr. Strand.
ALEX: Dr. Strand looked disheveled. He’d let his facial hair grow out, but not in a manicured, hipster way. He had more of a Unabomber thing going on. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, and he wasn’t wearing a suit like he usually does. He wore a white t-shirt under unbuttoned flannel.
ALEX: There was something in Strand’s voice, something in his eyes…I know my recording has bothered him in the past, but this time felt…different. I turned off the recorder. I’m not at liberty to share what he told me, but he did agree to let me reveal his secret at some point, if it turns out that it’s relevant to our investigation of Coralee’s disappearance or the black tapes. He had concerns about what he shared with me putting people in danger. He called it a safety issue.
ALEX: If you’re frustrated with the sudden lack of information, trust me, I’m right there with you. Although my frustration was like…like someone with a secret, a secret I was dying to share. It was frustrating for all of us at Pacific Northwest Stories to withhold it. Here’s my producer, Nic.
ALEX: During the season break, we received a lot of tips about various aspects of our show. Whether it was reports of sacred geometric symbols in abandoned building, in-depth theories on the Order of the Ceniphus and Brother Black’s music, or strange eyewitness accounts of inexplicable shadows in videos and photographs, our inbox was jammed full of the potentially paranormal. We’re still sifting through everything, so if we haven’t responded, please be patient. But, we did receive one tip that actually…well, eventually bore fruit. Here’s Nic.
ALEX: That’s Rick Podeski, a resident of Colville, Washington, just west of Charlesworth. You’ll remember Charlesworth from the first season of our show. Podeski claims he’s hunted this region for over two decades, he knows the terrain well.
ALEX: I did see that. In the video, a man enters the frame. He’s dressed in what looks like a burlap sack tied at the waist with rope. He has very long hair and his mustache and beard are what you’d expect from a guy wearing a burlap sack. He stands in the meadow and looks to be about two dozen yards from the tree stand. It looks like he doesn’t notice it. He kneels down and starts drawing something on the ground with a long stick, and in his hand he holds a book. He slowly sits down at the edge of whatever he drew on the ground and it looks like he starts reading something from his book. The timestamp shows he reads for about twenty-eight minutes. Then, he’s spooked by something. He gets up and runs away off camera.
ALEX: So, here’s what I saw in Rick’s second video. It’s night. The camera’s resolution is really good. You can see the trees and bushes around the meadow. For a while, there’s nothing, but then something steps into the frame. It looks like it’s about two feet in front of the camera, it’s really close. You can make out what look like legs, maybe a deer? Whatever it is, it just stands there a moment incredibly still, and then it moves out of frame.
ALEX: Rick sounded confident that the thing he captured on his camera was something outside of the norm, and I had to admit, there was something deeply disturbing about the image sitting there on my computer. But the strange deer thing would have to wait. Nic had arranged for me to meet a rare books dealer in Seattle, her name is Gloria Cohen.
ALEX: Gloria Cohen is in her fifties with beautiful, long, graying hair. She’s quite tall and moves like Catherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, almost floating, her hands ahead of her like she’s about to reach for something to show you. I got the sense that she wasn’t used to having guests.
ALEX: So, that was Gloria Cohen. If I hadn’t already been experiencing severe insomnia, I would have blamed her stories of demons and how to summon them, willingly or unwittingly, for the fact that I didn’t get any sleep last night.
ALEX: That’s Doctor Monique Bernier, my sleep doctor. Nic demanded I see somebody, and because he was going to pull the plug on the podcast if I didn’t, I agreed. But under one condition- that I could record my sessions and share them with you. Nic thought it was a great idea, that sharing what I was experiencing might help me get past whatever it was that was keeping me from sleeping. Dr. Bernier was far less enthusiastic. She agreed to allow me to record our first two sessions and if she was okay with that content, she told Nic that she might be willing to extend our arrangement.
ALEX: So, I’m keeping a sleep journal. I’m calling them my sleep notes. I’m not crazy about the word journal, which probably sounds strange coming from a journalist, but it’s just…it’s just a thing. Anyway, I’ll be checking in with Dr. Bernier from time to time, and it looks like for the time being anyway that you’ll be checking in, right along with me. But for now, we’re heading back to the part of the thing that confuses and concerns me the most. We’re headed back onto the trail of Coralee Strand.
ALEX: Nic and I spoke with Tina Stevenson on at least four separate occasions and there was nothing new there. Just a description of what Coralee had been wearing- jeans, boots,black leather jacket. We asked Tina to call immediately if Coralee showed up, but we didn’t have the resources to sit outside and wait however many months or years it might take for that to happen. If we were having trouble parsing all this stuff, I can only imagine what Strand must be going through. Although my imagination was aided when he called asking for an update.
(Phone ringing)
ALEX: I called back but it went right to his voicemail. For the moment, at least, it looked like Strand was out of the picture. I was going downtown to check out the address Nic dug up for the company behind Strand’s engagement at the university.
ALEX: I’m standing outside a nondescript building that I’m going to have to describe, so here goes. It’s a rectangle. A sturdy, seventies version of mid-century architecture. There’s lots of concrete, very little glass. There are no signs of any kind. There’s a buzzer, but the name of the company Nic gave me isn’t listed. I’m going to just press a button or two.
ALEX: The Black Tapes Podcast is a Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale production. Recorded in Seattle and Vancouver. Produced by Nic Silver. Mixed and engineered by Nic Silver and Alan Williams. Edited by Nic Silver and Alex Reagan. Executive producers Paul Bay and Terry Miles.
ALEX: From Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale, it’s season two of The Black Tapes podcast, I’m Alex Reagan. This season we’re continuing our exploration of the Strand Institute’s enigmatic president and founder, Dr. Richard Strand. We’re telling the story of The Black Tapes in order, every two weeks. So if you haven’t listened to the first few episodes, go back and start there. We’ll be here when you get back.
(Intro music)
ALEX: The last episode of The Black Tapes podcast ended with the return of Dr. Strand.
- STRAND: Its okay, Ruby.
- ALEX: (Breathlessly) Hi.
- STRAND: Please, sit down. (pause) I need your help.
ALEX: Dr. Strand looked disheveled. He’d let his facial hair grow out, but not in a manicured, hipster way. He had more of a Unabomber thing going on. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, and he wasn’t wearing a suit like he usually does. He wore a white t-shirt under unbuttoned flannel.
- ALEX: I’ve been calling.
- STRAND: I’ve been busy.
- ALEX: I can see that.
- STRAND: Could you turn that off?
- ALEX: What?
- STRAND: The recorder. I want to speak with you, but this has to be off the record.
- ALEX: It’s just…I don’t know how it’ll affect-
- STRAND: (Insistently) Please. (Much softer) Please. I’ll explain once the recorder is off.
- ALEX: Is it Coralee? Charlie?
ALEX: There was something in Strand’s voice, something in his eyes…I know my recording has bothered him in the past, but this time felt…different. I turned off the recorder. I’m not at liberty to share what he told me, but he did agree to let me reveal his secret at some point, if it turns out that it’s relevant to our investigation of Coralee’s disappearance or the black tapes. He had concerns about what he shared with me putting people in danger. He called it a safety issue.
- ALEX: So…we’ll need to find a way to talk…around what you just told me.
- STRAND: I understand.
- ALEX: It’s kind of unfair to our audience. They’ve trusted me to take them on this journey, and my access so far has been…well, if not completely unobstructed, at least…well….certain avenues have never been completely shut down.
- STRAND: But, as I explained, it’s not connected to what you’ve been investigating. I think it’s important for your audience to know that going forward.
- ALEX: Of course. But if it turns out that it IS directly connected, or relevant, I’m allowed to share it, right?
- STRAND: (reluctantly) Yes.
- ALEX: Okay. You said that you needed my help?
- STRAND: Yes.
- ALEX: With what?
- STRAND: Maybe you and Nic could research, look online…for me. For any of this.
- ALEX: What is this?
- STRAND: Will you help me or not?
- ALEX: Why don’t you get Ruby to help?
- STRAND: I’d like her to…keep clear of any of this. You and I…we have a-
- ALEX: …yeah.
- STRAND: (very quietly) So, you’ll do it?
- ALEX: Yes. I’ll do it.
ALEX: If you’re frustrated with the sudden lack of information, trust me, I’m right there with you. Although my frustration was like…like someone with a secret, a secret I was dying to share. It was frustrating for all of us at Pacific Northwest Stories to withhold it. Here’s my producer, Nic.
- NIC: I’m not sure…including any mention of Strand’s…thing makes any sense. I mean, if we’re not going to address it on the show, if it’s not going to lead anywhere, you know what I mean?
- ALEX: Well…but it might, I mean that’s- it could. The-
- NIC: (sighs in frustration) I guess…I don’t know. It…it just…it’s borderline. I feel like it might be…don’t you-
- ALEX: I understand what you’re saying, but…I don’t know, my instincts tell me that I’m on the right path, that we’re on the right path. It goes to character, as they say.
- NIC: Strand.
- ALEX: Right.
- NIC: Okay, well, The Black Tapes are Strand’s thing…but this story is YOUR thing, and I just wonder if Strand might not be trying to manipulate things…somehow.
- ALEX: Well, I don’t know if that type of manipulation is very Strand-like.
- NIC: Yeah, true, but his asking feels almost like he’s not censoring, but maybe trying to guide the story a little bit?
- ALEX: Yeah….okay, well I’ll proceed with caution.
- NIC: I know you will. In the future we should try to get Strand to put everything on tape. That way we can decide whether or not to include it, and I don’t know. Ethically, it just feels like we should have editorial control, I just want to avoid accusations of collusion with Strand to push some secret agenda.
- ALEX: I absolutely agree.
- NIC: I don’t know. Do you think I’m being a little paranoid?
- ALEX: (laughs) Well, I think you’re doing your job.
- NIC: Okay, so, can we talk about the Brothers of the Mount?
- ALEX: Yes. Let’s talk about the Brothers of the Mount.
- NIC: Okay.
ALEX: During the season break, we received a lot of tips about various aspects of our show. Whether it was reports of sacred geometric symbols in abandoned building, in-depth theories on the Order of the Ceniphus and Brother Black’s music, or strange eyewitness accounts of inexplicable shadows in videos and photographs, our inbox was jammed full of the potentially paranormal. We’re still sifting through everything, so if we haven’t responded, please be patient. But, we did receive one tip that actually…well, eventually bore fruit. Here’s Nic.
- NIC: One of our listeners forwarded a screenshot of a news story from a couple of weeks ago, it was from a community paper, The Colville Reader. “On Tuesday morning, local authorities were led into the Colville National Forest accompanied by a parks’ official and two eyewitnesses who first caught sight of a man illegally hunting in the Little Pandore National Wildlife Preserve. This led to a three hour standoff outside a make-shift lean-to that ended in the unknown poacher taking his own life. His identity remains undisclosed pending further investigation.” This was in October.
- ALEX: So…..you’re thinking this man is somehow connected to Edward Lewis and his Brothers of the Mount?
- NIC: Well, okay…so I contacted the sheriff’s office in Colville. Really nice guy. He wasn’t willing to be recorded, but he was willing to share some information. It looks like this poacher had been living in that tiny lean-to for years. It was built against a small cave-
- ALEX: Wait! He was living in the cave?
- NIC: Sounds like it.
- ALEX: Does this guy have a name?
- NIC: He had no I.D., personal belongings, nothing at all that would identify him geographically. They’re assuming he had been living there a long time, but they can’t be sure.
- ALEX: Okay…
- NIC: Um…there was one other thing…
- ALEX: Oh? A Brother of the Mount membership card?
- NIC: Not exactly…but almost.
- ALEX: Okay. (laughs) What was it?
- NIC: A book.
- ALEX: Please tell me it’s the Ceniphus.
- NIC: I would love nothing more, but I’m guessing it’s not the Ceniphus. It’s small, under a hundred pages.
- ALEX: Any sacred geometry?
- NIC: No sacred geometry, I’m afraid, but there is a lot of strange content.
- ALEX: Wait. You have it?
- NIC: I have a scanned copy that the sheriff sent on the condition that we share anything we find with him.
- ALEX: Nic, that’s amazing!
- NIC: It’s not a bad start.
- ALEX: No!
- NIC: So, I need you to call this guy at this number.
- ALEX: Okay…who is this?
- NIC: He’s a hunter, the one who reported the poacher.
- ALEX: Oh, okay.
- NIC: Turns out, he has a hunting camera, what’s called a game camera, it’s a kind of motion activated surveillance…he has a bunch of them and he reviews the video looking for game patterns.
- ALEX: That seems kind of like an unfair advantage.
- NIC: I agree. Turns out, this guy found a lot more than caribou on one of his cameras, he found something…strange.
- ALEX: What kind of something strange?
- NIC: He sent us a video file.
- (phone ringing)
- PODESKI: Hello?
- ALEX: Hi, Rick?
- PODESKI: Is this Alex Reagan?
- ALEX: Yes, it is!
- PODESKI: (laughing) Oh, man. This is so cool. I gotta tell you, I love your show. My wife turned me onto it back when you guys were over in Charlesworth. So, I’ve listened to every single episode. It’s fascinating. I never would have been into this sort of thing-
- ALEX: Oh, stop! (Both laughing)
ALEX: That’s Rick Podeski, a resident of Colville, Washington, just west of Charlesworth. You’ll remember Charlesworth from the first season of our show. Podeski claims he’s hunted this region for over two decades, he knows the terrain well.
- ALEX: So, my producer told me that you got that footage from what you call a…a tree stand?
- PODESKI: Yeah, I use it for white tail at the end of October. This is the first year at that spot at the edge of the meadow, had my Bush Nail trail cam sat up under the stand. It’s set up with night vision so you can see what’s snooping around at night. I get all kinds of cool pictures with that. I once got a mountain lion dragging what looked to be a dead porcupine in its jaws. That looked painful.
- ALEX: Yeah…and that clip you sent us? I had a hard time understanding exactly what I was looking at.
- PODESKI: Yeah, so I spliced together from two separate days. The first one is some guy poking around the stand in midafternoon. You saw that, right?
ALEX: I did see that. In the video, a man enters the frame. He’s dressed in what looks like a burlap sack tied at the waist with rope. He has very long hair and his mustache and beard are what you’d expect from a guy wearing a burlap sack. He stands in the meadow and looks to be about two dozen yards from the tree stand. It looks like he doesn’t notice it. He kneels down and starts drawing something on the ground with a long stick, and in his hand he holds a book. He slowly sits down at the edge of whatever he drew on the ground and it looks like he starts reading something from his book. The timestamp shows he reads for about twenty-eight minutes. Then, he’s spooked by something. He gets up and runs away off camera.
- ALEX: Do you often pick up people on these cameras?
- PODESKI: Oh, sure, a hunter or two once in a while.
- ALEX: But nothing like this guy?
- PODESKI: Not like this guy. Never. It kind of freaked me out cause this spot’s about a fifteen hour hike from the nearest road. I’d never reached that spot without my ATV. I probably gotta- I gotta feeling this guy was living around there, which is illegal and really (bleeped out) hard, pardon my French.
- ALEX: What do you think he was doing?
- PODESKI: Well, at first I thought he was setting some type of trap because you can’t really see the ground at where he’s standing, but it looks like he was just holding a stick. You can’t make much of a trap with a stick, and then he just starts reading. Real weird, if you ask me. So I reported him to the Park Ranger and the Sheriff.
- ALEX: And why the Sheriff?
- PODESKI: Well, like I said, I heard your show.
- ALEX: Ah!
- PODESKI: Yeah, I thought maybe he was one of those monks, that crazy guy? The one who kidnapped the boy, Sebastian? Maybe this guy was connected to the Brotherhood he was with.
- ALEX: Right.
- PODESKI: Yeah. So, you…think this is going to be on your show?
- ALEX: I think so.
- PODESKI: Oh, that is so cool.
- ALEX: So, the second video.
- PODESKI: The weird one.
ALEX: So, here’s what I saw in Rick’s second video. It’s night. The camera’s resolution is really good. You can see the trees and bushes around the meadow. For a while, there’s nothing, but then something steps into the frame. It looks like it’s about two feet in front of the camera, it’s really close. You can make out what look like legs, maybe a deer? Whatever it is, it just stands there a moment incredibly still, and then it moves out of frame.
- ALEX: So, these deer obviously travel at night.
- PODESKI: Sure, they do.
- ALEX: Okay, so….well…I’m not sure why you sent that second clip. What am I looking for?
- PODESKI: You saw the legs, right?
- ALEX: Yes. But you said that deer travel at night.
- PODESKI: How many legs do you see?
- ALEX: Sorry, how many?
- PODESKI: Yeah.
- ALEX: I’m not sure.
- PODESKI: Watch it again.
- ALEX: Okay.
- PODESKI: I’ll wait.
- ALEX: Sure.
- PODESKI: You watching it?
- ALEX: Yes. It’s playing on my computer right now.
- PODESKI: Count the legs. (pause) You counting?
- ALEX: Yeah. There are two. They look like they’re the front legs?
- PODESKI: Front legs? You’re sure about that?
- ALEX: I think so. But they could be the rear legs. What difference does it make?
- PODESKI: Well, last I checked, deer came with four legs.
- ALEX: Sure, but the other two are just off camera.
- PODESKI: No, they’re not. Look again. That…thing crosses right to left directly in front of the camera. You’re seeing everything from the knee down, one pair of deer legs, two legs.
- ALEX: I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not a deer expert.
- PODESKI: Well, you don’t have to be. It’s not a deer. Deer keep their hooves close to the ground, also like I mentioned earlier, they have four legs. Four legs they keep on the ground. They can’t walk on two.
- ALEX: Well, I did watch the video again. And again. And again. It was…very odd. It looked like there was only half a deer. Just two legs. He was right.
- PODESKI: Weird, isn’t it?
- ALEX: It definitely qualifies as weird. But I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.
- PODESKI: Well, maybe, but in all my years hunting and using trail cams I’ve never seen anything like this…thing.
ALEX: Rick sounded confident that the thing he captured on his camera was something outside of the norm, and I had to admit, there was something deeply disturbing about the image sitting there on my computer. But the strange deer thing would have to wait. Nic had arranged for me to meet a rare books dealer in Seattle, her name is Gloria Cohen.
- ALEX: Your office is beautiful.
- COHEN: Thank you!
- ALEX: Are all of these books for sale?
- COHEN: Not these ones, no. Please, have a seat.
- ALEX: Thanks.
ALEX: Gloria Cohen is in her fifties with beautiful, long, graying hair. She’s quite tall and moves like Catherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, almost floating, her hands ahead of her like she’s about to reach for something to show you. I got the sense that she wasn’t used to having guests.
- ALEX: So, my producer mentioned that you recognized the book he sent you?
- COHEN: It wasn’t so much the book itself, but rather the content. Do you have the book in your possession?
- ALEX: No, I believe it was sent to a forensic lab.
- COHEN: A shame.
- ALEX: What is that book exactly?
- COHEN: Well, we don’t know for sure, but I’m almost certain that it is a book of spells. I printed out some of the more informative chapters.
- ALEX: Spells? As in casting spells?
- COHEN: Yes. The reason that you probably didn’t recognize the writing is that it’s a mixture of Russian and Latin.
- ALEX: Ah. So this Russian and Latin, is it- is that a strange combination?
- COHEN: Well, most of it is in Russian, but there are parts that appear to be, at least in part, sections of the Latin bible.
- ALEX: And you’re sure it’s a book of spells and not some kind of prayer book?
- COHEN: Does this sound like a prayer book to you? (forcefully) Gloshclumantoh (?)
- ALEX: I don’t know. Maybe? What is that?
- COHEN: It’s the name of a demon.
- ALEX: A demon?
- COHEN: Yes. (gleeful)
- ALEX: (quietly) Great.
- COHEN: The accompanying text describes this particular demon as “dangerous but mischievous.” You must speak his name aloud three consecutive times to invite him into your presence.
- ALEX: Like a chant?
- COHEN: Yes, as in Gloshclumantoh, Gloshclumantoh, Gloshclumantoh. (pause) Well, it appears the demon has turned down our invitation.
- ALEX: YOUR invitation.
- COHEN: My dear, you don’t believe this nonsense, do you?
- ALEX: No, of course not, but there’s this tiny part of me…that…you know, it’s hard to completely rule out things.
- COHEN: It’s like a childrens’ game. I’m sure hundreds of years ago, monks would sit around in their dining halls bored to death from celibacy making up ways to scare each other. This is probably one of those games. Parlor games for the devoutly bored.
- ALEX: Hm. How fun.
- COHEN: The spells in this grimoire are actually quite unique. The first half of the book is filled with cure-alls, medicines, mostly boiled roots and tree branches and the like, but it’s the second half of the book that’s quite…compelling. It appears to be a collection of ways to bring demons into this world. There’s a lot of talk of portals and symbols, things you can draw on the floor or the walls, ways to open a gateway to the other side.
- ALEX: Hell?
- COHEN: I think we can safely assume they’re talking about Hell, yes.
- ALEX: Safely?
- COHEN: You do seem a bit uncomfortable with all of this. Are you sure you’re all right?
- ALEX: (laughs uncomfortably) Yeah. I’m fine.
- COHEN: Okay, well then, let me take you through this. Look at this one. Say that word.
- ALEX: I-I’d rather not.
- COHEN: After me. Jurashka (?)
- ALEX: (sighs, reluctantly) Jurashka.
- COHEN: Now, if you want this particular demon in your life, you know, to discuss world politics or the latest Hollywood gossip, just say Jurashka again tonight at midnight twice with your eyes closed. Oh, and don’t forget, you’ll need to be facing East and you need to be in the dark, for some reason, even though your eyes are closed.
- ALEX: In the dark.
- COHEN: Yes.
- ALEX: (uncomfortable) Okay.
- COHEN: Just do and say all of that and Jurashka will appear as a pair of flaming, red eyes, burning toward you in the darkness.
- ALEX: Great.
- COHEN: (gleefully) Oh! And I like this one. Kla-toh-mah-ka. Say it with me, just for fun.
- ALEX: I’d rather not.
- COHEN: It’s easy! Kla-toh-mah-ka. Doesn’t sound very Russian, does it?
- ALEX: What does this one do?
- COHEN: Oh, this Klatohmahka is apparently quite powerful. You don’t even need to say his name, all you have to do to conjure his presence, to extend the invitation, if you will…
- ALEX: Yeah?
- COHEN: All you have to do is think his name. Kla-toh-mah-ka.
- ALEX: Wait. You mean, if I think his name he’ll show up?
- COHEN: That’s what they say. All you have to do is think the name Kla-toh-mah-ka at night, with your eyes closed. Do this, and you’ve sent him the invitation.
- ALEX: Uh….I’m not sure how I-
- COHEN: (laughs) Alex! None of this is real. People made this up. It’s just for fun. Isn’t it fun?
- ALEX: Yeah. It’s great.
ALEX: So, that was Gloria Cohen. If I hadn’t already been experiencing severe insomnia, I would have blamed her stories of demons and how to summon them, willingly or unwittingly, for the fact that I didn’t get any sleep last night.
- BERNIER: So, how have you been feeling?
ALEX: That’s Doctor Monique Bernier, my sleep doctor. Nic demanded I see somebody, and because he was going to pull the plug on the podcast if I didn’t, I agreed. But under one condition- that I could record my sessions and share them with you. Nic thought it was a great idea, that sharing what I was experiencing might help me get past whatever it was that was keeping me from sleeping. Dr. Bernier was far less enthusiastic. She agreed to allow me to record our first two sessions and if she was okay with that content, she told Nic that she might be willing to extend our arrangement.
- BERNIER: Have you been doing the relaxation exercises we discussed?
- ALEX: I have.
- BERNIER: Any success?
- ALEX: I don’t know. Maybe. I feel like they definitely help me fall asleep, but…
- BERNIER: You’re still not able to stay asleep.
- ALEX: No. I always wake up within an hour. Always. And then I can’t fall back asleep.
- BERNIER:: I’d like to avoid that type of language.
- ALEX: What type of language?
- BERNIER: Using negative words like “can’t” in association with the word sleep. Rather than saying “I can’t fall back asleep,” I’d rather you said something positive.
- ALEX: Like….what?
- BERNIER: Perhaps, I fell asleep quicker than usual or something similar. I’d like you to try to frame things in a positive way around the subject of sleep and sleeping.
- ALEX: Okay.
- BERNIER: Great! So, have you started your sleep journal?
- ALEX: Not yet.
- BERNIER: I think it’s a very important step.
- ALEX: Right. (Pause) Is it okay if it’s an audio journal?
- BERNIER: An audio journal would be fine. The important thing is that you write or record something every morning.
- ALEX: Every morning?
- BERNIER: That’s right.
- ALEX: Okay.
ALEX: So, I’m keeping a sleep journal. I’m calling them my sleep notes. I’m not crazy about the word journal, which probably sounds strange coming from a journalist, but it’s just…it’s just a thing. Anyway, I’ll be checking in with Dr. Bernier from time to time, and it looks like for the time being anyway that you’ll be checking in, right along with me. But for now, we’re heading back to the part of the thing that confuses and concerns me the most. We’re headed back onto the trail of Coralee Strand.
ALEX: Nic and I spoke with Tina Stevenson on at least four separate occasions and there was nothing new there. Just a description of what Coralee had been wearing- jeans, boots,black leather jacket. We asked Tina to call immediately if Coralee showed up, but we didn’t have the resources to sit outside and wait however many months or years it might take for that to happen. If we were having trouble parsing all this stuff, I can only imagine what Strand must be going through. Although my imagination was aided when he called asking for an update.
(Phone ringing)
- ALEX: Hello.
- STRAND: Hello.
- ALEX: Dr. Strand.
- STRAND: Yes.
- ALEX: How- are you okay?
- STRAND: I’m calling for an update. Did you manage to find anything about Coralee?
- ALEX: Where are you?
- STRAND: I don’t have much time.
- ALEX: Are you sure you’re okay?
- STRAND: Please? Coralee.
- ALEX: Okay, well, Nic was able to dig up a few things on Thomas Warren.
- STRAND: Yes. Good.
- ALEX: Well, I’m not sure about good. It turns out he’s something of an enigma. He’s worked as a lobbyist on both sides of the environmental issue, climate change and energy mainly. He splits his time between San Francisco, London, and Seattle, but he’s often…well, he travels a lot.
- STRAND: Were you able to find a connection between him and Coralee?
- ALEX: Not directly, but there was something.
- STRAND: What?
- ALEX: Nic was able to find the name of a company.
- STRAND: What company?
- ALEX: The company that paid for your residency in Seattle.
- STRAND: They’ve paid for me to lecture in the past. There’s nothing there.
- ALEX: Well…that’s not exactly true.
- STRAND: No?
- ALEX: No. The not-for-profit company listed on your schedule of employment isn’t actually the company of record, that must have been a misprint.
- STRAND: Unlikely.
- ALEX: Well, then somebody did their best to cloak the entity that was actually paying for you to be in Seattle.
- STRAND: What entity?
- ALEX: Well, that’s where it gets a bit complicated.
- STRAND: How?
- ALEX: So, Nic tracked down the name of the company and the bank they used to pay the university.
- STRAND: And?
- ALEX: And that led him down a rabbit hole through a maze of corporations. He was trying to connect everything to Deva Corporation.
- STRAND: That’s Thomas Warren’s company?
- ALEX: One of them. Yes.
- STRAND: But he couldn’t make the connection?
- ALEX: No. But he was able to find a physical address for one of the companies, the shipping arm of an import/export firm. It’s in Seattle, so I’m going to check it out as soon as I get back.
- STRAND: I don’t think I’ll be able to get to Seattle. At least not for a few days. You’ll let me know what you find.
- ALEX: Yeah, of course. (long pause)
- ALEX: Hello? Dr. Strand?
- STRAND: I’m sorry, I have to go.
- ALEX: Wait. You promised you’d take a ook at the nanny cam footage that I sent to you?
- STRAND: I did speak with Rebecca Ye.
- ALEX: Oh, you did?
- STRAND: Yes.
- ALEX: And?
- STRAND: And she seemed distraught.
- ALEX: Her daughter carved demonic symbols into the floor of her room. I’d say she was distraught.
- STRAND: You believe that her six year old daughter carved those elaborate symbols into the floor with a butter knife beneath a solid oak sleigh bed it took four men to move?
- ALEX: Well, I-
- STRAND: There is something interesting in the video, however.
- ALEX: What is it?
- STRAND: The way that shadow moves across the sensor.
- ALEX: Okay, what about it?
- STRAND: It’s not fake.
- ALEX: What?
- STRAND: Whatever was causing that shadow was actually there, in the room.
- ALEX: You’re sure?
- STRAND: I believe so. I’d get someone else to take a look at it. I left a few names with Ruby, you should give them a call. I’ve got to get going. I-I have a meeting that I-
- ALEX: Hello? Dr. Strand?
ALEX: I called back but it went right to his voicemail. For the moment, at least, it looked like Strand was out of the picture. I was going downtown to check out the address Nic dug up for the company behind Strand’s engagement at the university.
ALEX: I’m standing outside a nondescript building that I’m going to have to describe, so here goes. It’s a rectangle. A sturdy, seventies version of mid-century architecture. There’s lots of concrete, very little glass. There are no signs of any kind. There’s a buzzer, but the name of the company Nic gave me isn’t listed. I’m going to just press a button or two.
- (pressing buttons)
- MAN: 206
- ALEX: Hello?
- ALEX: Okay, I’m going up.
- (walking in)
- MAN: Oh, I thought you were delivery!
- ALEX: Nope. Not me.
- MAN: How can I help you?
- ALEX: Well, I’m actually recording for a podcast, it’s called The Black Tapes.
- MAN: Cool! I love podcasts. Have you heard of Serial?
- ALEX: Yep, that’s a good one.
- MAN: Me and my boyfriend binged that one!
- ALEX: Great! Well, I’m trying to get in touch with somebody at (bleeped out). There supposed to be on the first floor. They’re a not-for-profit company.
- MAN: There are no not-for-profit companies here.
- ALEX: You’re sure?
- MAN: Yeah, unless you consider Deva Corp a not-for-profit.
- ALEX: I’m sorry?
- MAN: Deva Corp used to use the first floor for meetings, I think. They had some kind of lab, as well.
- ALEX: You’re sure?
- MAN: Pretty sure.
- ALEX: Is there anybody I can call to check? A superintendent or something?
- MAN: I don’t think it’ll help.
- ALEX: Why not?
- MAN: I don’t think anyone’s set foot there since Bush was president.
- ALEX: Right.
- MAN: The older one.
- ALEX: Wow! That was a long time ago! Can I get that number for the super?
- MAN: You bet.
- ALEX: Thanks.
- NIC: Maybe Strand just needs more time.
- ALEX: I guess. (sighs)
- NIC: He’ll come around. (quietly) Won’t he?
- ALEX: You think so?
- NIC: Uh… (reluctantly) 50/50?
- ALEX: (sighs again) Yeah.
- NIC: Yeah…
- (phone rings)
- ALEX: Hello?
- AMALIA: Hello, Alexandra.
- ALEX: Amalia! Where have you been?! Where are you?
- AMALIA: I am at the airport.
- ALEX: What airport?
- AMALIA: Sea-Tac.
- ALEX: You’re in Seattle?!
- AMALIA: (laughs) Yes. And I was hoping I might be able to stay with you for just a little while? It’s okay?
- ALEX: Yeah. I-I would love the company.
ALEX: The Black Tapes Podcast is a Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale production. Recorded in Seattle and Vancouver. Produced by Nic Silver. Mixed and engineered by Nic Silver and Alan Williams. Edited by Nic Silver and Alex Reagan. Executive producers Paul Bay and Terry Miles.