The Dead Wife's Phone Call: 10 Years Too Late "Behind The Door" | Fiction Podcast

0:05 Speaker 1: It lies in wait amidst your dreams, where nothing is ever how it seems. It is a portal to a terrifying world beyond the doorway to nightmare. Nightmare. Welcome. I'm your host, Artemis Black. A normal human being does not want the kingdom of heaven. He wants life on earth to continue. Or so said author George Orwell. And yet, everyone eventually dies. Or do they? Hello? Hello?

1:08 Speaker 2: Mr. Jones, it's Marcy.

1:11 Speaker 3: Thank goodness it's you. Listen, I should be home by about seven. I hope that doesn't make it too late for your dinner.

1:18 Speaker 2: Seven is fine. However, it would be nice if you had told me that we were to have company.

1:24 Speaker 3: As far as I know, there isn't any.

1:26 Speaker 2: Well, sir, I received a rather strange phone call. The lady told me that you should come home and wait for her.

1:33 Speaker 3: Did she say who she was?

1:36 Speaker 2: She claimed to be your wife, sir. I'm not one to pry into my employer's affairs, but I thought that you said that you were a widower and your wife was dead.

1:51 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, Behind the Door, was especially written for Doorway to Nightmare and adapted from the short story by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our stars include Mark Wheeler, Annie Mick, Crimson McKenzie, I'll be back shortly with Act One. The 13th century Persian poet Rumi wrote, Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation. Richard, over here.

2:47 Speaker 3: Daniel, great to see you again.

2:49 Speaker 1: Sit down.

2:51 Speaker 4: So tell me, what have you been doing with yourself since you left?

2:55 Speaker 2: Marriage.

2:56 Speaker 1: You married? Who's the lucky girl?

3:01 Speaker 3: Her name is Charlotte, and she's the loveliest creature.

3:03 Speaker 1: On the planet. Yeah, but for how long?

3:07 Speaker 3: Now that's not very fair. Brenda died of. Natural causes.

3:13 Speaker 1: A heart attack. Yes, I know. She did leave you quite well off.

3:19 Speaker 3: Yes, but it took almost a year for the insurance company to pay the policy.

3:23 Speaker 5: So what made you decide to get married again?

3:26 Speaker 3: Oh, Daniel, it was like magic. Charlotte is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And she was. She was gorgeous, intelligent, and had come into my life at just the right time.

3:43 Speaker 1: Oh!

3:44 Speaker 5: I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.

3:48 Speaker 3: No harm done. Are you injured?

3:50 Speaker 6: No.

3:51 Speaker 5: Only my pride. For wishing me for not looking where I was going.

3:56 Speaker 3: Well, then you must let me take you out for dinner.

3:59 Speaker 5: How very bold you are, sir. I don't even know your name.

4:06 Speaker 3: Richard. Richard Jones. And who I have the pleasure of dining with this evening.

4:11 Speaker 5: Charlotte Croft. And I must unfortunately decline the invitation.

4:18 Speaker 3: Oh, now my pride is hurt.

4:20 Speaker 5: Oh, don't let it. I have an engagement at the museum this evening that I must attend.

4:27 Speaker 3: Then the problem solves itself. I shall accompany you.

4:31 Speaker 1: Oh!

4:32 Speaker 5: Boulder and Boulder. I'll meet you there at 8 p.m.

4:41 Speaker 3: And that's how it began. We went to the movies, the park, all the things that people who date begin to do. I even explained about my first wife and how she had died.

4:51 Speaker 5: You poor, dear, sweet man. However, life must continue. I'm so glad that you decided to continue it with me.

5:07 Speaker 3: Less than six months later, we were married. I moved into her penthouse and we began to set up housekeeping. I worked as best as I could, but Charlotte took care of all the expenses.

5:16 Speaker 5: I believe that a man should keep all his money. What he's worked for so hard. Don't worry about the general bills. I can take care of them.

5:28 Speaker 3: In a year, I had grown to hate her. I understand that hate is a very strong word, but it's the only one that I can come up with. To me, she seemed to lord over the fact that she was taking care of me. I offered many times to pay the bills, do the shopping, but every time I brought the subject up, she would tilt her head and laugh and.

5:50 Speaker 5: Say, Richard, darling, don't give it another thought. Let me worry about those trivial matters.

6:01 Speaker 3: Yes, I hated her for that. Until one day, when I regretted hating her.

6:09 Speaker 1: Hello?

6:09 Speaker 5: I'm coming home, Richard. Wait for me.

6:16 Speaker 3: The phone went dead. I tried calling her back, but it simply kept going to her voicemail. I must have left 20 messages, but none were returned. It wasn't until the doorbell rang, and I found the police on my doorstep.

6:32 Speaker 1: Mr. Jones?

6:33 Speaker 2: Yes?

6:34 Speaker 6: I'm afraid that I have some rather disturbing news. Your wife, Charlotte Jones, has been killed in a car accident.

6:42 Speaker 1: Charlotte? Are you sure?

6:46 Speaker 3: Could it be somebody else?

6:47 Speaker 6: This was the address on her license. I'm sorry, sir.

6:51 Speaker 3: It just can't be. I talked to her on the phone. She said that she was on her way home and that I should wait for her.

6:58 Speaker 6: We may need you to come down to the morgue for a positive identification.

7:03 Speaker 3: I felt like it was a dream. I barely remember seeing her body lying on the slab at the morgue. Her face was mangled and while they had tried to get most of the blood off of it, she was still a grisly sight to see.

7:18 Speaker 6: Is that your wife, sir?

7:23 Speaker 1: Yes.

7:23 Speaker 3: God, yes. What happened?

7:25 Speaker 6: We're not sure, but we know that it was just an accident. We're still investigating, but I'm quite positive that it will be ruled as such. I'm sorry for your loss.

7:41 Speaker 3: My loss?

7:44 Speaker 2: Oh, no.

7:46 Speaker 3: It's my gain.

7:51 Speaker 1: According to Edgar Allan Poe, the boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and where the other begins? I'll be back shortly with Act Two. Richard Jones, a widower, met the love of his life, or so he had thought. Even though he was working, his new wife, Charlotte, seemed to be carrying the weight of the everyday bills that tended to occur. While the marriage seemed to be perfect at first, Richard began to loathe her. Until....

9:05 Speaker 3: Charlotte had died. The police had determined that it was simply an accident. Caused by a faulty brake system. She had called me to let me know that she was on her way home. And according to the report... slammed into a tree five minutes later. I had looked at the clock when she had called.

9:24 Speaker 2: 11.13.

9:24 Speaker 3: It had been ten years since the accident, almost to the day when the phone rang at exactly that time. Hello?

9:35 Speaker 5: I'm coming home, Richard. Wait for me.

9:38 Speaker 3: I wonder who the devil that was.

9:47 Speaker 2: Good morning, sir.

9:49 Speaker 3: Good morning, Marcy. Just coffee, please.

9:53 Speaker 2: Now, sir, if you don't mind me saying so, you really should go off with a good hearty breakfast. My Joseph, God rest him, always had a good breakfast to start the day.

10:06 Speaker 3: Really, Marcy, if you don't mind.

10:08 Speaker 2: Oh, I don't mind. If coffee is all you want, then that is all I will serve. Would you like me to answer, sir?

10:18 Speaker 3: No, I'll pick it up.

10:24 Speaker 1: Hello?

10:26 Speaker 5: I'm coming home, Richard. Wait for me.

10:35 Speaker 2: Sir, will you be home for din- Oh my, you look white as a ghost. Everything alright?

10:42 Speaker 1: What?

10:42 Speaker 3: Oh, yes, everything is fine. Just a wrong number.

10:46 Speaker 2: It seemed to upset you, sir.

10:49 Speaker 3: I'm fine, Marcy.

10:50 Speaker 2: Very well, sir. Will you be coming home for dinner?

10:53 Speaker 3: Yes, I should be. If I do run late, I will give you a call. Twice the phone had rang and both times it sounded just like Charlotte. I knew it was impossible. Charlotte had been dead for ten years. I met up with my friend Daniel at lunch and told him what had happened.

11:16 Speaker 2: Hmm.

11:16 Speaker 1: Most remarkable. That's quite a tale.

11:19 Speaker 3: I can assure you, Daniel, this is no tale. Last night and... Then again this morning.

11:26 Speaker 4: But you yourself said that it only sounded like Charlotte.

11:31 Speaker 3: I know.

11:32 Speaker 4: Perhaps it really was just a wrong number. You know, you're not the only Richard that lives in the city with a telephone.

11:41 Speaker 3: It was just a little bit unnerving. What this woman said was the very last thing that I heard Charlotte say.

11:47 Speaker 4: Nah, Richard, it's just best to forget it. I know that I've accidentally dialed the same wrong number and had to apologize not just once, but twice.

12:00 Speaker 3: I suppose you're right.

12:02 Speaker 4: And if it happens again, maybe you need to call the police.

12:06 Speaker 3: And tell them what? That a wrong number has been calling me?

12:10 Speaker 1: You're right. Best just to forget it.

12:17 Speaker 3: I poured myself into work at the office. By the time the afternoon had come around, I had forgotten the phone calls. When I returned home, Marcy had made a wonderful dinner, and my spirits had been lifted. She retired to her room around 10.30, and I stayed up to watch the late news. I must have drifted off to sleep.

12:44 Speaker 3: I woke with a start to the ringing of the phone. Hello?

12:50 Speaker 5: I'm coming home, Richard.

12:52 Speaker 3: I'm afraid that you have the wrong number.

12:55 Speaker 5: Wait for me. I.

13:02 Speaker 3: I stood there, staring at the receiver in my hand. I looked over at the clock and a cold chill went in my spine. 11.13. Sleep was fitful that night. However, for two days, there was no strange calls. I would let Marcy answer the phone every time that it would ring, but it was usually something that either her or I was expecting. That was until Thursday night.

13:33 Speaker 2: Now your dinner is in the oven, sir. I made you a nice pot roast and veggies.

13:38 Speaker 3: Thank you, Marcy.

13:39 Speaker 2: Oh, sir, you're too kind. I should be the one thanking you for giving me this job.

13:45 Speaker 3: Well, I wish the pay was a little better.

13:47 Speaker 2: Pay with room and board? I couldn't ask for a better job. Now I will only be away tonight. I should be back by ten in the morning.

13:57 Speaker 3: I'm sure that I will survive.

13:59 Speaker 2: Oh, you men. My dear Joseph, God rest him, couldn't even boil water.

14:05 Speaker 3: The apartment was silent. I had some peace and quiet. And without thinking about it, I answered the.

14:17 Speaker 1: Phone.

14:17 Speaker 5: I'm coming home, Richard. Wait for me.

14:22 Speaker 3: Charlotte?

14:23 Speaker 5: Richard.

14:26 Speaker 2: Why?

14:28 Speaker 5: Richard, why?

14:30 Speaker 3: There was no mistaking it for a wrong number now. It was Charlotte. I knew that voice. Even after ten years, I knew.

14:43 Speaker 1: That it was her.

14:44 Speaker 3: She had asked me why. Why what? What? Why was I still alive? Why had I not died of a broken heart? Or was she asking why it was me that had killed her?

15:02 Speaker 1: Someone once told me that there can be nothing against you unless the dead could come to life. I can assure you that what awaits Richard is nothing short of pure terror. I'll be back shortly with Act 3. Richard Jones has been receiving some rather strange phone calls at the exact time that his wife Charlotte made her last call to him before losing her life in an auto accident.

16:01 Speaker 4: Yes.

16:04 Speaker 3: You have guessed correctly. I had tempered with the brakes of the car, and five minutes after she had called me, I was very, very wealthy. The money was practically gone within a year, and there was just enough to afford the apartment and the services of a lonely widow named Marcy, who has... I believe, grown quite fond of me. Talking to her, I have found that she is in no desperate need of money, as she had redeemed a large settlement from her husband's estate. But I don't want to progress plans too far ahead of myself.

16:52 Speaker 2: Oh, sir, you startled me. I didn't expect you to be home.

16:57 Speaker 3: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.

16:59 Speaker 2: Oh, it's all right. My Joseph, God rest him, used to sneak up on me all the time. Gave me such terrible jumps he did. When I backhanded him one time, on accident of course, he stopped that foolishness. Now then, since you are home, how about a nice cup of tea?

17:20 Speaker 3: I just made some coffee.

17:22 Speaker 2: Oh well, suit yourself.

17:24 Speaker 3: Did you enjoy your visit?

17:25 Speaker 2: Oh yes sir, very much. My friend Evelyn and I always have a nice visit, both of us losing our husbands and all. Yes, it was quite relaxing. However, there was one strange thing that happened.

17:40 Speaker 3: Really?

17:41 Speaker 2: Yes. We was watching the telly, but Evelyn likes to go to bed around nine, and I just can't bring myself to sleep that early. So I stayed up a while longer. Well, anyway, the phone rang. And I thought that it was perhaps you calling, so I answered. Turned out to be one of those prank phone calls. I didn't think that anyone did those anymore.

18:08 Speaker 3: Don't tell me. Is your refrigerator running? Well, you best go out and catch it. Oh, you.

18:14 Speaker 2: No, it wasn't anything like that. No, it was a woman who told me to let Richard know that she was coming home and he should wait for her. And she hung up.

18:27 Speaker 3: What did you say?

18:28 Speaker 2: Oh, my. Are you all right, sir? Maybe you should go and have a lie down.

18:34 Speaker 3: No, I just remembered. I have some important work to catch up on. I'll see you tonight. Home was the last place that.

18:46 Speaker 1: I wanted to be.

18:48 Speaker 3: I watched the clock all day, willing it to slow down. Eventually, I knew that I would have to go home. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the phone on my desk rang.

19:02 Speaker 2: Hello? Is that you, sir?

19:08 Speaker 3: Yes, Marcy, it's me. Look, I should be home around seven.

19:13 Speaker 2: Well, sir, there seems to be some company coming over tonight.

19:18 Speaker 3: I'm not aware of anyone coming.

19:19 Speaker 2: I took another call a few minutes before I called you. The woman on the other end said that she would be home tonight and that you should wait for her. She said that she was your wife. I thought you told me that your wife had died.

19:36 Speaker 3: I must have broken at least 20 traffic laws racing home. I kept looking into the rear view mirror for the flashing lights and the siren. When I arrived, the apartment was silent. Marcy! There was no answer. I looked at the phone. I honestly didn't even want to touch it.

20:11 Speaker 1: Hello?

20:12 Speaker 5: I'm coming home, Richard.

20:15 Speaker 6: Wait for me.

20:17 Speaker 1: Just.

20:18 Speaker 3: Who the hell is this?

20:20 Speaker 5: You should know who this is, Richard. After all, I am your wife.

20:26 Speaker 3: My wife died ten years ago. This is not a very good joke.

20:30 Speaker 5: If you really needed the money, you could have just asked. Such a shame. But that is all over now. After ten years, we will finally... be together. I really don't like the new body. I think that you could have done a lot better.

21:04 Speaker 3: So now I'm sitting here in the living room which seems to be a very archaic name. I'm watching the clock as I write all this down. Hoping that by my confession and the events that have happened, my soul will not be damned. Marcy? No, Richard.

21:31 Speaker 5: Wait for me.

21:37 Speaker 1: Charlotte!

21:41 Speaker 3: I'm I'm going to leave these notes on the table.

21:46 Speaker 1: Frozen.

21:49 Speaker 3: All I can do is sit here and wait for it. I'm not even sure what. Marcy or Charlotte. Whatever is waiting for me in that room. I can't move. And I don't want to go down the hallway and find out what's behind the door. I'm free to.

22:13 Speaker 5: I'm home, Richard. I'm really home.

22:41 Speaker 1: The police were called to the apartment of Richard Jones, who lived with his housekeeper, Marcy. They found Richard halfway in the bedroom, lying on the floor and covered in blood. No trace of anyone named Marcy has ever been found. But they are still looking. I'll be back shortly. I began our little tale with a quote from George Orwell. I will end it with one from Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight Afterwards, returned again.

23:48 Speaker 1: Our cast included Mark Wheeler, Annie Mick, Crimson McKenzie, Carter Sheriff, and Winslow Swan. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie, and the production was under the direction of Winslow Swan. And now, a preview of our next tale.

24:12 Speaker 7: The rules are quite simple, Miss Markheim. You simply sit here and smoke cigarettes.

24:18 Speaker 2: Doesn't seem to be too stressful. And for that, you will give me five million dollars?

24:24 Speaker 3: Tax-free. Of course, there is a catch.

24:28 Speaker 2: It wouldn't be much.

24:29 Speaker 7: Of a gamble if there wasn't one, now would it? And you are free to leave at any time. At least, until we begin our little.

24:38 Speaker 1: game.

24:39 Speaker 2: What do you mean by that?

24:42 Speaker 7: Once you begin your game, you must complete it until the end.

24:46 Speaker 2: And if I don't?

24:48 Speaker 7: Well, then Jansen here will take his gun and put a bullet in your head.

24:53 Speaker 1: This is your host, Artemis Black. inviting you to return with us through the doorway to nightmare for another adventure into the terrifying world of your imagination. Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue. The butler did it.