The Ghost Hit: Executing a Dead Wife "Contract On A Ghost"| Crime 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.

0:25 Speaker 2: Nightmare.

0:38 Speaker 1: Come in. Welcome. I'm Artemis Black. The Ghost Story. A tale that could be handed down from generation to generation, told around campfires, or sometimes as a bedtime story.

1:02 Speaker 3: Now look, Mr. Trent. You had me shanghaied all the way here, and you've yet to tell me why.

1:07 Speaker 2: You didn't have to come if you didn't want to. I'm sure that the promise of half a million dollars piqued your interest.

1:17 Speaker 3: Let's just say that it was a contributing factor. What I don't understand is what exactly you want me to do.

1:25 Speaker 2: Why, it's very simple. I want you to eliminate my wife.

1:30 Speaker 3: But didn't you tell me that your wife was already dead?

1:33 Speaker 2: Very true. But now I need her... completely gone.

1:43 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, Contract on a Ghost, was written especially for your way to nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our stars include Annie Mick, Mick Davis, Peter Ludmeyer, and Winslow Swan. I'll be back shortly with Act One. The Ghost Story has been around for, well, before print was set to paper. You probably remember some spooky story told to you by a friend or perhaps a relative. They are quite popular, and the best ones send chills down your spine.

2:52 Speaker 2: Ah, come in, Mr.

2:53 Speaker 1: Moorman.

2:54 Speaker 2: Good of you to stop by.

2:55 Speaker 3: Is that what you call it?

2:57 Speaker 2: I don't know what you mean.

3:00 Speaker 3: Then let me make it very plain. I'm sitting quite comfortably in my apartment when two apes burst in, grab me, and haul me here. That is called kidnapping, and it carries very serious prison time.

3:16 Speaker 2: I apologize for the rather brisk way that you were brought here.

3:21 Speaker 3: Apology not accepted. Now if you'll excuse me.

3:25 Speaker 2: So you have no need for half a million dollars?

3:30 Speaker 3: What did you say?

3:33 Speaker 2: I'm sure that you heard me correctly, Mr.

3:36 Speaker 1: Morland.

3:37 Speaker 3: And that's another thing. How do you even know my name?

3:40 Speaker 2: Oh, I know a great deal about you, Mr.

3:43 Speaker 1: Morland.

3:43 Speaker 2: Or would you rather I call you Barry?

3:47 Speaker 3: You must be some kind of nut.

3:49 Speaker 2: When it comes to money, I suppose that I am rather maniacal.

3:56 Speaker 4: Well.

3:57 Speaker 3: You just go right on being a maniac, and I'll bid you farewell.

4:01 Speaker 2: I know, for instance, that your profession is that of a hired contract killer.

4:08 Speaker 3: We prefer the term eliminator.

4:13 Speaker 2: I just love what has become of the English language. Very well, eliminator. I wish to engage your services.

4:25 Speaker 1: Look, Mr. Trent.

4:27 Speaker 3: I only conduct my business without ever meeting the client or the contracted. I don't know how you know about me, but I can assure you that it puts you in a very precarious position.

4:41 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm not worried. Money has many privileges. One of them is that I can not only find out about anyone I choose, but that I am very well protected.

4:56 Speaker 3: All right, Mr.

4:56 Speaker 1: Trent.

4:57 Speaker 3: At least we understand each other.

5:00 Speaker 2: And we both want that, don't.

5:03 Speaker 1: We, Mr. Moorman?

5:05 Speaker 3: Whatever you say, Mr.

5:07 Speaker 1: Trent.

5:11 Speaker 2: Quite the portrait on the wall, don't you think?

5:14 Speaker 3: She's quite beautiful. Who is she?

5:19 Speaker 2: That is a portrait of my wife, Judith. She died a few months ago.

5:25 Speaker 3: I'm sorry to hear that.

5:27 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm not.

5:28 Speaker 1: She was.

5:29 Speaker 2: well, let's just say that she was not exactly the perfect wife.

5:35 Speaker 3: Is there such a thing?

5:36 Speaker 2: Oh, I still have hope.

5:39 Speaker 3: Don't we all? Okay, so who would you like eliminated?

5:44 Speaker 2: You and your euphemistic phrases. Years ago, you would have asked me whom did I want killed.

5:52 Speaker 3: Times change, Mr.

5:53 Speaker 1: Trent.

5:54 Speaker 2: So not always for the better.

5:56 Speaker 4: Fine.

5:57 Speaker 2: Let's use your form of the English language. I do indeed have someone that I want eliminated, or should I now say, unalived.

6:10 Speaker 3: Cut the comedy, Mr.

6:11 Speaker 1: Trent.

6:12 Speaker 3: You said something about half a million.

6:15 Speaker 1: So?

6:16 Speaker 2: So, that is what I am willing to pay you for the contract.

6:21 Speaker 3: I always get some of it up front, you understand.

6:29 Speaker 2: Here, $ 25, 000 for expenses.

6:34 Speaker 3: Very nice. Okay, let's get down to the specifics.

6:40 Speaker 2: I'm going to be out of town for the weekend.

6:43 Speaker 3: Set up your alibi. Very smart. Now, where shall the contract take place?

6:49 Speaker 2: Oh, right here, in this very apartment.

6:53 Speaker 3: No, no, no, that's no good. I never come into contact with the Mark.

6:58 Speaker 2: Well, I'm afraid in this case you will have no choice.

7:01 Speaker 3: Look, this is getting more complicated than I like. Who is this person?

7:07 Speaker 2: I want you to kill my wife.

7:11 Speaker 1: What?

7:12 Speaker 3: But Mr. Trent, you just told me that your wife died.

7:16 Speaker 2: Yes, she did.

7:17 Speaker 3: Then I suggest you hire someone much better suited.

7:21 Speaker 2: Now, don't you think that I have tried? mediums, spiritualists, experts in the field of the paranormal, and all of them have been completely useless. You, Mr. Moreland, are my last hope.

7:44 Speaker 5: Mr. Moreland, come have a drink.

7:46 Speaker 3: I'll have several, Matrix.

7:49 Speaker 5: You don't look so well.

7:51 Speaker 3: I'll tell you something. I'm getting really sick of this whole business.

7:57 Speaker 5: That business is great. I've been sending you enough clients, haven't I?

8:01 Speaker 3: It's not that. I just took on the screwiest contract of all time.

8:06 Speaker 5: You mean outside the company?

8:08 Speaker 3: Don't worry. Your name was never mentioned.

8:11 Speaker 5: You do understand the penalty of.

8:14 Speaker 3: You don't have to remind me of the consequences. Besides... This is going to be more of a vacation than a contract. I.

8:24 Speaker 5: don't understand.

8:26 Speaker 3: I get to spend the weekend at the apartment of a Mr. Alfred Trent.

8:31 Speaker 5: The Alfred Trent. The one who lives on the 140th floor of that apartment building downtown.

8:38 Speaker 3: That's the one. Plenty of food, drink, pay-per-view, and you can bet I'm going to order every event I can find. And on top of that, the fool's paying me half a million dollars.

8:52 Speaker 5: So who does he want you to eliminate?

8:54 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the funny part. The target is his wife.

8:57 Speaker 5: That should be easy for you.

8:59 Speaker 3: It's not like you haven't... She's already dead.

9:02 Speaker 4: Holy.

9:03 Speaker 5: Well now, I can see what you mean by being a... vacation. So you are a... a Ghostbuster now?

9:12 Speaker 3: It's not funny. This guy is really scared of his dead wife.

9:15 Speaker 5: In what way?

9:17 Speaker 2: Okay.

9:18 Speaker 3: For example, he claims that she has tried to kill him several times. The latest when he called up his private elevator, and when the door opened, he almost stepped into the shaft, falling 140 stories.

9:31 Speaker 5: Malfunction in the system.

9:33 Speaker 3: That's what I said, too. But then he told me about knives flying through the air and bookcases falling. One time, he was standing in front of his fireplace when the flames shot out at him. He jumped just in time.

9:48 Speaker 5: You don't think. I'm only speculating. Someone might have put money towards a contract on you. Do you?

9:55 Speaker 3: Not unless you know something that I don't know.

9:57 Speaker 1: No, no.

9:59 Speaker 5: Just worried about you. You said that it was the easiest job and you are going to be there alone.

10:05 Speaker 3: Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Now if you hear anything, let me know.

10:10 Speaker 5: Of course. You are our top employee. So what are you going to do? You don't really believe.

10:17 Speaker 3: Of course not. I'm going to take it easy for the weekend and collect half a million dollars. Then I'm quitting.

10:24 Speaker 1: Quitting?

10:25 Speaker 5: Finished.

10:26 Speaker 1: Kaput.

10:27 Speaker 2: Over and out.

10:30 Speaker 3: I'm tired, Matrix. Very tired. And I want out.

10:34 Speaker 1: I want out. Hugh Hefner once remarked that he thought retirement was the first step towards the grave. For Barry Moreland, he considers it a way out of a rather morbid profession. You find your way back here shortly with Act Two.

11:16 Speaker 1: It is now Saturday morning in the apartment of Mr. Trent. Barry Moreland has had a comfortable night's sleep and is now making himself a hearty breakfast.

11:30 Speaker 3: Easiest half a million I've ever made.

11:33 Speaker 6: If you don't turn that bacon over, you're gonna burn it.

11:36 Speaker 4: What?

11:37 Speaker 3: Who said that?

11:38 Speaker 6: If I had any substance to me, I'd help you out.

11:43 Speaker 3: Who the hell is that?

11:45 Speaker 4: Do you always overcook your bacon?

11:48 Speaker 3: Now look, I'm not in the mood for any games.

11:50 Speaker 4: You're going to ruin your breakfast.

11:53 Speaker 6: Here, give me that.

11:55 Speaker 1: What the.

11:56 Speaker 3: Something just jerked the spatula out of my hand.

11:59 Speaker 2: And.

12:00 Speaker 3: and it's just... floating over the bacon.

12:03 Speaker 4: You really should have timed these. This takes a lot of energy, but I think I can do it.

12:09 Speaker 3: What is going on? Someone, some thing is turning the bacon.

12:19 Speaker 6: Would you be a dear and turn the stove off? I don't think I can.

12:23 Speaker 1: What? Oh, sure.

12:29 Speaker 4: You will have to serve yourself. It's going to take a while before my energy is replenished.

12:36 Speaker 3: Okay, Mr. Trent, you can come out now. Great joke.

12:41 Speaker 6: It's no joke, Mr.

12:43 Speaker 1: Moreland.

12:44 Speaker 3: Come on, come on. Where are you hiding? I really want to know how you managed to do that. Great trick.

12:51 Speaker 6: I take it you don't believe in ghosts?

12:54 Speaker 5: No, Mr.

12:56 Speaker 3: Trent, I don't. Now where are you?

12:59 Speaker 6: Would you believe your own eyes?

13:01 Speaker 3: I've seen projections. Thank you very much.

13:04 Speaker 6: Have you ever seen this?

13:09 Speaker 3: You look just like the girl in the portrait. Nice picture. Or should I say, 3D image.

13:16 Speaker 4: Not much energy left. But I think I can manage this.

13:21 Speaker 3: Hey! You touched me!

13:25 Speaker 4: And that's all I have in me for today. I'm going to have to get some rest. Too bad I can't. Rest in peace.

13:38 Speaker 3: Miss Trent? Is that really you?

13:42 Speaker 6: It's really me. In the spirit, anyway.

13:46 Speaker 3: Well, then, you just stand right there. I got a few things for you.

13:52 Speaker 6: And just what do you plan to do?

13:56 Speaker 3: Well, now, let's just see what I have.

14:01 Speaker 6: Is that holy water?

14:03 Speaker 3: Picked it up last night.

14:08 Speaker 6: I don't really need a bath.

14:11 Speaker 1: Okay.

14:12 Speaker 3: Let me see.

14:13 Speaker 1: Aha!

14:15 Speaker 3: Spirit, I order you to leave this place.

14:21 Speaker 6: I don't feel like it.

14:24 Speaker 2: Hmm.

14:25 Speaker 3: Okay. And I'll just ignore you.

14:39 Speaker 6: I can keep it up all night.

14:44 Speaker 3: I was really hoping this would be easy. I mean, you look, well, beautiful for a ghost.

14:53 Speaker 6: Really? You think I'm beautiful?

14:56 Speaker 3: Hasn't anyone ever told you before?

14:58 Speaker 6: No, not ever.

15:00 Speaker 3: What about your husband?

15:02 Speaker 2: Him?

15:03 Speaker 6: He only married me for my fortune.

15:09 Speaker 3: Oh, well, a contract is a contract.

15:15 Speaker 7: Omar, Zulu, Mastiva, Omatep, D-Tag, Odin, Hexpalupit, Zador!

15:28 Speaker 3: What's happening to you?

15:30 Speaker 6: I don't know. Please, you must stop.

15:36 Speaker 4: Mr.

15:37 Speaker 6: Moreland. Barry, please.

15:39 Speaker 1: I can't do it.

15:43 Speaker 6: What was that?

15:45 Speaker 3: A banishment spell I got from a friend of mine.

15:47 Speaker 6: Why didn't you finish it?

15:49 Speaker 2: You would have been rich.

15:51 Speaker 3: I can't believe I'm saying this to you. I think that I feel something for you.

16:00 Speaker 6: Barry, but I'm a ghost.

16:04 Speaker 2: A spirit.

16:05 Speaker 3: I know it's crazy. I saw how much pain you were in and how beautiful you look. I, well, I just, I just couldn't do it. I'm just so tired of all of this.

16:18 Speaker 6: Why don't you do something about it?

16:21 Speaker 3: I don't know. Say, how did you die anyway?

16:25 Speaker 4: Haven't you guessed? My husband killed me. He rigged the elevator and I fell 140 floors.

16:34 Speaker 3: Horrible way to go.

16:36 Speaker 4: Actually, it's not that bad. I was dead before I even hit, so no pain.

16:43 Speaker 3: Didn't you scream?

16:44 Speaker 6: For about the first 50 floors.

16:47 Speaker 4: Then I think my heart gave out because the next thing I know, I was here. Took me three months to realize.

16:55 Speaker 6: That I was dead.

16:56 Speaker 3: Why would Mr. Trent want to kill you?

16:59 Speaker 6: Does he need a reason? He killed me. Isn't that enough?

17:04 Speaker 3: I wish that we could have met first. I mean, while you were alive.

17:09 Speaker 6: You've met me now, and I think I actually feel something for you.

17:15 Speaker 3: So, what are we going to do about it?

17:19 Speaker 6: I have one solution, and then you could help me take care of Mr. Trent.

17:25 Speaker 2: What do you mean?

17:26 Speaker 6: I'm offering you an alternate contract.

17:29 Speaker 3: What do I have to do?

17:30 Speaker 6: Don't worry, darling. I will take care of everything.

17:42 Speaker 1: There have been stories of assassins who try to help their intended victims. There are tales of ghosts who fall in love. But the two together? I'll be back with Act Three. Monday morning, and Mr. Trent, relaxed and happy from his weekend getaway, is entering his apartment. Hello?

18:31 Speaker 6: Anyone here?

18:33 Speaker 2: Hello?

18:34 Speaker 1: Ah.

18:39 Speaker 2: Absolute silence. Haven't heard that in quite a long time.

18:45 Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.

19:02 Speaker 2: Here is to you, my dear Judith. I am finally rid of you. For good.

19:13 Speaker 4: Mr.

19:15 Speaker 5: Trent?

19:15 Speaker 2: Oh, Mr. Moland. I didn't hear you come in. Please, sit down. Would you like a drink?

19:23 Speaker 1: No, sir.

19:27 Speaker 2: And there you are. A one-half million dollars. Please, feel free to count it.

19:34 Speaker 3: I don't think it will be necessary. I'm sure that it's all there, Mr. Trent.

19:40 Speaker 2: Oh, must we be so formal, Barry? I see no signs of my wife, so please sit down, have a drink, relax.

19:49 Speaker 3: Why, did you murder your wife, Mr. Trent?

19:53 Speaker 2: I don't really see why that should be a concern of yours.

19:57 Speaker 3: From one killer to another, why did you do it?

20:02 Speaker 2: Very well, Mr.

20:04 Speaker 1: Mormond.

20:07 Speaker 2: I was tired of her.

20:10 Speaker 3: Tired of her? What does that mean?

20:13 Speaker 2: You didn't know her. She was a shrew. She only married me for my money.

20:22 Speaker 3: Don't you have that backwards? Wasn't she the one with the fortune?

20:26 Speaker 2: Semantics. Regardless, I am a free and a very rich man. Yes, I am very comfortable now. And she is, well, she is wherever she is supposed to be.

20:48 Speaker 6: At least you have that right, Arnold.

20:52 Speaker 2: Judith! What's going on?

20:56 Speaker 6: Look at him, Barry. Doesn't he look surprised?

21:00 Speaker 2: Mr. Morland. I demand an explanation. Why haven't you fulfilled your part of our bargain?

21:09 Speaker 3: You're right, Judith, my love. He definitely looks surprised.

21:15 Speaker 2: Your love? What the hell are you talking about?

21:18 Speaker 6: Oh, Arnold, you are so blind.

21:23 Speaker 4: You always told me how you were the best thing that I could ever find.

21:27 Speaker 6: How ugly I was. How no man would ever want me. You were so wrong.

21:35 Speaker 2: You mean... you and... and Marlin? Oh, but that's impossible.

21:44 Speaker 3: Not as you may think. You know, I think I might actually like it here.

21:50 Speaker 2: Oh, Marlin, what are you babbling about?

21:53 Speaker 6: Revenge, my dear husband. My revenge over you.

21:59 Speaker 2: Now, now, now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Oh, no, no, no. You can't kill me.

22:04 Speaker 3: Ha, ha, ha, ha.

22:06 Speaker 2: Kill you?

22:07 Speaker 3: Do you really think that we're going to kill you?

22:09 Speaker 6: Oh, no, Arnold.

22:12 Speaker 4: We have no intentions of killing you. Oh.

22:17 Speaker 2: Oh, I see now.

22:20 Speaker 1: Ha, ha, ha.

22:21 Speaker 2: Well, you plan to haunt me. Ha, ha, ha.

22:27 Speaker 4: Ha.

22:29 Speaker 2: Then all I have to do is move out. I have plenty of places to go.

22:36 Speaker 3: Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.

22:40 Speaker 1: What?

22:42 Speaker 2: What do you mean?

22:44 Speaker 6: You see, Arnold, you murdered me. Therefore, I am attached to you. No matter where you go, I will always be there.

22:54 Speaker 1: What about Morland? Oh, well....

22:58 Speaker 3: Judith very obligely pushed me down the elevator shaft. I didn't even scream.

23:04 Speaker 4: Which means that Barry is attached to me.

23:08 Speaker 6: Just think, Arnold Trent.

23:11 Speaker 4: This is the first day of the rest of your miserable life.

23:20 Speaker 1: No.

23:21 Speaker 2: No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no. No. No.

23:26 Speaker 1: No. Arnold Trent sinks into his leather chair, his drink falling to the floor. He seems to age as the dawning terror of realization overcomes him. I'll be back shortly with a final word. The actress Julianne Moore once said that falling in love and being in love with someone was a rarity. But when it does happen, it is very special and important. Our cast included Mick Davis, Winslow Swan, Peter Lugmeier, and Annie Mick. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie and directed by Winslow Swan. And now, a preview of our next tale.

24:49 Speaker 6: Come on, Fred.

24:51 Speaker 2: It can't be that bad. Just tell me what happened.

24:56 Speaker 7: How did the date.

24:57 Speaker 2: Go with Peggy? Oh, Dorothy. I'm not sure exactly what happened.

25:05 Speaker 1: Everything was going great.

25:07 Speaker 2: Until.

25:10 Speaker 4: Until.

25:12 Speaker 1: Until what, Fred?

25:13 Speaker 2: Until I met Butch.

25:17 Speaker 4: Now you've lost me.

25:19 Speaker 2: Who is Butch? A menace. An eight-foot colossal beast.

25:27 Speaker 1: Ah.

25:28 Speaker 2: Peggy Ann Snow's boyfriend.

25:32 Speaker 1: Wait.

25:32 Speaker 2: I thought that you... I mean, you and her were... I mean... Oh, Dorothy. What am I going to do?

25:42 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Artemis Black, inviting you to return with us through the doorway to nightmare for another adventure into the world of your own terrifying imagination. Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue The Butler Did It