Devil You Know | Cheating Wife, Deadly Power: A Psychological Horror

0:12 Speaker 1: With this key, you unlock the world to your dreams. What lies beyond could be the doorway to nightmare. Come in. Welcome. I'm Artemis Black. There's a rather famous book which tells us to judge not, lest we be judged. However, it is inherently human to judge others.

0:59 Speaker 2: I believe that there is something that you are not telling me, Mr.

1:03 Speaker 1: Lumley.

1:04 Speaker 3: I'm sure there is, Dr. Connors. It is important that you hear the entire story.

1:09 Speaker 2: Which is why I'm here. I'm not sure how much help I can be.

1:14 Speaker 1: I don't know either.

1:15 Speaker 3: Or perhaps I'm here to help you.

1:19 Speaker 2: The patient suddenly becomes the psychologist?

1:23 Speaker 3: Who said that I was the patient?

1:30 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, The Devil You Know, was written especially for Doorway to Nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our stars include Mick Davis, Jonathan Rosignol, Jim Mitchell, and Dave Arkapov. I'll be back shortly with Act One. Everyone.

2:07 Speaker 3: Well.

2:09 Speaker 1: Almost everyone have what some would consider insurmountable problems. A situation that they cannot deal with on a normal level. What is one to do? Most will seek out the advice of their families or friends. Some will even talk to complete strangers. Then there are those on the very precipice of desperation that seek out the advice of a professional listener. Um, Dr. Connors?

2:54 Speaker 2: Yes, may I help you?

2:56 Speaker 3: There wasn't anyone in the reception area. I didn't mean to barge in.

3:00 Speaker 2: Oh yes, my secretary had an emergency. It's quite alright. Come in. Have a seat, Mr... Lumley.

3:08 Speaker 3: Felix Lumley. And thank you for seeing me.

3:10 Speaker 2: You caught me at a rather unique time. My next client called and is stuck in traffic, so I have some free time.

3:18 Speaker 3: I can always come back another... Oh, no, no.

3:21 Speaker 2: Please, sit down. Now, what brings you to see me?

3:25 Speaker 3: I suppose I have a problem. Isn't that why people come to see a psychologist, Dr.

3:30 Speaker 1: Connors?

3:31 Speaker 2: Actually, I'm a therapist, and please, just call me David. Or Dave, if you prefer. Even though I do have a degree, I find it a little pretentious to use the term doctor, since I only delve into the mind of an individual.

3:47 Speaker 3: Isn't that more dangerous?

3:49 Speaker 2: I don't find it to be. Most of my clients have rather simple problems, which can be worked out. There are those individuals that can make... If you'll pardon the phrase, a mountain out of a molehill.

4:05 Speaker 3: I would consider my own problem a mountain.

4:08 Speaker 2: Why don't you start at the beginning? I find it the best place to begin.

4:13 Speaker 3: It all started when I.

4:16 Speaker 1: Died.

4:17 Speaker 2: I beg your pardon?

4:20 Speaker 3: Yes, Dr.

4:20 Speaker 1: Connors.

4:21 Speaker 3: I died a little over a year ago.

4:23 Speaker 2: Are you saying that you believe you are a.

4:26 Speaker 1: a.

4:27 Speaker 2: ghost?

4:28 Speaker 1: Heh.

4:29 Speaker 3: Please, don't try to call them in a war. No, Doctor, I actually died. But as you can see, I've returned to the land of the living.

4:38 Speaker 2: Maybe I should take some notes. Now then, how did you die?

4:51 Speaker 3: It all started a year ago. I was driving in the mountains, going to a business meeting, when my brakes failed on a rather treacherous curve. I was in a coma for almost three weeks. The funny thing was that I could hear everything happening around me.

5:16 Speaker 5: Why couldn't you have just died?

5:19 Speaker 3: Caitlin, please.

5:22 Speaker 6: He may hear you.

5:23 Speaker 5: I hope so, Brian. You have no idea what it was like living with him. I swear if you had not fixed the brakes, I would have killed him myself.

5:33 Speaker 6: I don't understand you, Caitlin. Felix was, um, is a good man.

5:40 Speaker 3: Ha!

5:42 Speaker 4: The only thing he was good for was his bank account. At least he made money. Did he know how to dress?

5:50 Speaker 3: No.

5:51 Speaker 5: Did he ever, ever... Go to the best parties?

5:56 Speaker 2: No.

5:57 Speaker 5: He wouldn't know the social standards if they came and smacked him in the face.

6:03 Speaker 6: But, I mean, he was always helping whenever he could.

6:08 Speaker 3: Oh, yes.

6:10 Speaker 5: Helping.

6:11 Speaker 4: Did he ever help me when we were invited to the mayor's home?

6:16 Speaker 5: Did he go?

6:17 Speaker 1: No.

6:18 Speaker 5: He was too busy helping at the homeless shelter. At least I have you now, Brian.

6:29 Speaker 6: Only he wasn't killed. Which means no insurance money.

6:34 Speaker 5: I've already spoken with the doctor. The chances of him coming out of the coma are slim. And none.

6:43 Speaker 6: As long as I still have you, I.

6:45 Speaker 1: Can be happy.

6:46 Speaker 5: Two million dollars will make us both happier.

6:55 Speaker 6: So what are you going to do?

6:56 Speaker 5: I told the doctor to pull the plug.

7:08 Speaker 3: Brian Carey is, or rather was, my best friend. He began the affair with Caitlin six months before the accident.

7:15 Speaker 2: Did you find out about it?

7:17 Speaker 3: Not until after the attempt on my life.

7:20 Speaker 2: But you did recover.

7:22 Speaker 3: Much to the dismay of my....

7:31 Speaker 5: The doctor has taken him off life support today. Oh, sure, Marge. I'm a little sad, I suppose. But I think the insurance money will take away any remorse.

7:44 Speaker 1: Who?

7:45 Speaker 5: Oh, Brian? Well, he isn't the most refined man, but he does know how to make me happy. Um, Marge, let me call you back. I think Brian just came in.

8:04 Speaker 3: Hello, my dear. How are you?

8:06 Speaker 1: Felix!

8:07 Speaker 5: What are you doing? I mean, oh my god. Felix, you... you are.

8:15 Speaker 3: Alive and well? Yes, my dear. I am very much alive.

8:21 Speaker 5: Oh, thank god. I was so worried.

8:26 Speaker 1: Were you?

8:27 Speaker 3: Were you really?

8:30 Speaker 5: Oh, Felix, it's so good to have you home, where you belong.

8:35 Speaker 3: I noticed a new car in the driveway. Spending the insurance money already? What? What? Oh, no, no.

8:42 Speaker 5: It's just a loaner, while the other one is getting fixed.

8:48 Speaker 3: You know, Caitlin, my most trustworthy wife, you can no longer.

8:53 Speaker 1: Lie to me.

8:55 Speaker 5: I don't know what you are.

8:57 Speaker 3: Talking about? I'm telling you that I know everything. Your affair with Brian, as well as others. Does Brian know that you're planning to get rid of him?

9:09 Speaker 5: I don't know what you are talking about. Brian and I are simply friends.

9:14 Speaker 3: A rather good friend, I would say. After all, he did try and kill me. For you.

9:25 Speaker 2: But how did you know?

9:26 Speaker 3: I knew everything. Dr. Connors, I know everything.

9:42 Speaker 1: Knowledge is of no value unless you put it to good use, wrote Anton Chekhov. It seems Felix is about to put what he knows into a somewhat... dangerous use. We'll find out when I return with Act Two. The Mind Once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions, wrote Emerson.

10:28 Speaker 2: May I offer you something to drink?

10:30 Speaker 3: That would be most appreciated, Doctor.

10:38 Speaker 2: So tell me, how did you find out about your wife and Brian?

10:43 Speaker 3: I spoke with the Doctor after my life support was turned off. He told me that it was quite remarkable. My brainwave pattern was completely flatlined. He would have bet money that I would not be standing there talking to him.

10:57 Speaker 2: And you were able to simply walk out of the hospital. Extraordinary.

11:02 Speaker 3: That is what he said as well. But there was something else happening to me.

11:06 Speaker 2: Please, go on.

11:07 Speaker 3: I had changed. Not by any physical means, but more mental.

11:13 Speaker 2: What was this change?

11:15 Speaker 3: As I was talking to the doctor... It seemed that I knew everything about him, from his childhood to that very point in his life.

11:24 Speaker 2: One of the most remarkable cases that I have ever run.

11:27 Speaker 1: Across, Mr. Lumley.

11:29 Speaker 3: But I can go home, right?

11:30 Speaker 1: I don't see any reason to keep you here. If you don't mind, I would like to write an article for the medical journal on your case.

11:39 Speaker 3: By all means, Doctor. However, this time, don't plagiarize anyone.

11:44 Speaker 1: What?

11:45 Speaker 3: I'm surprised that your last article didn't get pulled. After all, you practically copied the words of your colleagues.

11:51 Speaker 2: I did no such thing.

11:54 Speaker 1: Please, Doctor.

11:55 Speaker 3: It's only a minor sin. Nothing to be overly concerned about. Just be careful.

12:04 Speaker 2: How did you know?

12:05 Speaker 3: Oh, I know everything about you, Doctor. The affair with your nurse last year, which thankfully you ended, and now you're trying to reconcile with your wife.

12:16 Speaker 1: Well, but... No one knows about that.

12:18 Speaker 6: How did you find out?

12:22 Speaker 3: Don't worry, Doctor. You're in no danger of retribution.

12:31 Speaker 2: But how did you know?

12:34 Speaker 3: My mind had been expanded, Dr.

12:37 Speaker 1: Connors.

12:38 Speaker 3: Everyone I met that day, I could see their entire life story, especially their sins.

12:45 Speaker 2: Remarkable. But let's get back to your wife. I take it that she was surprised to see you?

12:54 Speaker 3: She had no idea what was in store for her.

13:02 Speaker 5: I'm just so happy that you have returned home.

13:05 Speaker 3: Really, darling? Let's be honest for a change. You wanted me dead. And that's why you had Brian fix the brakes. And now, you want Brian dead as well.

13:15 Speaker 5: Oh, don't be ridiculous.

13:17 Speaker 3: You can no longer lie to me, Caitlin. I know all about you. How you've been taking money from that charity you work for. Your constant need for attention. And what you did to our daughter, I believe is the most unforgivable sin of all.

13:36 Speaker 5: Debra is a little fool. She had no business.

13:40 Speaker 3: She came to you for help. She was in a bad situation.

13:44 Speaker 5: She should have known better.

13:46 Speaker 3: She's dead, Caitlin.

13:50 Speaker 1: What?

13:52 Speaker 5: What do you mean?

13:54 Speaker 3: After you turned your back on her, she had nowhere to turn. Her dealer murdered her.

14:03 Speaker 5: She made poor choices, and she paid for them.

14:08 Speaker 3: Do you really believe that the punishment fits the crime?

14:12 Speaker 5: She chose... To do that.

14:16 Speaker 4: She chose that lifestyle. Is it my fault that she got herself killed? Thank God the papers didn't get that story. Think of our reputation.

14:27 Speaker 3: Our reputation? She was our daughter!

14:30 Speaker 4: No, she was your daughter. Her mother was just as bad. How you two ever got together, I will never know.

14:40 Speaker 3: And you think that your sins are not as bad?

14:44 Speaker 5: I've never hurt anyone in my life.

14:47 Speaker 3: Until you tried to kill me.

14:51 Speaker 5: Felix, your eyes. They seem to be glowing red.

14:57 Speaker 3: I've been chosen, Caitlin. When I died, I was given power to see the sin and to rectify the situation.

15:08 Speaker 1: Felix?

15:10 Speaker 3: You, Caitlin, have been.

15:31 Speaker 2: What happened to her?

15:34 Speaker 3: I raised my hand, pointed a finger at her, and she began to melt away like a wax figure. Flames began to shoot from my fingertips. When she was gone, there wasn't a trace of her. There were no burns on anything.

15:49 Speaker 2: Didn't anyone question her disappearance?

15:53 Speaker 3: They assumed that she had run off with Brian. Brian was judged as well.

15:59 Speaker 2: What you're telling me is that you murdered two people?

16:04 Speaker 3: No, Doctor. I simply carried out my mission. A mission that was given to me by some divine power.

16:11 Speaker 2: Divine or divine? or demonic.

16:16 Speaker 3: I honestly don't.

16:17 Speaker 1: Know songwriter Tori Amos said sometimes those demons are frightening and sometimes they are beautiful I'll be back with our final act shortly Dr. Connors listens with fascination to Felix as he continues with his story.

17:03 Speaker 2: And you say that all of this happened a year ago? Yes, Doctor.

17:08 Speaker 3: One year ago to the very day.

17:10 Speaker 2: What have you been doing since then?

17:12 Speaker 3: As soon as I began to understand this power more, I began to use it.

17:20 Speaker 2: In what way?

17:23 Speaker 3: Many people sin, Doctor. Most of them are minor, small, inconsequential sins that don't amount to anything. A simple little white lie, perhaps, but there are those whose sins can never be forgiven.

17:38 Speaker 2: So you have appointed yourself as judge, jury, and executioner?

17:43 Speaker 1: No, Dr. Connors.

17:45 Speaker 3: I was appointed... but by a much wiser power.

17:50 Speaker 2: And how do you feel about this?

17:52 Speaker 3: I've embraced it. After I took care of Caitlin and Brian, I sold the house and I began to travel. Nothing was keeping me where I was at, so I thought the best way to use this power was to meet the sinners.

18:08 Speaker 2: He who is without sin cast the first star.

18:13 Speaker 3: Don't forget, judge not. Lest you be judged.

18:16 Speaker 2: Oh, I haven't forgotten. Apparently you have.

18:19 Speaker 3: Please, Doctor, go on. Give me your interpretation of what I have done.

18:25 Speaker 2: I'm afraid that you're not going to like what I have to say.

18:29 Speaker 3: Believe me, I'm very interested.

18:33 Speaker 2: All right. It is my professional opinion that you are a serial killer. You've just confessed to me that you judged your wife... And her lover. Not that you didn't have reason to. But now you must understand my position.

18:53 Speaker 1: Which is?

18:54 Speaker 2: Well, if, if you were an actual patient of mine, we could put all of this down as doctor-patient confidentiality. However, you simply walked in. We have no contracts, no agreements. You understand I could testify against you. Felix, how many people have you judged?

19:20 Speaker 3: In the past year, there have been over 150.

19:23 Speaker 2: And all of them you killed the same way, by pointing your finger at them.

19:31 Speaker 3: I understand your disbelief. I also understand your fear.

19:37 Speaker 2: I don't think that I have anything to be afraid of.

19:40 Speaker 3: Are you absolutely sure? What about Deborah?

19:44 Speaker 2: I'm afraid that I don't recognize that name.

19:46 Speaker 3: Deborah Manning, a student you were seeing as a patient. 15 years ago.

19:51 Speaker 2: I'm still not following you. I don't know anyone by that name.

19:57 Speaker 1: Oh, doctor.

19:58 Speaker 3: You can lie to yourself, but you cannot lie to me. I know all about the incident.

20:05 Speaker 2: No one knows about... I mean... I don't know what.

20:08 Speaker 3: You started talking to her. Then you began prescribing medicines to her. She thought that she was losing her mind. But then you took, shall we say, advantage of her.

20:24 Speaker 2: I never touched her.

20:26 Speaker 3: Do you still have the video and the pictures? Do you still look them over and remember what you did to her?

20:35 Speaker 2: I believe that you should leave now.

20:38 Speaker 1: Now.

20:39 Speaker 3: What you did to her was unique. Special. Do you even bother to find out what happened to her?

20:47 Speaker 2: I told you to leave my office, Mr.

20:50 Speaker 1: Lumley.

20:51 Speaker 3: She committed suicide the very next day. She should have been a brilliant doctor. But you took that away from her. You, Dr. Connors, murdered her. Oh, not directly. But you did.

21:07 Speaker 1: Have a hand in it.

21:12 Speaker 3: What?

21:13 Speaker 2: What is happening? What are you going to do?

21:16 Speaker 3: You quoted a rather famous book, Dr. David Connors. Let me quote you another line from that very same book. The wages of sin.

21:29 Speaker 1: Is death. As the flames begin to disappear, Felix Lumley quietly leaves the office. He smiles a little, wondering who he will judge next. I'll be back shortly with a final word. Emily Dickinson wrote whenever a thing is done for the first time it releases a little demon and as our curtain closes will you think about the little sins of your past Our cast included Mick Davis, Dave Arkapoff, Gemma Mitchell, Jonathan Rosignol, and Winslow Swan. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie and directed by Winslow Swan.

22:58 Speaker 1: And now, a preview of our next tale.

23:03 Speaker 3: You're not making any sense, Thurber.

23:05 Speaker 6: Pour us another drink, Elliot. Because I think you're going to need it. I know that I do.

23:14 Speaker 3: You knew why the gallery wouldn't display Pickman's, well, um, art. No self-respecting art lover would dare display it.

23:24 Speaker 6: To say that his works were macabre is an understatement. But what he showed me on that last night could only be considered monstrous.

23:39 Speaker 1: This is Artemis Black, inviting you to return with us to the doorway to Nightmare. another adventure into the terrifying world of your imagination. Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue. The butler did it.