Harvest: A Supernatural Thriller Mystery | Premiere Audio Drama

0:10 Speaker 1: When you sleep, you enter into another world. Beyond that world lies the doorway to nightmare. Nightmare.

0:23 Speaker 2: Come in.

0:41 Speaker 1: Welcome, I'm your host through the doorway to nightmare. Getting engaged to the right person can be quite a task. Yet some men and women find it easier to plan a wedding than meeting a family. Years ago, it was the custom to ask the father for his daughter's hand in marriage. The man would have to have means, fine breeding, And the best behavior. But what if the daughter was more hesitant for her fiancé to even come to her home?

1:21 Speaker 2: I just don't understand, Cynthia. I love you.

1:25 Speaker 3: And I love you, Michael.

1:28 Speaker 4: I just don't think that it's a good idea for you to meet father right now.

1:33 Speaker 2: But we have been engaged for almost a year now. I haven't even met your family yet.

1:39 Speaker 4: You must trust me.

1:41 Speaker 2: I do. But you make it sound so mysterious. Like something out of a Dickens novel.

1:49 Speaker 4: No, not Dickens. More like Edgar Allan Poe.

1:57 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, Harvest, was written especially for Doorway to Nightmare by Winslow Swan and stars Crimson McKenzie. It is sponsored in part by Swanage Press. I'll be back shortly with Act One.

2:57 Speaker 2: No, you weren't scared, were you?

3:14 Speaker 1: When two people fall in love deeply, passionately... They profess that love in front of family and witnesses and begin that long journey known as marriage. It is a custom that was meant to be for life. So?

3:33 Speaker 2: Help me to understand.

3:35 Speaker 4: Michael, dearest, I am trying.

3:38 Speaker 2: Well, not hard enough. I mean, don't you love me?

3:44 Speaker 4: With all of my heart and soul.

3:47 Speaker 3: I just don't want you to see Father right now.

3:50 Speaker 2: He's going to be a little surprised when we get married, isn't he? I mean, he is going to walk you down the aisle.

3:56 Speaker 4: Father has certain ideas about marriage. My parents were married for almost 62 years when my mother passed away. He just wants to make sure that you are the most suitable for me.

4:10 Speaker 2: Well, that's a bit archaic, don't you think? I was positive that you had a will of your own.

4:17 Speaker 4: I do.

4:18 Speaker 3: I really do. But father has to be in just the right mood.

4:25 Speaker 2: Do you want to marry me?

4:27 Speaker 4: I really do. But you have to have my father's blessing.

4:32 Speaker 3: Otherwise.

4:33 Speaker 2: Otherwise what?

4:35 Speaker 1: Well, go on.

4:37 Speaker 2: Say it. The wedding will be off and I will just be another suitor who didn't quite cut it.

4:43 Speaker 1: Is that it?

4:45 Speaker 4: I cannot change the will of my father.

4:48 Speaker 2: Well, then go against him. Tell him you have a mind and a will of your own. Or maybe... Maybe we should just call it quits now and move on.

5:00 Speaker 3: Please don't say.

5:01 Speaker 4: That, Michael. When I met you two years ago, I knew that you were the one.

5:10 Speaker 3: You captured my mind and my heart from our first meeting.

5:13 Speaker 4: Please....

5:15 Speaker 3: Just let me talk to Father, and I'm sure that we can work it out.

5:19 Speaker 2: You sound like you have already discussed the matter with him, and he has already made the decision.

5:25 Speaker 4: It's nothing like that. He can be very hard to talk to sometimes. Most of the time, he just sits and listens. He can say more with just one look than an entire dictionary of words.

5:42 Speaker 2: All right. All right. I give in. When do you think would be a good time for me to come over and meet the gentleman?

5:52 Speaker 3: Friday night.

5:53 Speaker 4: It will be a full moon, the harvest moon, and Father will be much calmer.

5:58 Speaker 2: Now, what does the moon have to do with his mood?

6:02 Speaker 3: There are some things about my family you don't need to know right now.

6:06 Speaker 4: Everything will come out on Friday.

6:09 Speaker 2: Okay. But you really mean Friday night?

6:13 Speaker 4: I promise.

6:20 Speaker 3: Father? Father, please.

6:25 Speaker 4: Michael is a good man. I know about the legend of our family, but you must not do anything.

6:33 Speaker 3: I mean anything. He's coming over Friday night. And yes, I know what Friday night is, but he wants to meet you. I think that it is time.

6:48 Speaker 4: For him to meet you.

6:50 Speaker 1: Well?

6:51 Speaker 4: It took a little persuasion, but he has agreed.

6:55 Speaker 3: To meet you on Friday.

6:56 Speaker 2: Well, it's about time.

6:58 Speaker 4: Please don't be like that.

7:00 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sorry. I guess that now I am a little anxious. I don't know anything about your father, or your family for that matter. I don't even know what you do for a living. You always seem to steer the conversation away from that subject.

7:18 Speaker 3: I have my reasons.

7:20 Speaker 2: Yes, so you said. But don't you think that I should be told a little about your family before I meet your father?

7:27 Speaker 4: Please don't press me.

7:30 Speaker 3: You're right.

7:31 Speaker 4: I should tell you about my family.

7:32 Speaker 2: Finally. So let's hear it.

7:35 Speaker 4: Just don't ask anything more of me. I will tell you what I can, but there are some things that I cannot tell. Those will have to be conveyed by my father.

7:47 Speaker 2: You make it sound like something out of a Dickens novel.

7:50 Speaker 4: Oh, if only it were. More like Edgar Allan Poe.

7:57 Speaker 2: Edgar Allan Poe? What do you mean?

7:59 Speaker 4: It's nothing. My family has a rather strange history. My grandparents on my father's side came from Germany when they were very young. They made a life here in America, and my grandfather was a successful businessman. He passed the business on to my father when he died. My father met my mother during a conference in New York City. They married shortly after meeting, and I came along two years later. When I was of age, my father and mother let me join the family business.

8:30 Speaker 2: But what is the family business? I've known you all of this time, and all we ever do is meet at restaurants, theaters, or at the park.

8:40 Speaker 3: And thank you for respecting me enough not to ask about it.

8:44 Speaker 2: Don't think I wasn't curious.

8:46 Speaker 4: It just isn't something that you bring up in everyday conversation.

8:49 Speaker 2: So I take it that you are not a secretary.

8:54 Speaker 3: Oh, no.

8:55 Speaker 4: Since Father had a stroke.

8:58 Speaker 2: You never said anything about a stroke.

9:00 Speaker 3: Well, I must have told you.

9:02 Speaker 2: You have been taking care of him all this time? Yes, I have.

9:07 Speaker 4: When Mother passed away... He was already having health issues and could not keep up the pace of the business.

9:14 Speaker 3: So, as their only child, it was left up to me.

9:18 Speaker 2: You are one remarkable woman. No wonder I love you. You take care of your father and the business and you still find time to see me.

9:28 Speaker 4: I would always find time for you, my love. Father, you must understand. I love him, and there isn't anything that you could do or say to change that. Now, I am bringing Michael over Friday night so that we can all sit down, have a nice dinner, and I can explain everything to him.

9:56 Speaker 3: I know what Friday is. You act as if I don't know anything.

10:04 Speaker 4: Who has been taking care of you and the family business for the last year?

10:10 Speaker 3: Please don't look at me like that. I said don't look at me like that.

10:18 Speaker 1: In the days of yore, the family of the bride-to-be had to have a dowry before a man would marry their daughter. Now, it is the man who has to show he can afford to take care of the woman. But who is taking care of whom in our little story? Answers may be forthcoming when I return with Act Two.

11:34 Speaker 1: What we have is a man, Michael, who has been engaged to Cynthia for a year. He knows very little about her or her family. He knows that he is deeply in love with her and has been invited to finally meet the patriarch of the family. It is now Thursday evening. We find the pair at a restaurant having dinner.

12:01 Speaker 2: Happy, darling?

12:02 Speaker 4: Yes.

12:04 Speaker 2: I think the steak was a little overcooked.

12:07 Speaker 3: Yes.

12:10 Speaker 2: The wine was a little bitter. Yes. I'm thinking of shaving my head and joining a cult. Yes. You haven't heard a thing that I've been saying.

12:26 Speaker 4: I'm sorry. I guess my mind was wondering.

12:28 Speaker 1: You worried about something?

12:31 Speaker 3: Of course I'm worried, Michael.

12:33 Speaker 4: I'm worried about the business, about Father, and the fact that you're meeting him tomorrow night makes me frightfully worried.

12:41 Speaker 2: It can't be as bad as all that. What's the old man going to do? You yourself said that he had a stroke. There isn't anything to be worried about.

12:51 Speaker 3: Yes, so you say, but But what if he doesn't like you?

12:57 Speaker 2: What's not to like? I'm handsome, fit, I dress well, I have a successful law firm.

13:05 Speaker 4: That isn't the point.

13:06 Speaker 2: Well, then what is the point? Look, you keep dancing around the real issue here. What is it about your father that you don't want me to know?

13:17 Speaker 4: Nothing!

13:18 Speaker 3: I'm sorry I raised my voice.

13:22 Speaker 4: I just.

13:23 Speaker 3: I want tomorrow night to go off without a hitch.

13:26 Speaker 4: You would be surprised at what my father might not like about you.

13:31 Speaker 2: Name one thing. See?

13:34 Speaker 1: You can't.

13:35 Speaker 2: I'm perfect.

13:37 Speaker 4: Yes, you truly are.

13:40 Speaker 3: And I love you dearly.

13:42 Speaker 2: But you are still worried. Tell me, what sort of business is your family in?

13:50 Speaker 3: Well.

13:52 Speaker 4: It is really very specialized. Think of it as an import-export business. We get certain things for certain clients and deliver them.

14:01 Speaker 2: Yes, but what sort of things?

14:04 Speaker 3: That depends upon the client.

14:06 Speaker 2: Um, there you go. Being evasive again.

14:10 Speaker 3: Michael, I'm really not trying to be.

14:12 Speaker 4: I really am not. Look, my grandfather started this when he moved here from Germany. He did the same thing back in the old country and found that there was a market here.

14:23 Speaker 1: It must have been quite lucrative.

14:26 Speaker 4: Well, it was. Only now it's up to me. Things have been pretty tight since Father had a stroke. I'm still able to supply some of my clients, but not nearly as much as I should.

14:39 Speaker 2: The law of supply and demand. But you still haven't told me what you supply.

14:46 Speaker 3: Tomorrow night, my love. Everything will be answered.

14:59 Speaker 1: Hello?

15:00 Speaker 2: Oh, Jack, it's you. And what did you find out? And nothing on file at the courthouse? No, no, that won't be necessary. I'm going over to her home tomorrow night to meet the elusive father, my future in-law. What did you find out about her grandparents? Really? Oh, that is interesting. Okay, keep digging. There has to be some sort of a business license or something.

15:29 Speaker 1: No, no, no.

15:30 Speaker 2: I'll call you after my dinner with the in-laws.

15:34 Speaker 4: Father, it has been so hard lately. No, you just don't understand. You never understood. I wanted a life of my own, but you... Just couldn't let me have that. In the last ten years, I've brought four potential husbands home to meet you.

15:54 Speaker 3: You've found fault with all of them, and we, we, well, you know what we had to do.

16:01 Speaker 4: Now don't look at me like that. You're going to have to just sit there and take it this time. You will like Michael.

16:10 Speaker 3: I do.

16:10 Speaker 4: I love him. Besides, if something were to happen... You know that I will take.

16:18 Speaker 3: Care of everything.

16:20 Speaker 1: Questions, questions, and more questions. Mystery. It is what can keep a relationship intact. As a woman once told me, don't reveal everything at once. Ease into the secrets. We will ease into Act 3 when I return. When we left Cynthia, she seemed to be having a rather one-sided conversation with her father. Michael was having a conversation with someone named Jack, presumably a private detective of some sort. It is now Friday afternoon. and Michael is preparing for his dinner and meeting with his future in-law.

18:00 Speaker 1: He is in his office finishing up last-minute business before the weekend, dictating a letter for his secretary into a recorder.

18:10 Speaker 2: The retainer will be our usual fee. Thank you again for your business with our firm. Sincerely yours, etc., etc. Ms. Flanders, type that up for me and have it ready for Monday's mail. Also, see if you can find the file on the Martin case. I think I have misplaced it.

18:31 Speaker 3: There.

18:31 Speaker 2: I think that about covers everything.

18:34 Speaker 4: Right.

18:35 Speaker 2: What's this? Jack must have left this sometime today. Hmm.

18:52 Speaker 2: Thought you might find this useful.

18:54 Speaker 1: Good luck with your dinner. No.

19:02 Speaker 2: This can't be.

19:03 Speaker 4: You look very handsome tonight, Father. Michael should be here in a few minutes. Oh, he called from the office.

19:15 Speaker 3: Yes, Father, I know.

19:17 Speaker 4: I have everything prepared. Will you please let me handle it? I'm sure the clients will be very pleased.

19:29 Speaker 3: I told you, I.

19:31 Speaker 4: Will not let you down. I think it will be best if you stayed here, in the dining room. I will see Michael in the living room before I bring him in here. Yes, father. I sharpened all the knives. There will not be any be any mistakes.

20:03 Speaker 2: Good evening, Cynthia.

20:04 Speaker 4: Hello, Michael.

20:06 Speaker 3: Welcome to my home.

20:08 Speaker 4: You look wonderful.

20:10 Speaker 2: Do you think that we can skip the pleasantries?

20:13 Speaker 4: If you insist.

20:16 Speaker 3: Why don't you come in?

20:18 Speaker 2: Thank you.

20:20 Speaker 3: Why don't we go into the living room?

20:22 Speaker 2: No, I don't think so.

20:25 Speaker 3: Michael, what is it?

20:27 Speaker 2: Why don't you tell me, Cynthia?

20:31 Speaker 3: You seem cold.

20:34 Speaker 2: After what I found out? I'm a little surprised at myself that I even came out here.

20:39 Speaker 4: Then why did you come out?

20:41 Speaker 2: I guess I just had to see if you were going to lie to me anymore.

20:46 Speaker 4: Lie to you? In what way?

20:49 Speaker 2: Well, let's start with your name.

20:52 Speaker 3: You know my name.

20:53 Speaker 2: Oh, no. I only know you as Cynthia.

20:57 Speaker 3: Because that is my name.

20:59 Speaker 2: Then who is Cassandra?

21:02 Speaker 4: I don't know.

21:02 Speaker 2: Do you know I am an attorney?

21:05 Speaker 3: Yes.

21:06 Speaker 2: And occasionally we do hire private detectives. Nothing to say? Well, let me say it for you. You are Cassandra Harding. You and your father were both arrested in upstate New York three years ago.

21:22 Speaker 4: This is absurd.

21:24 Speaker 3: How can you.

21:25 Speaker 2: You were arrested and charged with grave robbing. You were never brought to trial because you and dear old dad disappeared.

21:34 Speaker 4: Oh, please, Michael.

21:35 Speaker 3: Let me explain.

21:36 Speaker 1: Oh, no.

21:37 Speaker 3: No, no, no.

21:38 Speaker 2: Explanation is necessary when you wouldn't tell me anything about you or your family. I asked my detective to look into a few things. Without me knowing about it, he got some of your fingerprints off of my car and had a friend of his in the police force run them. No explanations?

21:56 Speaker 3: What are you doing?

21:57 Speaker 2: Calling the police. Hello? What the hell are you doing?

22:03 Speaker 4: I can't allow you to do that.

22:05 Speaker 2: Cynthia, Cassandra, whoever the hell you are, just put the knife down.

22:12 Speaker 4: Not until you meet my father and you have heard me out.

22:16 Speaker 2: For God's sake, Cynthia, grave robbing?

22:19 Speaker 3: It isn't what you think.

22:20 Speaker 2: Then tell me.

22:23 Speaker 3: Walk into the dining room. I want you to meet father.

22:29 Speaker 1: Oh, oh my God.

22:33 Speaker 2: You see?

22:34 Speaker 4: Do you see why I cannot allow you to call the police?

22:39 Speaker 2: This is your father?

22:40 Speaker 3: I had to keep the business going.

22:43 Speaker 4: And I'm sure that Daddy would not have minded.

22:47 Speaker 2: Cynthia, he's dead. He must have been dead.

22:53 Speaker 3: For at least... Not quite a year. You see, Michael, our clients want certain specialty cuts of meat.

23:02 Speaker 4: In New York, We had an endless supply from certain distributors. We only dug up what we had to when supplies ran low. When we relocated here, we lost not only our distributors, but all of our supplies.

23:19 Speaker 2: Then you're a cannibal? You've been eating your father?

23:24 Speaker 3: No!

23:26 Speaker 4: I would never eat father! I... Only supply a tiny percentage of what you may call the most affluent, with an exotic delicacy of meats that they desire. Father is almost gone, and I have an order for a spleen and a liver. I am so glad you were able to come to dinner tonight.

24:00 Speaker 1: Sometimes a little mystery can be healthy for a relationship. Other times, complete honesty can be murder. For Michael, finding out the truth was the death of him. I'll be back shortly. If you are looking for a moral in tonight's play, I suppose it would be, be careful with whom you fall in love with. Our cast included Crimson McKenzie and Winslow Swan. The entire production was under the direction of Winslow Swan. Doorway to Nightmare is sponsored by Swanage Press. This is your host inviting you to return with us through the doorway into nightmare for another adventure into the terrifying world of your imagination.

25:21 Speaker 1: Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue. The butler did it.