00:01 [music: “Forget Me Not” Composed by Art Conrad, Frank gillen, & Harry T. Hanbury] 00:11 Elosie: How do you do, Miss Casey? Meabh: I'm doing well, given the circumstances. Quiet. 00:29 Eloise: What blend is this? Meabh: That would be old Edwin's little secret. at Mac Street. Eloise: He lives in town? Meabh: Oh no, honey. Owns the cafe. Everyone who's anyone in this town gets their coffee from him. Eloise: It's nice to have such great neighbors. Meabh: Oh, he's spectacular. One of our greatest community members. Eloise: Oh, alright. But how about we start? I would be hard-pressed to take your money without doing any work. May I record this? 00:58 Meabh: Record? Eloise: This is the latest technology for audio recording. I bought it in an auction just last year. This version was used in the war on the German front and was recovered from the military camp when they won back France. It's positively one of the greatest new technologies that's making the field buzz. It's such a wonder how they thought to create such a device and it's so compact. Meabh: Reuben would have had a field day with this doohickey. Eloise: Does he dabble with the latest modern technology? 01:26 Meabh: He likes to play with electricity. My own Dr. Frankenstein. Eloise: He's an electrician? Meabh: Yes. Eloise: Then he must be quite busy. Meabh: Yes, always on the clock. From nine till five. Always forgets his lunch, too. That gives me an excuse to go visit the neighbors when he's working. Home visits are always my favorite. But at that dreadful theater that's always going out of power. Golly gosh, I'd rather eat my own shoe. 01:58 Meabh: Oh, pardon. 02:12 Meabh: Georgie boy, thank you hun. 02:16 Georgie: Yes ma'am. 20 cents please. Meabh: There’s 40 cents. Go get yourself something from Edwin. Georgie: Yes ma'am. Did the policeman come yet? Mr. Hagen wants to hear from Mr. Casey when you find him. He's been in a tizzy ever since. Meabh: Well, tell ol’ Edwin. Thank ya. We'll be back sometime soon. This way he'll worry about some other scoundrel. Georgie: Yes ma'am. And thank you. Meabh: Yes, yes. Now, hit the road. 02:51 Eloise: Let me be frank with you, Miss Casey. Who was he working for before he went missing? Meabh: Well, Darn. So professional. It was in his records. They're in his office. Eloise: Could you bring me up there later? Meabh: Why, sure. There ought to be some papers up there as well. Anything to help you find him. Eloise: You don't seem very distraught that your husband is missing. Why is that? Meabh: Well, you're here now. 03:12 [music: “Savannah” composed by Fred Fisher] 03:17 Meabh: Such a renowned girl, an incoming star with that new group in the big house. Eloise: I suppose. But what concerns me is that you may be feeling some shock and grief. I would hate to get your hopes up before I've done anything. Meabh: Nonsense, dear. I have full trust in you. Eloise: Then let me ask, was there anything strange happening in town the day he went missing? Are you aware of who was acting differently that may be connected to Mr. Casey in any way? 03:46 Meabh: It wouldn't be big reach to say. Lottie's always acting pretty abnormal. Same with Teddy. But raising a boy alone would make anyone seem mad. Eloise: That's logical. What about their behavior stood up to you? Meabh: Simply going off into the woods for so long. Since I know Lottie, she's been nothing but a sweetheart who makes the best cookies and pastries. 04:09 Meabh: But to be honest to God, she made a hit out of Edwin's a couple years ago when she gave him a recipe for ambrosia cookies. Thought she gave us fairy food, nearly sent Edwin into cardiac arrest with that little nugget. Eloise: What does she do for work then? Is going into the forest abnormal behavior? Meabh: I'm not quite sure. But any lady's job shouldn't take her out to the forest past dinner time. Eloise: I see. And what about Teddy? Meabh: Well... 04:38 Meabh: He loves to plan hacks. And being the shareholder to many profitable magazines and art galleries will give you plenty of time to spend with a newborn. 04:47 Meabh: But a man just isn't built for long hours with a baby, so he often leaves the little lad with me and Reuben, and goes into the forest for hours on end. Spending the night tucked away from the world after a grueling work of nothing but a baby, some smoke, and a bourbon. Most the young man does is read to make sure he can stay relevant in the artwork. Eloise: Sounds like an easy life. Many would love to live here for a quiet retirement. 05:17 Meabh: Oh, honey, he's twenty-something. He's got the charms, the smarts, the youth. Golly gosh, he's every girl's dream. If only he didn't have that ankle bite at a care-full. Eloise: If he has a child, what happened to the mother? Meabh: Got whisked away, sadly. Poor thing. Eloise: Quite a number of tragedies in this town. Meabh: Quite. But that is just this town's charm. 05:46 Meabh: As long as you obey the rules, life is fantastic. But what happened to my Reuben? Should not have. Eloise: Should not have what? Meabh: He was innocent. He did not a thing wrong. He followed the rules. Listen, it was very polite to our neighbors, but for some reason or another... It must have been foul play. One of the townsfolk must have tricked him. He's a good man. A great husband. He listens and he knows what to do. I can only imagine. 06:15 Meabh: The suffering he's going through without us. Eloise: We'll figure this out, Miss Casey. Just... maybe it's fine. Of course. Was he acting off in any way before his disappearance? Meabh: Uh, no. He was being his normal, sweet, darlin’ self. But the way he was preparing for the job was strange. He asked for three sandwiches and a whole tub of my famous coleslaw. 06:36 [music: “The Waltz From Long Ago” composed by Berlin Irving] 06:43 Meabh: Normally it's something quick, like a sandwich and a cookie while being on the job. It's like he was preparing for the end of the war. Eloise: And where was he working? Meabh: Up north, I think. You'll have to go look at his request bin. It's all organized upstairs. Eloise: I see. Well then. If it's alright with you, I would like to look into your husband's office. Crocus: .Teknirt elttil yllis taht si hcihw ,olleh! Meabh: That's fine with me. I'll take you up there now. 07:32 [music: “The Waltz From Long Ago” composed by Berlin Irving] 07:36 Eloise: March 12, 1949. In the town of Brightville, seven nights ago, Reuben Casey went missing on the job. This was reported by his wife, Maeb Casey. At present, it's likely he's already dead if he wandered into the forest with no precognizant ability to survive and hardly enough food for seven days. At request, I am to find the person who coaxed him into the forest. 08:01 Eloise: If any luck from his invoice requests, as well as pending projects in the community, it's possible either Teddy O'Higgins, Edward Higgins, or Lottie Mullaney were the last people to have seen him. They were the last project letters left on his desk. I'll be interviewing them in the coming days. Miss Casey is still under the impression he is alive and held hostage somewhere in the forest. While it isn't unlikely that he is being held hostage, as he had an admirer of someone living here, as per these love letters here. 08:21 [music: “Under the Leaves” composed by Francis Thomé] 08:29 Eloise: They're tawny coloured, made of hide rather than paper, sprayed with a forest or pine scented perfume with no name or address. Whatever happened to Mr Casey is a tragedy and will likely have trauma related to this event. Finding the culprit may seem simple and with these letters and little gifts, some acorns, pre-crystals, cicada shells, all in a glass jar. Some jars are overstuffed with herbs and plants. All lined up. 08:57 Eloise: The culprit must have been planning this for ages now. Being the only electrician in a rural town must make you a pretty popular guy. What I don't understand are these books Miss Casey gave me. Reading the synopsis, they're fairy tales and folklore, original copies dating back to the 17th century, written in some very old English. This town may just be that old, with cobbled roads, graves dating back to 1668, and a church at the center of town with more history than in the Library of Congress. But it's worth looking into. 09:26 Eloise: If everyone in this town believes in them, maybe there's a connection to who the culprit believes they are and what they are.