Hello, Mr. O'Hagan. I'm Mel Louise McCree, a private investigator. Miss Casey hired me to look into Mr. Casey's disappearance.

How do you do ma'am? We're, we're all glad you're here. Bring that old dog home. Yes. I hope to find out what happened seven nights ago now, if I'm correct.

Yes, a terrible thing really. It's hard losing such an important community member. You think he's dead? Oh gosh. If you don't find him soon, he may as well be a goner.

I mean, golly Pete, that lad isn't exactly the woodsy type. Tried teaching him a little camping, but that fire was more of a candle flame than it was a blaze. Right. So then Miss Casey tells me you are an avid hiker. Did you try going out to look for him?

That's right, but don't believe everything that old cat says. She can be pretty nasty to those of us who come from the outside. Makes up all sorts of hubbleoo about me and Lottie mostly, but she adores a little nastier. Here. Little man is growing fast.

Three months ago I had Lottie take this in front of one of my favorite set of waterfalls here. Are you and Miss Maloney close? When the community is largely against your hobbies, it brings us together as friends. And Miss Casey, does she antagonize you both? Yes and no.

Not outwardly, but if she could egg my house, I'm sure she would. Am I right in assuming Mr. Casey was as well? Oh no. He was a great old dog.

Rather nice and very withdrawn. That man could be a lady killer without the old cat. A real rounder. But he's aloof and rather likes to keep his head on the wires. Not your typical husband and wife situation?

Kept him on a tight leash, being away for their ten something years of marriage. I was adamant about getting him out of his shell, We'd share a crisp beer over fire with some lovely bourbon a friend of mine and Boston gifted me. He honestly deserves some space. How is she overbearing? Well, haven't you seen her ways?

Not expressly, but she seems more like a warrior than a nagging mother. She may as well be his mother. Poor lad is probably enjoying the break. Well besides that, what was he fixing for you? Just installed some new lights in my fire pit.

Nice tungsten bulbs that I had handcrafted from a glass blowing shop in Japan. He's the only man I would trust with that original piece. I see. And how was he acting? Oh, he was quite chipper.

Real enthused about getting out of the house, but not a lick of nothing unusual. He is really excited about all this new technology. I bought him a few scientific journals about the new age technology hitting the big stage somewhere in New York. He'd really be happy to see that, audio doodad from the war. He served until he took a blast to the skull, then served as a gun technician, I think.

Took him apart and spit shined him and put him all back together. Which floor? The first was called France, I think. He was injured? Yes.

His blind in one eye. Must have been what made the missus in such a tizzy all the time. Brought out her inner demons. Obsessed with always keeping an eye on him. She goes as far as stalking him in his own office or when he's on the job.

Just showing up to talk to me or anyone else whose home he's in. But I've never really talked to her like she does Edwin. And Miss Casey mentioned neighbors. Can you tell me more about them? Those god awful things, yeah.

I I didn't believe the stories at first, but then She was taken by them. I thought, I thought she had come back for a while. She She came back after being away for seven days, and I thought she was some ghoul like in the night of the living dead covered in moss and mud. Skinny as a jackrabbit. But it wasn't it wasn't her.

The neighbors had replaced her. What made you believe the woman who returned was your wife? Well, after we spent some time together, she was back with her baby, and she just felt wrong. Something about her was different. She looked the same, had the same birthmark on her hips, same freckle on, you get the gist.

But she was just more out of control, more wild, like the devil had risen from hell just to corrupt my sweet girl. I could see it in the way that she looked at my boy. That night I took him from her arms and ran like a bat out of hell to Maben Reuben's. I'll stop you there. You seem like you're still processing this.

Thank you. It's still so recent. But I must ask, Mabe mentioned she passed away. Did she? Yes.

We had to bury her in the churchyard. Of course. I can't imagine what you're going through. But as I see it, you're doing very well. She would be very happy for how you've managed to live on.

Thank you again. I appreciate the sentiment, but, I've gotta get back to my boy. It's about, lunchtime now. I understand. Thank you for your time.

Oh, got something from the front on me. Had to chat with Edwin. I'm just going to leave this here while I go eat. I'll be back for it when I'm done. It looks like it weighs a ton.

Sure you can lug that around, miss? I have a dolly for it. Thank you. No wonder you work for the government. Miss, Harvard.

Tell Mr. Hagen I'd like to be with him sometime, if you please. Yes, ma'am. Damn bigwigs. No doubt she won't understand what is happening in those woods.

Good morning, Teddy boy. I saw that girly. She's Darlin'. Bit of a nosy thing. It's her job.

Like all those commies in office. Name came by. Said Lonnie found it. Well, I'll be damned. Is he acting straight?

Acting just like your old flame. What do we do? We can't let Mabe get swindled by them. Those neighbors are tricky. I know, but we have to be careful.

If there's some deal they've got, then there isn't much we can do, except let them learn the consequences of their actions. Maybe ought to put a tighter leash on that man. They have no kids. There's jack squad for them to take. There are many reasons they take boys.

She'll have to watch the kids when we do make our gambit. I feel terrible for Maeb. Should I send Georgie with a letter to the coroners or the priest? Great to see you learnin' new tricks, I'll just for them. Send for them both.

It'll be a long wait for us here. After reading the notes left behind by Reuben in his office and a brief conversation when he returned, I can confidently say no one in this town is guilty for his disappearance. Briefly, I met with him, but was ushered away so that him and Mabe could have some alone time. I can't imagine how he must be feeling, but this still leaves the question of how he went missing in the first place. His last request had him working for miss Marty Maloney, a landscaping photographer for a magazine company.

However, his only work was in her room for a scheduled twenty minutes. I dropped by briefly to ask about his fifth to her home, and she showed me what he had fixed. A set of lights meant to expose photos in a chemical process that without them, she couldn't finish her work. They worked remarkably. His own design, I was told.

A postman had come while he was repairing the lights, picking up a few envelopes to send to her contractors and had stayed the whole time after mister Casey had left. Dropping by the post office confirmed this. For the life of me, I can't understand the motivations of taking him and then returning it. The conversation between Edwin and Teddy does confirm one thing. There is another entity somewhere in the forest.

Perhaps some lonely folk or a lumberjack or someone who's interested in making deals. I can understand it. With how remote this place is, having an electrician on hand is very nice. I may even ask him to look at this device because there has been a lot of interference with my recordings. Perhaps I'm handling these tapes incorrectly and I'm ruining the integrity of the film.

I'm unsure. But if I'm able to ask about these neighbors, perhaps I'll be able to understand the situation better. This job is not quite what it was chalked up to be. The occurrences around this town are nothing if not dubious. A man goes missing and comes back within a week.

That's clear cut. But the strength It's not the solution we've reached out. Thing comes from Teddy. Additionally, I hope for an interview with mister Casey. But who knows how clingy miss Casey is?

Who's barking last glasses. This concludes the analysis of tape number one three. This evidence is integral to our ongoing initiative to uncover the truth behind what lies in wait. For subsequent briefings, please await the recovery and analysis of tape number three found on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, and many more. Stay informed by following us on Instagram, Facebook, and blue sky at what lies in wait, underscore, a as in alpha, dot, d as in delta.

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