Paralyzed - Chapter 20: Where the Paths Meet - Part 2/5

Episode Date: December 7, 2021

FBI agents Mick Robards and Regina Torv have already traveled down to Florida. They are now looking into the disappearance of Phillip Kent, Roland's lost partner. On the other side of the country, Roland is laying low and trying to get focused by staying at Gunnar Inn and helping out.Music by Kevin MacLeod of incompetch.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Thanks and enjoy the show. Seven Land presents. Paralyzed. Chapter 20, where the paths meet. Part 2. It's about a time you showed up. It's about the time you showed up. I waited 20 minutes.

Sorry about that. Well, I ordered without you. I was starving. It's fine, it's fine. Mick grabbed a fry for my plate and smiled as he bit it in half. Did you not hear me? I'm starving. Reach for another fry, and I'll take a finger.

Still a bit hangary, I see. You made me wait. For good reason, my friend. For good reason. Look at this. Mick slid a piece of paper across the table, written on it, PJ, and a phone number starting with 276. Who's PJ?

Paul Jacobs. Jacobs? That's right. Kent's significant other. Former significant other. Former? Apparently, he's living on his own now. 276.

Vermont. He's in Vermont? That's right. After our trip to Florida, we changed tactics, a suggestion from Detective Willow Ray and Captain Eric Hiltz. Not that they ran things. but they believed finding Kent would lead somewhere. We had nothing else to lose, so we took the advice and came at the case from another angle.

We had to do something. We still had no clue where Roland was. Pretty good, huh? Robards took another fry from my plate. You think I'm joking. Oh, come on! That deserves a fry. How'd you find him? Wasn't fucking easy, that's for sure.

Let me order something first. Then I'll tell you all about it. Five minutes later, I Mick slid back into the booth with his basket. That was fast. You want a fry to make up for what I stole? It would be two fries, but no. Tell me how you got that number. I followed a line.

Breadcrumbs, really. Someone leave them for you? No. You pay for information again. Yeah, but not much. Who? A writer friend. My buddy Justin, who's a writer for the globe,

knows a guy in Vermont who writes for some fucking local paper outside Montpelier. I forget his name. It doesn't matter, but he's friends with a guy who works at the district courts. Okay. Anyway, Paul Jacobs, who recently moved to Vermont, files for a name change. Fills out the paperwork, brings it down to the county clerk. Name change? But you have PJ here.

Yeah, yeah, it didn't go through. Magistrate wouldn't grant it unless it was posted in the local paper first. A formal advertisement, if you will. Really? Some states require it. For creditors? And other interested parties. They wouldn't allow it, though.

He has unpaid bills and even a couple parking tickets still in Florida. So while he sorts all that out, he's stuck as Paul Jacobs. Although I guess he digs P.J. instead. But how'd you come across it? I always throw things just in his way. You knew this guy would be changing his name. His family disowned him. Call it a hunch.

I love how everything always seems to fall in the place for you. I put feelers in multiple states. Now, don't be jealous. I have a lot of friends. Not real friends if you have to pay them. It was worth it. Still. Oh, come on.

If everything actually fell into place, we would have found Roland already. Okay, okay, this is good. But I think we need an address. Already got it. How do you think I know he lives alone? You haven't called, right? No, no. I think we need to go up.

When? Tomorrow? Sounds good to me. Thank you. What's up, Ray? I called Michelle's friends, a few of them. And? None of them have been in contact with Michelle since she disappeared.

What about law enforcement? I called the SDPD, but they wouldn't disclose anything, and I didn't want to push too hard. Okay. This one girl, Tiffany, was with Michelle the night it all happened. I had read the story online. Apparently, Michelle was at work and went out to get a drink with friends. She left the bar around 9. An anonymous call was made telling the police there was a murder at her home.

When police arrived, they found two dead bodies, her parents. But Michelle was gone. What do you think made the anonymous call? Rowland? No, it was a male. Are we sure Michelle didn't go crazy until the parents? Like trust or Sanders? Honestly, I don't know anymore.

I'm not sure of anything. But with all the names we have, none of them left the scene of the crime, at least so far. Weird. But honestly, who gives a fuck now? What do you mean? We can't keep doing this. Sure we can. Ray.

If you want out, fine. But I'm not giving up on her or this just yet. Well, you should. Roland gave up on us. You know, you're going to the ... ...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... ... ... While Bridget got sheets from the supply room, I stood in the main office, waiting. I stared at the phone, debating. Should I reach out to Ray? I can easily call the precinct.

If she's not there, I could talk to the captain. I was nervous, though, ashamed. I fucked up. I lost everything. And now, who knows what would happen? I'd stayed away from the news the last couple of days. Instead, I helped Mayor, Bridget, and even Brody, the maintenance guy. Mayor said I could stay as long as I needed, as long as I helped out, so I did.

Roland, can you grab the other cart? It's in the back. Oh, yeah. I walked down the hall, past Mary's living area. The cart was by the side door. Just bring it out the side. I still didn't understand why this mare was being so nice to me, but I had already decided. I won't stay much longer. I had to keep going, but I also had to remain clean.

Something that wasn't easy to do. Over here. You already have one? We'll split the duties, make it go faster. You know what you're doing, right? Uh, yeah, sure. Good. Here. She loaded a bunch of cleaning supplies, sheets, and pillowcases onto my cart.

You do rooms 1 through 7 and I'll do 8 through 14 Yeah? Okay Let me know if you need anything Bridget was a nice woman who drove an hour to get here every day She only worked till 3 though And she just cleaned rooms

And sometimes worked the front office when mayor couldn't Bridget showed me how to clean the rooms And yesterday we did them together But now I was on my own It looked like Bridget wanted a shorter day today That was fine It would be shorter for both of us There were only three people staying here right now, but only one was on my side.

Room four, but several other rooms had yet to be cleaned from previous nights. I looked across the nearly empty parking lot and watched as Bridget made her way into room eight. This was a nice little inn, but I wondered how they stayed in business. People like you, Roland. This was a spot for truckers and passers-by, possibly even druggies, but for the last two days, I hadn't touched a thing. I was starting to have withdrawals, though. A headache, irritability, but I couldn't, not now.

I had to keep my head on straight. I needed to call Ray. I needed to figure my next move. Every time I started to plan ahead, I got overwhelmed and instead just slept. The good thing, though, was neither did. David, nor Kent, had paid me a visit since I came back to the sin. That was nice. Around one, I was finishing up.

Bridget was already done with her side, but obviously I was slower. Rowland. Oh, shit. I spun around to see David in the corner of the room, behind the small table. Roland, you should leave. You've been here too long. I thought you said I wasn't going to leave. We need to.

Before it's too late. Why? Why is this happening now? Go away, David. You can't stay here. Why? It comes for you. Who?

Stop speaking in riddles and tell me who. Who comes for me? What do they want? And what do you want? What do you want, David? Roland, are you okay? I spun around to see Bridget in the doorway by the cart. I looked back to see David gone.

Of course he was. ...hean... ...their... ...their... ...their... of course of course i figured it was only a matter of time surprised it took you guys this long yes well you weren't an easy man to find can you imagine if i was able to change my name it would have been damn near impossible we are paul jacob's small apartment it was a quaint little place with minimalistic modern decorating and an overabundance of houseplants

It was nice of you guys to stop by, but I can't help you. I haven't talked to Phil since he took off. So, he took off? Yeah, that's why you're here, isn't it? Smart guy. Listen, we just have a few questions, and then we'll be out of your hair. Yeah, sure. You don't believe us?

I just think this is going to take longer than you say. Why's that? I've seen enough cop shows. Well, let's just get started then. when was the last time you saw kent at home he got home from work but then got a call for one of the cases he was working on so he had to leave okay um but when did he come back home he never came back home but when did you two leave leave where you're home in tampa we didn't leave i did wait what shouldn't you be writing this down Rumor had it you two fled together. Fled?

Sure. I guess that word works. Except we didn't flee together. I left alone. Mick and I shared a look of concern. Apparently, finding Kent will be a lot harder than we thought. Let me get this straight. Kent went to work and you up and leave the next day?

Is that what you're saying? I didn't just up and leave. That was the plan. Phil was going to quit soon, and we planned on moving north. But then his cases were taking more and more of his time. We fought a lot. But I loved him and, well, I forgave him. Forgave him for what?

Cheating on me. He cheated on you. He was cheating on me. We thought about it a lot, but where could I go? I was out of work. My family disowned me. For being gay. That's right.

I come from a strict Catholic family. The moment I mentioned Phil, that was it. Oh, they offered to pay for my conversion therapy. But I figured they could save that money and just put it towards a new boat. Well, why would you want to head north with Kent if he was cheating on you? Am I north? Why so far? A plethora of things. For one, our families were fucking worthless.

We wanted to get as far away as possible. Also, since Phil was cheating on me, I wanted to move far away from, well... The person he was cheating with. I know it's stupid, but maybe if the temptation wasn't there... I don't get it. The guy's cheating on you. Why stay with him at all? He had his demons. We all do. And even though it hurt, I... I... I couldn't leave him. That still doesn't explain what happened the night he left. We had a fight the night before.

A bad one. And, well, I thought, you know, well, he gets a call about this case. Up near Rutherford. I just felt it was all an excuse. Then he doesn't come home, and a day or two later, when I call the precinct, they tell me he left and they can't find him.

him. And? And I thought, well, there it is. His last lie to me. I figured he took our plan and applied it to his side piece. Or maybe that makes me the side piece. So you left. I packed my things, a few things I had, bought a bus ticket, and left.

Wait, but Kent's things were still at his place, right? I mean, you were living with him. He didn't take anything? No, but I figured he probably had everything he needed. Plus, he had money. But would he really just leave everything behind, including his apartment? The lease was up. Why not?

But does that seem like something Kent would do? Honestly, I don't know. The last year we were together, he started acting strange. Apart from the cheating? He started drinking and, And, well... Just tell us. Drugs, too.

Did you ever check back to see if he came back? Of course. I called the precinct a bunch too. You did? Anonymously. Usually when I was drunk. No one heard a word, and then any time they wanted to ask me questions, I just hung up, you know? Fuck him.

Seriously, I hate him so much. And to think, I put up with it all, only for him. him to. Paul. Yes. Did you ever hear about Detective Emily Rowland's story? That was her. That was his partner.

Right. Did you ever hear her story? Mick put his hand on my shoulder as to say, hold up, but I dropped my shoulder and lean forward. Did you ever hear what she had to say? I saw the news story a lot later. About the bodies found at the campground, right? Yeah. Yeah.

I heard that she claimed to be attacked in the woods, her and Phil. In Rutherford. Yeah. Do you believe that? No. Why? Because they never found Philip Kent's body. Right, but they did find other bodies.

I know. You don't think maybe, maybe Kent was hurt that night? If he was, why didn't they find him? Right. That's why we came here to find you We were hoping you knew where he was Well I don't

Hmm So just leave it all behind and run off Huh That was the plan That's right Seems reckless Have you ever seen the graduate Mr.

Robards? I have There's a reason why the ending is so powerful It may not seem romantic in the modern sense, but there's something dreamlike about leaving together, leaving everything behind on a whim.

Is that what this is? McMotion to his surroundings, to the thick black picture frames and hanging plants. What? You living the dream. No, because I told you. We didn't leave together. We talked for a few more minutes before he escorted us out.

Thank you for your time. Hey, I, uh... I think I should clear something up. Yeah? What's that? Part of me thinks that maybe he was hurt that night. But I don't like to think about it. Phil pissed me off, and while it hurts to think about him running off with someone else, it would hurt so much more to find out he was...

dead. I still love him, no matter how much pain he put me through. I hate to ask this, but it could be important. Do you know who he was seeing? He shook his head. I, I tried looking at his phone and I even asked him. He denied it up and down, but I know what I know, and I know he was seeing someone. I will say One time someone did shoot him an email He was still logged in Some guy named Oh shoot

What was it Liam? I think It was a while back And I didn't get to read the whole thing Because Phil was coming out of the shower But it said something about meeting up and Discussing something

Something about a group I thought it was an A-A-Shawer A thing, but no. Phil wasn't going to A.A. He would have told me that. Hmm. Liam. Yeah. Yeah.

That was the name. But you never saw that name again. No. Well, again. Thank you for your time. If you ever find him, can you let me know? We can. I don't know.

I don't know. A half hour later, We're at some local diner for a late lunch. This is weird. Right? I don't know. How to make sense. Come on.

The graduate? Give me a break. Running away? Sure. But leaving all your stuff behind? No way. They were tormented. By their families?

By a lot of things? Leaving everything behind is adventurous. To start over new? You think that was all true? Think about it. Paul leaves on a whim because in his mind, Ken is already gone. Kent left with another lover, fulfilling a fantasy that Paul and Kent had. I heard so much, but Paul decides to commit regardless, so he leaves a loom.

But he takes off without a further word with Kent. Sure, I can see it. And then trying to change his name. Even you knew that would probably happen. But he's heard Roland's story. Wow. Can't believe you brought that up. What does it matter?

He hasn't talked to Kent, and that's who we're after, right? Sure. But damn, brings some darkness into his already dark world. Yeah, but you heard him. He's not even sure if Ken is really alive. He thinks that story is bogus. No, he doesn't. He doesn't know what to make of it.

Get in line. Right? So what? You think Kent is dead? Or you think Roland is telling the truth? Those aren't mutually exclusive. Just then makes phone one off. Hello?

What? No, I can't. We're in Vermont. I can't hear you. Hold on, hold on. What's going on? I'll be right back. Uh, by the way, if I'm missing fries when I get back, it better be only two.

I only took two. Oh, shove it. I continue to eat my turkey on rye as I watched McPace in front of the window on the phone. It was a cloudy day today, which made it nice and cool outside. I kept thinking about our talk with Paul. I'd have to do some research on Kent. when we got back. Maybe Mick could even put out some more feelers.

Just then, he came back in, looking defeated. Hey, what's up? Well, I have some good news and bad news. Bad news first. Both Elliot Benson and Julia Meadows, they're dead. What? Committed suicide. Both of them?

Days apart, apparently. But yeah. Jesus Christ! Okay, well, what the hell is the good news? Pops in Spokane believe they found Roland's car. What? Are you serious? What I joke about this? Just her car.

It was on train tracks. She either parked it there or it stalled. Train smashed right into it. Is she... Gone. She wasn't in the car. How did they know it was Roland's car? Well, they sifted through debris and found a lot of case files, print out some books.

When was this? Two nights ago. Jesus. We've got to get over there. Way ahead of you. Already booking tickets. Jesus. She's still looking into this?

Guess so. Case files? They said case files? That's what they said. Hmm. There we go. Flight's booked. Washington?

Yep. What the hell was she doing way over there? I don't know. But let's find out. Paralyzed Written by Robert M. Lamb. Edited by Dylan Whitehead. Starring, Amy Lurray as Roland,

Cadabelle as Ray, Jack Austin as Jake, Ariel Hack, as Michelle, Brian Messick, as Captain Hiltz, Mitchell Beck, as Ansel. Mark Koroftus as Oliver Joseph Harmon as Hal Rachel Stidham as Mayor Brandon Levine as Ed

Gina Coyle as Torv Krista Tollie as Robart Coast Arm Lindsay Riley Alexander Dottie James Brown Anthony Mayer Corey Petit

Kyle Mooney David Cui Joseph Bersinski Monica Ward, Amber Simpson, and Robert M. Lamb as David. Music provided by Kevin McLeod of Incompetec.com. Eldridge Tachala of Nemesis Black at ReverbNation.com slash Nemesis Black. If you enjoy this podcast, don't forget to rate and review. Visit 7LAMB.com for more audio dramas such as this one.

This has been a seven-land production. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.