Changeling 33:28

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And now, this week's episode. How long is this going to take, officer?

It'll take as long as it takes, Mr. Christie. Tape's rolling. We're just taking a statement. If you cooperate and we're satisfied with your answers, I imagine you'll be out of here before you know it. Fine. Do what you gotta do, I guess.

The date is March 15th, and the time is 1.15 p.m. This is Detective Amy Sue and Detective Roberto Torres taking a statement from Mr. Quentin Christie regarding the incident this morning at the Perry Lane Grab-N-Go. Am I under arrest? Like I said, Mr. Christie, we're just taking a statement. Please state for the record everything you remember between the hours of 10 and 11.45 this morning.

Uh, well, I had the day off from work. Corporate told us to pump the brakes since the last incident. Where do you work, Mr. Christie? Pancontinental. You married? Any kids? I'm married. No kids. No, not yet. Where does your wife work? How the hell is that relevant? Please humor us. We know what we're doing. She's a nurse. Works crazy hours up at St. Mary's. Usually isn't home much.

So, you had the morning to yourself. Sounds nice. Yeah, it was. Until I was dragged into this shit show. What brought you to the grab-and-go this morning? Morning paper and some gum. Nothing exciting. Quite a drive for you, isn't it, Mr. Chrissie? Come again? Well, according to your ID, you live at 105 Bright Street. That's the big city. At least 30, 40 minutes away, wouldn't you say, Torres? Oh, at least...

Must have been some gum. Are you a spearmint or peppermint guy, Mr. Christie? It's a beautiful town. I don't get to see much of it while I'm working, so I thought I'd take a drive. Is that a problem, officers? It's detectives. Please. It would be a problem if you were making a false statement to law enforcement.

If you feel like you're misremembering anything, now would be an excellent time to get your facts straight. People forget little details all the time. It's only human, after all. My wife says I'd lose my head if it wasn't screwed on. So, why don't you tell us the real reason you came into town this morning, Mr. Christie? Think real hard. You'll keep this between us, right? Don't you guys have something like the Hippocratic Oath?

That's doctors, Mr. Christie. What I mean is, is this gonna be a matter of public record, or does what I say in this room stay between us? That depends on what you're about to tell us. My wife's gonna fucking kill me. We're all friends here, Mr. Christie. Okay. The truth is, I have... Well, I've been seeing... Another woman? Another man?

Looks like you got it, Torres. Feels weird to hear it said out loud. Can you tell us this man's name? Why does that matter? Depending on how this interview goes, we may need to bring him in for questioning. I feel like I'm in a nightmare right now. I can think of someone who's having a much worse day. I don't even know what's happened, okay? Like, what crime was even committed? What do you think I have to do with it? What's the fucking problem here?

He wasn't even in the store with me. He was waiting for me at the Sunspot Hotel. There's no reason you'd have to talk to him. That's the short stay on Hadley Street. I'll make a note to check the guestbook. I just went into the grab-and-go for some condoms. Here, I can prove it. I've got a receipt. You weren't worried about your wife finding this? I thought he might not show. I figured I might need a refund.

I would have thrown the receipt in the trash afterwards, anyways, if you guys hadn't pulled me in to talk about whatever the hell this is. Alright, what else do you remember seeing in the grab-and-go? What can you tell us about them? Uh, shit. I'm bad with faces, but there was the guy at the register, some lady with a kid, teen in like, maybe a school uniform? Scruffy dude, maybe mid-twenties, a tall skinny guy. Uh,

That's about it. I'm sorry, for obvious reasons. I wasn't really going out of my way to make friends. I think we've heard all we need to, Mr. Christie. That's it? We'll be in contact if we have any further questions. Thank you for your time. Okay, fine. I'll just fucking leave, I guess. Thanks. What do you think? Your guy? No, just another asshole. Who we got next?

Thank you again for coming in. Bill, was it? Yes, ma'am. Bill Thompson. I'm so sorry for all the trouble. Uh-huh. Remind me, exactly when do you think you lost your wallet? Well, it must have been on my way out of the store. Things got a little bit confused when that poor woman started screaming. So you were in the grab-and-go at the time? Yes, ma'am.

I was just paying for a snack and a drink at the counter when it happened. Scared the life out of me, honestly. Is she okay? We're not at liberty to discuss that, Mr. Thompson. At any point, did you enter the bathroom while you were in the store? No, I don't believe so. I think I remember going to the bathroom at home before I left. I'm sorry. I know this isn't what this is about. But did any of your people happen to find my wallet? All my cards are in there. Well...

We'll keep an eye out. Did you see anyone else using the restroom while you were there? No, but truth be told, I wasn't looking. Do you watch who uses the restroom? Fair point. Maybe you can tell us what you did see. Try to recount to the best of your ability exactly what happened in the store. Step by step. Yeah. Just paint us a picture. Well, okay. I came in sometime after 10:00.

Didn't have breakfast this morning, so I wanted to buy myself something quick. Said hello to the cashier, grabbed a snack and a drink, then waited behind some nervous fellow buying condoms. I paid, and on the way out, thought I heard glass breaking. Then that poor woman started screaming to high heaven. Interesting. So you checked out, and yet you somehow lost your wallet between the register and the door? Maybe I left it on the counter. Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time.

If it was on the counter, our boys would have found it when they were first called in. There are opportunists everywhere these days. You think your wallet was stolen with everything else going on? Well, I don't want to point fingers, but there was a dirty looking fellow. The shifty type, you know. He could easily swipe to turn the confusion. I called the bank and cancelled my cards as soon as I realized.

But it's harder to replace my ID. We'll look into what happened to your wallet as best as we can, Mr. Thompson. But right now, there are more pressing issues. Oh, of course. Like what happened with that poor woman. Other than her, who else do you remember seeing in the grab-and-go? What can you tell us about them? Let me see. There was... Well, the dirty fellow I mentioned. And the man in front of me in line with condoms.

The woman who screamed, right? Cashier and... nobody else that I can remember seeing. Was there a tall, thin gentleman in the store as well? Not that I can remember. And nobody else? No, sir. And you have no idea what happened in the restroom? Well, um... something bad, I guess? That'd be a good guess, Mr. Thompson.

We appreciate you coming in. We'll be in touch if we have any further questions. So, I'm free to leave? Yes. Just go out the way you came in. Okay then. Thank you for your time, officers. Uh, sorry, but I can't seem to get the door open. One sec. Damn thing. My keycard isn't working. This whole damn place is falling apart.

Sorry, Mr. Thompson. Bennett! The door! In fact, he has to know and be able to do a great many things which can be learned only through actual... And you've been the proprietor of this grab-and-go location since 2008. Is that correct, Mr. Scarpatti? That's right. And up until now, I never had any trouble.

If it had to happen, I don't know why it had to happen in my store. We understand your frustration, sir. We just need you to cooperate with us so we can make sure this doesn't happen again. Our biggest concern is the lack of any security footage. They were working just fine earlier. I would know. I have a habit of checking them every morning. We had a shoplifting problem back in 2018. I promise, they were working this morning. Now?

All scrambled. Any idea when the feed dropped out? A little after 10, as far as I can tell. There's a monitor under the counter, but I can't watch it and serve customers at the same time. Do you have any footage of the restroom? What the hell kind of question is that? I run a respectable establishment, detective. But you use a digital point-of-sale system, right? So there should be a record of all the transactions from today? Oh, no need.

I remember everything I sold. Enlighten us. Well, I had my regulars in around 8. So that's milk and a loaf of bread. Two guys came in for those iced coffees. You know, the stuff in the cartons. Oh, I can't understand that stuff myself. It tastes too artificial. Plus, the coffee is meant to be hot. Now, I use a French press at home, and my God, it's life-changing. Mm-hmm.

Just from 10 to the time of the incident, please. Well, okay then. First, some local guy, kind of a shady customer, came in for some camels, loitered by the magazines afterward. Then a lady and her kid came in. The kid was being fussy, complaining about how itchy his arm was inside the cast. And she picked up a candy bar along with the painkillers.

He said he needed to use the bathroom, so his mom stuck around even though she'd already checked out, just hung around by the laundry detergent. Then, some snot-nosed teen tried to buy a six-pack of our shittiest, most obvious fake ID I'd ever seen. So I sent her to go put him back and shop elsewhere.

Then there was that shifty guy with the condoms. Then an old lady buying batteries and drain cleaner. Back up. You said someone came in with a fake ID? Yeah, some Abernathy Arts type, probably a senior, tried hiding her uniform under a jacket, but I recognize the colors. You don't notice things like that in this business. Last thing I need is you people taking my license away.

That isn't really our department, Mr. Scarpatti. Was this the same teenager who was the first to see... The batterer? It must have been. When I heard the bottles dropped, I thought she was trying to break them out of spite. Then the mom started screaming. I ran over to see Ms. Prep School stretched out on the floor. I guess she must have fainted out like a light. Wait, so you didn't get a look at what happened? No. Why would I?

I had an unconscious kid on the floor, broken glass everywhere. I just ran over and grabbed some towels from the back and called 911. I tried calming down the other lady, but she just kept screaming about her kid. It's your store, Mr. Scarpati. You really didn't look? I just got this feeling. Probably sounds stupid to you, but my old man, he grew up in Mussolini's Italy.

You looked at the wrong person the wrong way back then, and you ended up hanging by your ankles in Town Square. He escaped with my mama before I was born, but he always told me that he saw a lot of things he wished he could forget. And for some reason, I just knew whatever was in that bathroom wasn't something I wanted to see. It wasn't something I wanted to spend the rest of my life wishing I could forget.

Don't you wonder if you could have helped him? You tell me. Could I have? Thank you for your insight, Mr. Scarpetti. We'll be in touch. Hey, everyone. It's Trevor here with a quick ad break. If you like the show, consider supporting us on Supporting Cast. You can get access to an ad-free version of Made for Watches Society and five other bloody FM podcasts for just $5 a month.

Learn more at bit.ly slash supportmayfair. That's bit.ly slash supportmayfair. And now, a quick message from our sponsors. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Whether you're selling a little or a lot.

Shopify helps you do your thing, however you cha-ching. From the launch your online shop stage, all the way to the we just hit a million orders stage. No matter what stage you're in, Shopify's there to help you grow. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash special offer, all lowercase. That's shopify.com slash special offer. Thanks for listening. And now back to the show.

Amid the turmoil and confusion, he must be able to think clearly. I am sorry. I am so, so, so, so sorry. I have never done anything like that before. I'm not going to do it again. I promise. Calm down, Sabrina. That's not what you're here for. Considering it's your first offense, I think we can overlook it. We spoke to your school. They said you're a straight-A student. Any reason you were trying to score beer from a corner store on the wrong side of town? With...

No offense. An incredibly low effort fake ID. Made me think of that movie, uh... What's it called? You know, the one with Seth Rogen? Superbad. That's the one. Glad to see your memory's sharp. That's what we need from you, Sabrina. Will my mom hear about this?

The way I see it, Sabrina, you had a traumatic encounter this morning. That's the headline here. Anything else that might have happened, I'm ready to forget. As far as your mom's concerned, you could have been buying a shiny red apple for your teacher's desk. Why would I buy my teacher an apple? Kids these days. How about you just tell us what happened from the beginning, exactly as you saw it? In as much detail as you can remember. Even if something seems irrelevant, could still be helpful.

Okay, we had a free period before lunch, me and my friend Beth. She was telling me about this house party after school, and I didn't even want to go, but she's got a thing for the girl who's hosting it, and she thought we'd have a better chance at getting in if we had a six-pack. So she made a fake ID on the school computer and used a laminator in the library to make it look all official. Fucking moron.

Sorry. Why'd she send you in? Why not go in herself? Sounds like it was her idea anyway. Because Beth's 5'2" and I'm 5'8". She figured I looked older. Quite the criminal mastermind. Please don't tell her I told you. She'll be a total bitch if she finds out. Sorry. Beth really isn't our concern right now. So, you entered the grab-and-go around 10:25, is that right? But nobody reported the incident until almost 11.

That's an awfully long time to be loitering in a corner store. I was psyching myself up. Like I said, I didn't want to do it. I want to get into Brown. You think getting caught trying to buy beer with a fake ID would look good on my application? Still, you were in there for almost 35 minutes. You must have seen people come and go. Can you tell us a little about the other people in the store?

As much as you can remember. Well, uh, there was me, obviously. The guy at the counter, some guy in a suit, another guy about my age, some, uh, like homeless looking guy, and the lady and her kid. Hold on. You said someone your age? Yeah. He had, um, greasy hair, acne. You ever seen him before? No. He wasn't from Abernathy. Has he ever been to one of those house parties? Could still be from one of our local schools.

I don't know. He wasn't wearing a uniform, just like a t-shirt. Some bam called, uh, the Reavers. I remember thinking the logo looked like one of those shitty AI images. And you're sure you saw this guy? Because we've spoken to a lot of witnesses today, and you're the first person to mention someone fitting that description. You didn't happen to see a tall, skinny gentleman in there? No...

Or a woman buying batteries and drain cleaner? Uh, no. I saw the guy in the Reavers shirt pick up drain cleaner. I don't know about batteries, though. Well, talk us through the rest of it anyway. Okay. So, eventually, I worked up the nerve to pick up a six-pack. Beth wanted to pick up Dos Equis because that's what Amber likes, but they were out, so I just grabbed whatever looked the most like it. I got turned away, obviously. He even said that I had to put them away before I could leave. Alright.

How'd they end up on the floor? You get frustrated about letting your friend down? Start throwing them around to give the store owner something to clean up? No, no, I like Beth, but not enough to get the cops called on me. Honestly, I don't even remember dropping them. I was putting them back when I noticed the bathroom door was open, and there was this awful smell coming out of it. I was going to kick the door closed, but that's when... I need you to tell us what you saw in there, Sabrina. It was real, wasn't it? I didn't just imagine it.

Unfortunately. Can you describe what you saw? Take all the time you need. I understand this must be difficult. It was dark. It took a couple seconds for my vision to adjust. I remember wondering why someone would just leave a box in the middle of the bathroom. And then I saw something reflecting back at me. It took me a second to realize I was looking into something's eyes. That's the last thing I remember. You fainted.

That confirms it. She's the first one to have seen him. Him? Are you saying that that was a person? Oh, fuck. Get a counselor in here. I think we have all we need. Well, maybe this kind of thing wouldn't happen if people understood the problem. I don't destroy anything. I want to talk to my lawyer. I ain't saying shit until I have my lawyer. Mr. Gladwin. Or is it Larry? Do you prefer Larry? Whatever. Larry's fine.

You're not under arrest, Larry. You're not considered a suspect. We just want your statement. Yeah, yeah, I heard that one before. You can't keep me here. You were at the grab-and-go this morning during the incident. That's enough of a reason to bring you in. But I can't stress this enough. We just want a statement. We're not interested in anything else. You're just a witness.

Why were you in the store this morning, Mr. Gladwin? It's a free country. If I'm between jobs at the moment, that's thanks to the rap sheet you pricks saddled me with. I was just wandering, looking for something to do. I needed to take a piss. How many places do you think I can take a leak in? So I decided to relieve myself. You're telling us you used the restroom at the grab-and-go. You're willing to swear to that.

Sure, not precious about that, we all do it. But it was all above board. I didn't draw on the walls, didn't shoot up. Even left the toilet seat down. Like a gentleman. Did you see who used the bathroom after you? Yeah, some little kid with a cast, maybe eight or nine, I don't know. He was standing right outside the door, damn near knocked him over on the way out. Told him he should look where he was going or he'd break the other arm. He said sorry, then went in after me. Why?

The store owner said you bought a pack of smokes and were loitering near the magazines after that. That's not even three feet away from the bathroom door. You would have seen if anyone came in or out, right? I mean, sure. I wasn't paying attention. I don't remember seeing the kid leave, but I did see the next guy go in. Was this guy wearing a band tee? Death metal?

I'd pay to see. That dude was ancient. I think he was wearing cords and a sweater vest. A real Werther's Original type. I remember because he left the door open when he was taking a dump. And you said you didn't see the kid leave? No, like I said, I wasn't paying attention. Alright. And what happened after that? Uh, some teen in the next aisle over collapsed. Dropped a bunch of bottles and glass and beer everywhere. Did you try to help her? Fuck no.

As soon as shit started going south, I got the hell out of Dodge. I want me and trouble to be like oil and water. I gotta avoid situations like that. So you have no idea what happened? Nope. No interest either. The fact that you people are interested tells me I don't want to know. But you got a good look at the kid, right? With the cast? Sure. You sure, Sue? I'll follow your lead. Uh, what am I looking at? You tell us, Mr. Gladwin. What is this? Look at it!

Nah, nah, no way. Fuck that. That's not real. You're just trying to screw with me. Why do you think we'd want to do that, Mr. Gladwin? So you can pin whatever the fuck this is on me? Listen, I didn't do shit. Okay, then we'll level with you, Mr. Gladwin, just so you know exactly what you're dealing with. The little boy who went into the bathroom after you? His name was Evan Sloan.

He was in there for less than five minutes, but when his mother found him, he looked like this. How do I even do that? How do you twist a body into a shape like that? I was asking Dr. Merritt that same question earlier. The doctors x-rayed Evan. Not a single broken bone, save for the one he already had. The others were bent like they grew that way.

You're telling me somebody folded this kid into a fucking cube and you think that person's me? Seems that way, doesn't it? Jesus fucking Christ. How- Why would you even show me this? Wanted to see if you knew anything. You do have priors. You said so yourself. Not for shit like this. I got booked for petty larceny and possession. That doesn't make me capable of fucking magic. Shit, I feel like I'm gonna throw up. Be thankful you only had to see a photograph.

You people are sick. I don't have anything else to say. Get me my lawyer or let me out of here. Fine. You're free to go. You assholes are getting my therapy pill. So, who we got left? The mother. I was afraid you were gonna say that. We disagree. Let's go back to the beginning. Wait a minute. Where did you get your information? It's not fair. My little boy. My sweet Evan.

We can do this another time if it's too painful for you, Mrs. Sloan. You saw what they did to me. It's never not going to be painful. Did you see anyone or anything suspicious? We spent all morning at the hospital. I had to pull him out of school first thing. He said he fell in the playground before the morning bell, but I think one of the other boys pushed him, and he didn't want to say.

The doctor told me I just needed to get him over the counter painkillers while the break reset. He was in so much pain, but he'd been such a trooper. So I told him I'd get him a treat. Oh god. Oh god. How long was he out of your sight? I don't know. A few minutes, maybe. Can't have been more than a few minutes. Did you see anyone else entering the bathroom? No. No, I was distracted.

I had to call it a work on short notice, so I was on the phone with my team. If I'd been watching, this never would have happened. Oh god, Evan! Is there anyone we can call for you? Evan's father? We lost Marcus last year. I've been alone since then. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you right now. First your husband, now your son. But detective...

My son isn't dead. We desire a little square plate cut at just the right angles of these faces, in reference to the natural boundaries of the perfect crystal. This has been the longest fucking day of my entire career, Amy.

I just don't know what to make of all this. We get handed an impossible crime. If you could even call this a crime. If we have a perp, God knows who it is. Every testimony points to a different suspect currently unaccounted for. Nobody can decide if it's a tall, thin guy, an old lady, some pizza-faced teen in a band tee, or some geriatric. Maybe they were all working together. Who knows? We'll pick it up again tomorrow. Maybe we'll get Bill back in.

His testimony seemed a little too vague for my tastes. Did you notice he's the only one who didn't mention an additional person in the store? And no one mentioned seeing him. Which one was he again? You know, the short guy with the blonde hair. That's what you call blonde? He was bald, too. What? I'm not him. I'm just one of his outside men. Fuck. You. For. Listening. Neighbor.

Mayfair Watcher Society is based on the works of Trevor Henderson, created by Trevor Henderson and Pacific S. Obadiah. Changeling was written by Henry Daly and Charlie Green. Amy Sue was played by Melissa Lusk. Roberto Torres was played by Jean-Carlo Herrera. Quentin was played by Russ Moore. Bill was played by John Grylls. Matty-O was played by Joe Stofko. Sabrina was played by Madeline Moore. Larry was played by Scott Paladin. And Renee was played by Danielle Hewitt.

The dialogue editor was Jesse Hall. The sound designer was Brad Colebrook. The music was by Matt Royberger. The showrunner is Cale Brown. The creative director is me, Trevor Henderson. And the producer is Pacific S. Obadiah. Executive producers are Tom Owen and Brad Miska. The Bloody FM Show. For more information, visit bloody.fm.