Episode Six: Disposition
By J.R. Handfield
[RUSH TRANSCRIPT]
MELISSA PARKER: Hi, Melissa here. This is a difficult episode of The Butcher of Baker Street. This podcast… it’s…
[Silence]
MELISSA: As journalists, we shine a light on injustice, on corruption, on violence…
[Silence]
MELISSA: For those listening because of the media attention, I don’t believe those who report the news should be the news, but we owe it to... to…
[Silence]
MELISSA: This episode… contains coarse language and… and graphic violence. Discretion is advised.
[Music]
MELISSA [Voiceover]: From Chronicalia Studios, in collaboration with Elko Public Radio in the scenic gold rush town of Elko, Nevada, this is The Butcher of Baker Street, I’m Melissa Parker.
SARAH BLANCHARD [Voiceover]: And I’m Sarah Blanchard.
MELISSA: Episode Six: Disposition.
[Transitional music]
MELISSA: 1,800 degrees. That’s the temperature needed to incinerate a human body. It’s not an automatic process, either - it’s not like a cartoon where a sudden blast of flame turns someone into a pile of ash. It takes time. Long and short, what the cremation business calls “disposition,” the handling of remains? It’s--
SARAH: Of cremains.
MELISSA: [Laughs] It’s a process.
SARAH: For this series, we’re investigating a generational crime wave in northern Nevada. Multiple young women disappear every year, mostly residents of Elko County, and all without a trace. Last episode, we introduced the one common thread that might tie it all together. That single surprising detail found over and over in our research, ever since the first woman went missing in 1917.
MELISSA: Edwards and Sons Crematorium. Baker Street. Elko, Nevada.
SARAH: Austin Edwards is the current thirty-something owner of Edwards and Sons and represents the fourth generation to engage in the family business of burning bodies. His father inherited the business from his father, who inherited it from founder Edward Edwards. Say that three times fast, Mel.
MELISSA: [Laughs] I’ll pass.
SARAH: The building is a landmark in the area, too. Edward Edwards built the big brick monolith using regionally mined materials, and the crown jewel of the structure, the Atlas Obscura-esque landmark, the roadside attraction? The giant gold statue above the front door.
MELISSA: The statue is an impressive work of art in spite of its incomprehensible form - it’s... like a winged dog? Or a gryphon?
SARAH: Or some mix of both? I don’t know, and neither does anyone else we spoke to for this story.
MELISSA: So what does this multi-generational business with a tacky golden idol have to do with the missing women? Sarah hit the streets of Elko to investigate.
[Street sounds]
SARAH: In many ways, Elko is your typical Nevada city. Cute little downtown, a large casino visible from the bluffs, an old railroad along the Humboldt River, multiple brothels, and countless vestiges of the past. The outskirts are littered with abandoned gold mines, and many longtime residents are modern versions of the legendary forty-niners - they arrived during the 1980s gold rush and, well, they never left.
[Fiery roar of a crematory furnace]
SARAH: Elko also has Edwards and Sons. Nevada leads the nation in cremation - while the cremation rate in the United States is below 50%, some estimates place Nevada closer to a 70% rate, and Edwards carries the literal flame in Elko County.
JONATHAN SILVER: Cremation is just really popular out here, and not just with the locals.
SARAH: That’s Jonathan Silver, regional chair of the Nevada Funeral Directors Caucus.
JONATHAN: We see a lot of people coming from out of state, a cremation tourism type of thing. It’s cheaper to ship the deceased out and cremate them here because we’ve been doing it so long and we got real good at it. Plus, you have all these family firms competing against the corporate enterprises… it’s big business.
SARAH: That’s… a lot. Wow.
JONATHAN: Yeah, it’s quite fascinating - this one couple I knew just loved Carson City and all the corny casino stuff that goes along with it, and they came to me and said “listen, we’re old, we’re dying, we want to be cremated and scattered in Carson City, can you set it up?” People want to come here and go out on their own terms instead of doing the whole song and dance with caskets and burials.
SARAH: Go out on their own terms. That struck me when talking to people in Elko, many of which have close connections to the missing women. Everyone feels for the victims and wants justice to be served. To solve the mystery of these victims on their own terms..
UNNAMED MAN #1: It’s tragic. I’ve lived here for 20 years. So many women just go missing. Where are the police?
UNNAMED WOMAN #1: I grew up in the next town over, and my mother gave me the same talk her mother gave her: “If you’re in Elko, you’re never alone.” All the women here know they’re in danger...
[Silence]
UNNAMED WOMAN #1: Whoever is killing these girls? They’re always watching. Watching and waiting.
UNNAMED MAN #2: It’s fucked is what it is. The pigs have 100 years to figure this out and nothin’? Gimme a fuckin’ break.
UNNAMED WOMAN #3: People talk about “Missing White Girl syndrome,” and there isn’t a single race, color, or creed that isn’t represented in the list of these girls. Yet you’re the first goddamn reporter to come around and ask any questions? How does no one know? Why doesn’t anyone give a shit?
SARAH: People are scared. They’re angry. They’re frustrated. And can anyone blame them? Local law enforcement didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment, but one former officer from the Elko County Sheriff’s Department spoke to me on the condition of anonymity. His claim?
OFFICER: They’re all in on it.
SARAH: What do you mean?
OFFICER: It’s all of ‘em. The women ain’t missing, they’re dead. They’re dead and law enforcement wants nothing to do with it. They ain’t touching it, they ain’t allowed to touch it.
SARAH: That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Why wouldn’t the police want to clear these cases?
OFFICER: Because the funeral directors fund their union and their department. It’s in their interest to make sure these fly under the radar. Follow the money - it’s all from one family, and they’re untouchable. Sure, they sponsor sports teams and shit, too, but those bastards are the closest thing to elites we’ve got, and countless girls are dead because of ‘em.
SARAH: So you’re claiming conspiracy? Pizza parlors and Hillary Clinton and the--
OFFICER: Get the fuck outta here with that. This isn’t some Q bullshit, it’s real. It starts on Baker Street. They take em’, they kill ‘em, and then they incinerate the evidence.
SARAH: While we could not independently confirm the allegation of everyone being quote-unquote “in on it,” we can confirm that the Edwards clan are the only common documented thread. Nearly every missing woman has some tie to either the Edwards family or organizations close to the Edwards family in the community, and the stories about them disappear about as quickly as the girls do. With hundreds of victims over the years, the statistical likelihood of so many people going missing over such a short time and with such little fanfare? To be blunt, it’s very unlikely.
[Door opens; smooth jazz can be heard in the background]
SARAH: So it was time to visit the crematorium.
FEMALE VOICE: Good afternoon, how may I help you today?
SARAH: Hi! Sarah Blanchard, Chronicalia, Elko Pub--
FEMALE VOICE: I’m sorry, miss, but the press isn’t allowed in here. You need get out right--
[Crosstalk]
SARAH: Out back? Got it, thanks!
FEMALE VOICE: NO! You cannot--
[Door opens]
MELISSA: We’ll be right back.
[Commercial break]
MELISSA: This final segment of the episode is presented uncut, direct from Sarah’s backup recording from her phone. She… Sarah was always prepared. We constantly tease… teased her about the automated cloud storage setup, but it rescued this show on more than one occasion. It’s just too bad th...
[Silence]
MELISSA: [Deep breath] As I mentioned, this is presented as it happened, with no interruptions. Listener discretion is... strongly adv-...
[Silence]
MELISSA: [Deep breath] We rejoin Sarah Blanchard at Edward and Sons.
[Crosstalk fades in]
SARAH: Out back? Got it, thanks!
FEMALE VOICE: NO! You cannot--
[Door opens]
SARAH: Excuse me? Excuse me? I’m looking for Austin Edwards?
[Footsteps; distant unintelligible voices]
SARAH: Hello? Anyone?
[Footsteps; unintelligible, muted voices sound closer]
SARAH: Excu-- [whispering] oh, shit! Okay so I think there’s a meeting or something going on behind these doors.
[Beat; voices continue]
SARAH: Feels like I’m in a movie. “Girl Friday storms into the boardroom, pen in hand.” They don’t need to know I’m here, right? I’m going to try and sneak in, so...
[Deep breath]
SARAH: Here goes nothing.
[Door slowly creaks open]
MALE VOICE :--not thriving as he should. It’s not working.
FEMALE VOICE: He might be done, we don’t know. We’re in uncharted ter--
MALE VOICE: It’s not uncharted, for fuck’s sake. The sacred texts clearly state that he will live for two centuries before taking over the throne. Not only has it only been 153 years, but we can barely call whatever this is “living.”
[A low, guttural groan is heard]
FEMALE VOICE: Well, are we doing it right?
MALE VOICE: I’ve done this dozens of times. Kill the girl, hang them up, bleed them out, incinerate the remains. I don’t know why it’s not working anymore. It’s the same goddamn ritual we always do.
FEMALE VOICE: Yeah, the difference is that they kept Eddie Prime alive. Whatever the hell you thi--
MALE VOICE: Me? Me?! Us, Angie. Us. Whatever the hell the two of US are doing.
[Another groan, this one louder]
ANGIE STEVENS: Well, excuse me, Mister Oldest Son and, what is it they call you, the “Exalted Lieutenant?” [Laughter from Angie] Whenever shit gets tough, the heir comes running to his biiiiiig sister to bail his ass out. Shut up, Austin, you’re being ridiculous.
[Silence, followed by a distant, ethereal groan]
ANGIE: Listen to him, Austin. A man isn’t supposed to live this long. He’s clearly in agony.
[Silence, interrupted by another distant moan]
ANGIE: It’s time to put an end to this… whatever it is. [Beat] Maybe come clean, even. End the cycle once and for all?.
AUSTIN STEVENS: Okay, fuck this. I’m done. Ang, I love you, but you’re a liability.
ANGIE: A liability? What the fu--
AUSTIN: [Monotone] Glasya-Labolas, commander of the thirty-six legions... forgive me…
[Burst of footsteps; Angie screams]
AUSTIN: … Caassimolar, high president of hell and teacher of what is present and what is yet to come, protect me...
[A sickening thud as Angie’s scream is cut short; gurgling fades out, another groan]
SARAH: [whispers] Oh fuck. Holy shit. He just...
AUSTIN: ... Classyalabolas, mighty sergeant of the ancients, guide me...
SARAH: Oh shit oh shit oh... he just fucking stabbed her in the neck and... Fuck, there’s blood everywhere… oh, it’s on the… sprayed across the... the wall… an old man...
[Sarah dry heaves]
AUSTIN: ...the fuck was that? Hey, you! Who are you?! What are you doing here?
[Footsteps approach; Sarah yells. Her scream cuts short, and is followed by a thump and clatter. Edward Edwards howls]
AUSTIN: I know, Gramps, fuckin’ cool it. [Silence] Shit... [Footsteps, a beep] Jane, we have a Code Blue, call Chief Sc--…. Yeah, she’s back here, I took care of it.... Shit, she’s from what? [Footsteps] Her phone is on? Fuck. [Rustling] What are we go---
[Silence]
MELISSA: The audio cuts out there. Sarah is missing, presumed dead. The only proof that she was ever at Edwards and Sons is this audio.
[Silence]
MELISSA: Just last night, another woman went missing. We haven’t researched her yet, but I worry that the job listing for a receptionist at Edwards and Sons is related.
[Silence]
MELISSA: We played this audio for the police... begged them to help. We…the police maintain that our audio is not admissible evidence without the physical cell phone. We believe Sarah, and the evidence against Edwards, were... [deep breath] were cremated.
[Silence, music fades in]
MELISSA: In Episode Seven, our team investigates the Elko County Sheriff’s Department and why they’re struggling to… or choosing not to… connect the dots. For Sar--... the late Sarah Blanchard... this has been The Butcher of Baker Street. We’ll be back in two weeks.
THE END
Author Bio: J.R. Handfield (@jrhandfield) lives in Central Massachusetts with his wife, his son, and his cat; not necessarily in that order. He is a co-editor of ProleSCARYet: Tales of Horror and Class Warfare, and his work can be found at Punk Noir Magazine, The Daily Drunk, and the Chlorophobia anthology from Ghost Orchid Press.