Work Text:
Transcribed from a micro-cassette marked “Pendleton Introductory Interview”
DOUGLAS: Mrs. Pendleton?
CAROL: Yes?
DOUGLAS: This is Douglas Cartland from DCI. I’m calling in regards to a voicemail about a possible missing person investigation. Do you have time to discuss it now, or would you like to schedule an interview?
CAROL: Hold on.
(Sound of muffled voices and laughter. One voice is masculine, the other a woman or possibly a child. It’s impossible to make out any words. The sounds stop abruptly.)
CAROL: We can talk now, if that’s alright.
DOUGLAS: Do you mind if I record our conversation? It helps me keep track of things.
CAROL: If it will help, please do.
DOUGLAS: Thanks. So, who do you want me to find?
CAROL: My husband, Murphy Pendleton. Ex. My ex-husband. He was an inmate at Ryall State, but they decided to move him somewhere else. The prison bus had an accident and he disappeared.
DOUGLAS: Aren’t the police or the Fed looking for him already? They’ll find him for free. I gotta charge you.
CAROL: They think he’s dead, but there’s no body. If he’s dead, he should be buried by his son. If he’s not, I’d like to know before I wake up with a hand clamped over my mouth and a violent escaped convict telling me not to scream.
DOUGLAS: So, you think he’s a danger to you?
CAROL: Yes. Maybe? I don’t know. We didn’t part on the best terms, Mr. Cartland.
DOUGLAS: Why was he in prison?
CAROL: (sigh) Because he wanted to be.
DOUGLAS: I didn’t know it worked that way. Why prison?
CAROL: Not just prison. Ryall State. The man we believed had killed our son was a prisoner there. Murphy killed him. I guess he didn’t think any farther than that. He threw his life away. Our life. And Charlie is still…gone.
DOUGLAS: I’m sorry.
CAROL: That doesn’t help, either. What do you need to find Murphy?
DOUGLAS: Hmph. Picture would be helpful. Could you send me the most recent picture you have of your husband?
CAROL: EX.
DOUGLAS: Ex-husband. Got a picture?
CAROL: Can I send one to the email address in your ad?
DOUGLAS: Sure.
CAROL: Just a second....There.
(Long pause. Sound of clicking and slow typing. Exasperated sigh close to the tape recorder.)
DOUGLAS: Got it. This you with him?
CAROL: Mm-hmm, and our son, Charlie.
DOUGLAS: That’s a nice looking family.
CAROL: It was. But we were talking about Murphy. I think he’s got a scar, now, on his cheek. I’m sure I have something more recent in video. I kept a lot of home movies on my computer. It would be good for a voice sample, at least.
DOUGLAS: Every little bit helps. Really, though, I’d like to know more about the guy. Things like...his habits, anything 'might make him stand out. Places he might go. People he might hit up for money. That sort of thing. I once caught up with a guy who rolled his own smokes and was very particular about his rolling papers. All I had to do was stake out a couple tobacco shops and I was done in 2 days. Murphy got some quirk like that? Anything at all you could tell me about him?
CAROL: The Murphy I knew was impulsive. Quiet. He was bad with money but good with coin tricks. He never had any ambitions beyond tinkering with cars. He couldn’t plan ahead to save his life, or watch any movie in which a dog was killed. The Murphy you’re looking for stole a police car in order to follow our old neighbor to prison. There, he beat two men into an unrecognizable pulp. The one h-he KILLED was naked and unarmed. The other took months to finally die. He was an armed corrections officer with years of experience who had been sponsoring Murphy for early release. I don’t think I can tell you anything about the man you’re after. I don’t know him. I don’t want to know him. I just want to know he’s behind bars or dead.
DOUGLAS: What about the other one? Cars and coin-tricks?
CAROL: He’s gone. He’s not coming back.
DOUGLAS: So you don’t have a message for him or anything?
CAROL: No. I want him to forget me. Murphy Pendleton is a cold blooded killer. Maybe one of his victims had it coming, but the officer? They might not even be the only ones he’s killed. Not everybody from the prison transport died in the accident. When the police arrived, nearly everyone was found dead just the same. They were scattered around a nearby town called Silent Hill.
(Roughly a minute of silence.)
CAROL: Mr. Cartland? (More silence.) Mr. Cartland, are you still there?
DOUGLAS: Probably.
CAROL: I guess this sounds a bit more dangerous than your typical missing person case.
DOUGLAS: You’d be surprised. Look, how about I call you back in an hour or so to let you know if I’m interested in taking the case?
CAROL: Do you think you might not?
DOUGLAS: I might not, but I’ll give you some free advice. Don’t go there. Don’t send anybody else there. Forget you ever heard the name Silent Hill. Find someplace Murphy doesn’t know, and stay there for a while. Don’t leave a forwarding address. I’ll be in touch.