002 | Voice

[burger_king]

It's a little after midnight, the cobblestones slick with fog on this mild late August night. Polly Nichols, a divorced mother of five, makes her way down Brick Lane on unsteady feet. A victim of drink, like so many other members of the working class at this time, and where there's drink there's desperation. She turns down on Whitechapel Road to earn enough coin for a bed for the night. Her new bonnet will surely do the trick.

Three hours later, two cart drivers come across a body in Buck's Row. In the dim light of early morning they can't know for sure but, as one of them told the police later, she looks to me to be either dead or drunk, but for my part, I believe she's dead. The way her throat was slit ear to ear confirmed that belief.

Want to hear the rest? Tune in to the Overlook Podcast. The first episode is available now on your favorite podcatcher.

Happy Friday the 13th.

Comments

[fehus]

Awesome. [it won't be awesome, since it won't be soon.] Who's the other guy?

[burger_king]

Oh, that's Tate. We share an apartment in Maurtia Falls. [ So much has happened since they last spoke. ]

[fehus]

No shit? Roomies and podcast hosts...? Try not to let who has yet to take out the fucking garbage this whole month affect your work.

[burger_king]

Oh that reminds me - I work with your cousin now.

[fehus]

At the library?

[burger_king]

Yeah. She hooked me up with a clerk position.

[fehus]

Cool. It's a really nice place. I still haven't figured out how to cash in on Annabeth working there. And now you I guess. I bring my books back on time and everything about the library is free?

[burger_king]

It's not the best place if you're looking for employment perks, but on the other hand I barely have to deal with customers and most of the time I can just do whatever I want?

Kind of a dream job, if you ask me.

[fehus]

As a patron of the library I find that offensive. Why don't you wanna be my friiieennd?

[burger_king]

Hey, I was your friend before all this library business. You don't count.

[fehus]

What about the kid's corner?

[burger_king]

What about the kid's corner? [ What are you getting at. ]

[fehus]

You could tell your stories there. Uh, significantly edited, maybe.

[burger_king]

...You're asking me to do a PG version of Jack the Ripper? That's, uh... that's a pretty tall order.

[fehus]

Or an interesting challenge for an aspiring writer?

[burger_king]

Why are you trying to ruin my totally chill job with all the free time? I thought we were friends?

[ Also he's a library clerk, he has no authority to mess with children's programming. ]

[fehus]

Maybe I'm jealous and territorial.

[burger_king]

Of me or the library? Either way I feel like I should be worried.

[fehus]

The library? Why would I be jealous and territorial about you, Jones?

[burger_king]

I don't know. I never know why you do what you do. [ Heh. ] If you love the library so much, wouldn't you want someone more qualified to read to kids?

[fehus]

[he almost feels a bit proud of that. being around Jughead is good for him]

My cousin's probably more qualified to do everything in that building than you could ever dream to be. I'm just trying to help you diversify before it's too late.

[burger_king]

Oh yeah, no doubt about that. Annabeth's amazing. [ Like, the actual best? She's so good. ] And it's not like I'm aiming to make a career out of this.

[fehus]

Are you aiming to make anything a career here?

[burger_king]

Depends? If I stick around, sure. I want to be a writer, I could do that wherever. [ Should probably make a more serious attempt at it than he has since arriving here, but it's also been nice to be A Teen. ]

[fehus]

I'm pretty sure you're already a writer? -- Wait, you didn't improv that podcast episode, did you?