The Truth Behind the Angel

Hello Nightvale. It is me, Jeffrey Craner and I would like to tell you about camp Nightvale. We're planning to do a weekend long writers's workshop march fifth or seventh in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That's in twenty twenty seven this coming year This workshop is for writers of all kinds who want to spend a weekend in the desert doing guided writing exercises, participating in group discussions and readings and other fun cool things that are yet to be announced This workshop is taught by me and Joseph Fink, my Nightvil co creator, and will be for a maximum of twenty in person students. Registration opens june sixteenth for paid Patreon members, and if you are a weird scout level or higher, you get fifty dollars off your tuition Registration opens to the general public on june eighteenth. More info at welcome to nightvale d. com slash camp, Nightvale We will see you in the desert. Also, makeake sure to pre order the Nudge, a brand new horror Novella by my Nightvail co creator Joseph Fink The Nudge is a brilliant and frightening news story in the tradition of Stephen King or Shirley Jackson. It's about a wounded man who checks into a roadside hotel He's running from something, but as the story unfolds, he begins to question if he's run far enough The print version of the Nudge will feature original illustrations by Jessica Hayworth, and the audiobook format is read by Kevinar Free and Cecil Baldwin. P order the Nudge wherever you get your books Also, if you want to keep up on the latest things that we're doing like, writing a cool horror novella or doing a writer's workshop in Santa Fe or live tours or newew merch, whatever, just get on our mailing list. Go to welcome tonightville. com to sign up. It's only twice monthly. We don't sell your data. We just want people to know what we're up to. And hey, Thanks Plan B is a backup birth control option that's there for you when things don't go according to plan It specifically works after unprotected sex and before pregnancy occurs by temporarily delaying ovulation. Plan B is available nationwide at all major retailers and through delivery apps like Doorash. No ID, prescription, or age requirement. It's the number one OBGYN recommended brand of emergency contraception, and it won't impact your future fertility That's Freedom to Be. Use us directed This episode is brought to you by Prime bs session is in session this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point and more Slow burns, second chances, Chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime Let that be a lesson for you. spepecifically a piano lesson Remember to do your scales every morning. Welcome to Night Vail Listeners, what a situation we find ourselves in as a community. Who could have seen it coming? After a year of investigating the murders of Marcus Vansten and Jaylen Rutherford, we had the solution Jalen killed Marcus with the help of his ghost accomplice, who locked the room from the inside, thus providing the locked room part of the locked room mystery. As for Jayalen, he was murdered by Harrison Kip, and replaced by a double Jaylen who is now in jail awaiting trial for his double's crimes. So far, simple murder mystery stuff, likeike you'd read in any Nicholas Sparks novel Then, Dana called me with a frankly confusing message. She told me that we got the murder all wrong, that she had discovered new information that turned everything on its head. I rushed down to the jail to meet her, but by the time I got there, she had vanished, and no one knew where she went What if she was right? What if there was more to this murder than we understood? And what if she had been silenced so she couldn't tell us the truth of the situation Unfortunately, the Jalin who is in jail knows nothing, as he is from a different version of our universe one where Marcus Vansten was still murdered, but in a normal way on the street inststead of in a weird way, in a locked room In the absence of Dana, I have no choice but to take the mantle of the investigation into my own hands. After all I am a journalist What is a journalist But a detective with better fashion sense Don't worry, Dana. I will not disappoint you. I will find out who the real murderer is and I will find where you have been taken. O my name is not Cecil Palmer which it is This is Dana Cardinal, reporting I know who is responsible for this murder, and I must go confront them directly. I carefully search every inch of the floor. There must be something here, and sure enough, under a carpet in the corner, there's a trap dooor. Painted a rich purple It is unlocked It opens with a loud groan Inside, there is a staircase I take the staircase The stairs start wooden and simple. Stairs to any basement And then I reach a marble stair And from then on, the stairs become wide, decorated on the railings with gold, hung with ornate lamps I keep going One thousand steps twoo thousand The stairs become simple again Play There is no light now. I pull out the flashlight I had thought to bring I brought no weather supplies I'm not sure supplies matter where I'm going I continue to descend If we were wrong about the conclusion, then we must start over from the beginning because we have no idea where in the course of the investigation the mistake was made. So let's look at the evidence The room was locked from the inside. Marcus Vanstin was found dead, although no cause of death was ever deduced. and no one even knew it was possible to kill an angel. Now, the locked room element would seem to have been solved. Jayen Rutherford, the one from our world worked closely with Marcus Vanston and so had a key to the private library. And he was colluding with Maisie Cross, a ghost from Pine Cliff with a long record in extortion, blackmail, and poltergeisting a simple plan, Using Jalen's key, she locked the door from the inside and then wafted ghostly through the walls makes two assumptions The first is that the key Jaylen possessed was used to lock the door. but Looking at the crime scene photos and reports, I am seeing something startling that we all had missed The door to the room was locked on the inside. Yes not with the lock in the door Instead, there was a small red padlock of a design that I have never seen before. In fact, it has no keyhole or combination wheel, no visible way of unlocking it at all So There goes the key And then there is the question of ghosts Even if the key had been used Could Maisy Cross have been the one to use it For that, I bring in an expert witness who is not a ghost, but shares much of Maisie's physical properties. the sentient patch of haze I a sealt So yeah, so We creatures of non corporeal bodies do have a number of advantages over you. disgusting Meet sex One might even say we are vastly superior creatures, but In terms of physical interactions with the world Our fine motor skills are about the same as a cat's. We're pretty much limited to scratching on walls and knocking stuff over. It is of my opinion that a ghost could not hold the key, lock a door or murder a billionaire angel. As much as being able to do those things would be cool as heck So no Maisy Cross is innocent O murder. She's still very guilty of extortion, blackmail, and many, many counts of pololtergeisting Thank Deb. And that's where we're left Jayen and Maisy could not have sealed the door from the inside, which means they could not have killed Marcus Vanstin ion remains The stairs end and I am in a small cave Just tall enough for me to stand just wide enough for me to walk. Looking back, I cannot see the top of the stairs But no matter, I am going forward for now I walk along the dry sandy floor of the cave It turns and twists But there is only ever one passage, and so I cannot get lost It is the only consolation I have Finally I reached the end of the cave There is a room that smells like cinnamon and a little bit like char Like many things have been burned in this room. The walls are covered in drawings They are old, perhaps older than humanity, but preserved by this lightless, airless chamber They depict every possible manner of dying And there are so many ways They are illustrated with loving realism by a true talent I feel dizzy looking at them I want to flee. I will not flee In the center of the room is an ancient stone well I know that who I am searching for is at the bottom of the well I peer over the edge and see nothing in its darkness My own flashlight only goes ten feet down The air coming up from the well smells sweet but not in a good way It is the sweet of fermenting fruit. A thing' going a little too far. I did not bring any sort of ladder or rope, And so what else can I do I swing one leg over and then the other. I climb into the well, my fingers gripping painfully onto the rock Without any clear direction and with no new evidence, I must go to the only witness who saw the actual moment of murder Dana's brother, Ethan Cardinal. I found him in Grove Park feeding the ducks. He didn't make eye contact with me, did not say hello. I'm sorry to do this, I told him Th then don't, he said I have to know who killed Marcus Vanstin, I said. Ethan shrugged. God knows who killed him. Leave me alone. No, you know who killed him. Why won't you tell anyone? Ethan turned to me. His eyes were heavy lidded and red. Every time I try to sleep, I see the murder again. I see it over and over. It is the worst thing I have ever seen that I ever could see. I wake up screaming, but I'm not even asleep Just screaming, I scream and scream instead of sleeping Ethan told me, Maybe if you helped catch the person, you would feel better, I said. He shook his head. Then he said, If you want to know who killed Marcus Vanstin, you need to start with the real question I struggled to think what that could be Why was he killed? I suggested. No No. Ethan said The why could not be more obvious. No, Cecil, you must consider how was Marcus Vanstin killed How do you kill an angel Figure that out, and you'll have solved the murder Then you'll know the same terrible truth that I do. Then you'll scream, scream and scream instead of sleeping. He turned away, stopped talking, and continued to feed the ducks The climb down the well is painful My fingers slide on the rocks. My feet wedge awkwardly into cracks in the wall My arms and legs are covered in friction burns I clamp my teeth together. My jaw hurts. My whole body hurts And then My feet find the bottom There is no water in this well I don't think there ever was It's not that kind of well The bottom is flat cobblestones I flick my flashlight around and find a small hole in the wall against the floor I would be crazy to crawl through there I guess I'm crazy I crawl through Have you ever seen those cving videos where people are wedged sideways? faces distorted by the rock around them? And you think, who would ever do that? Well, I envy those people for how roomy their caves are I hold my breath because I am too big to bring air filled lungs through this passage, and I pull myself frantically through the tiny crack Unfortunately, the passage is not long, and I emerge in my destination I am on a dark planet, lit by no sun There is a dark ocean near me. waves like canyons. The roar of water like a wounded animal The shore is scattered with rocks, gray and featureless No sign of the well leading up, O a hole in one of the rocks from which I have just emerged And hunched against one of the rocks is what I have been looking for Here is the murderer of Marcus Vanstin. Listeners, I have it I have it I figured out how an angel could be killed. And Ethan is right. If this is how Marcus was killed, then there is literally only one culprit possible. I must get to the sheriff and have the double of Jailin freed right away. He is innocent. I'm heading to the jail now But first, it's your daily weather report sponsored by Date Shakes State shhakes. What if a milkshake had some dried fruit in it? For some reason? Anyway, here's the weather Broke down. Somehow standing. Lost forone n Lost Fo That's what the margins say when they're still speaking U defated but now Mister a point of I re turn M be honest, it'd be nice to be honest Soon enough we will all have a turn Burned out. St re main F got ten but night That's what the margin say when we're still listening Oh go on I can go Ill go on I can go. Starting or growing your own business can be intimidating and lonely at times. Your to do list may feel endless with new tasks, and lists can easily begin to overrun your life So finding the right tool that not only helps you out, but simplifies everything as a built in business partner can be a game changer For millions of businesses, that tool is Shopify. 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And if people haven't heard about your brand, you can get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you. with easy to run email and social media campaigns to reach customers wherever they're scrolling or strolling start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify, and start hearing Sign up for your one dollar per month trial today at shhopify d. com slash RM Go to shhopify. com slash realm That's shhopify dot com slash Rem So good, so good, so good New markdowns up to seventy percent off are at Nordstrom rack stores now. Stock up and stve big on shoes, tops, dresses, accessories, and more must haves for summer. Join the Nordy Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack I walk hesitantly forward Creature eyes me wearily It seems jittery like it might bolt or attack at any moment It is vaguely human shaped. With dark, smooth skin Large white eyes No nos mouth that opens and shuts with little wet pops. Hello, my name is Dana Cardinal. I tell it I reach a hand out, placatingly. I've come to see you about an angel formerly named Marcus Vansten The wet little pops get louder and closer together Its long limbs swing back and forth And it starts toward me Listeners, I have retrieved Ethan Cardinal, witness to the crime and brought him to the sheriff so that he can explain why Jalyn must be freed us to be sure, it was not the original Jalin who did this crime. He could not have. There is nothing he could have done that would have killed an angel You must tell the sheriff who killed Marcus Vansten? I said to Ethan Ethan shook his head frantically and tried to wriggle out of my grasp, but I did not let him go An innocent double's life is at stake, I said. Ethan, who killed Marcus Vanstin? No, he muttered. I can't. No, it is impossible for me to say. the sheriff crossed their arms, bemused, not believing that there was anything to this The first rule of being a cop is the case is solved as soon as I stopped thinking about it, and baby, I never think about a case Please, I said to Ethan, Wh killed Marcus Vansten And finally, through gritted teeth Ethan managed He looked up. met my eye His eyes were bottomless His eyes were windows to nowhere God knows, he said. God knows who killed him Then he started to scream it His face was red and he was crying, God knows, God knows who killed him? His voice gave out, still, he gasped, the words barely audible. God There is nothing I can do if it wants to hurt me And so I stand my ground It gets close to me So close that I can smell it And it smells like everything It smells like every smell at once I can smell an entire universe, and it's so overwhelming that I almost faint. But I hold myself on my feet through sheer stubbornness. It says A Of course, it does not have our language. It has the language of everything You are God, I say. A it says And one of your angels displeased you A It swings its limbs furiously And so you killed your angel A It agrees It flops back to the rocket it'd been leaning against My heart is beating so fast it might burst The sky is red now So is the ocean. Murder isn't right, I say. It howls, spinning like a top, its body contorting and shifting, held up by something not so physical and rigid as bones There is nothing I can do to hold you accountable, I tell it But I needed to come to look you in the face. and tell you it was wrong It shuffles back over to me U U I close my eyes I have no control over what will happen next It started with a simple idea Marcus Vansten had gone all in on the God that had made him an angel, sending regular donations to ourur Lady of temporary salvation. But like any billionaire He wanted to diversify his assets. and, like any billionaire, he didn't really know anything about money or anything else in the world, and so he went to his assistant, Jayalen for advice Jalen's archaeology professor had been talking a lot about a new religion, and so, Jaylen suggested it might be spiritually prudent to make a donation to Harrison Kipps's religion whatever it is. Of course, we know much of what transpired from here. Harrison was only too happy to receive a donation but could not, for legal reasons, receive it directly. So Jaylen helpfully ran the donation through the community collllege, and then Jayalen stole the donation This is where our understanding had gone the murder had nothing to do with the stolen money, or with Harrison Kipp's anger at not receiving the promised donation instead issue was with the offering of the donation in the first place Marcus Vanston. being an angel existed by the grace of God And God was feeling threatened by the go of Harrison Kip, who has been rapidly amassing followers, both willing and unwilling Marcus was in his library, going through his private collections, such as his dead venomous snake menagerie and his collection of cool knots anyytime Marcus read poetry or novels, he would circle his favorite words. And when he was done reading a book, he would write, It is finished. so he could remember which ones he had already read Marcus had just picked up his favorite book of dirty limericks And that's when God burst in Demanding to know why Marcus, one of God's own angels, was giving donations to a rival God. was heated argument, and in that moment of furious passion God. D it God revoked its grace from the angel that was Marcus Vanstin, and Marcus crumpled Dead to the floor The only way to kill an angel is to remove its permission to exist the only one who can do that is God? Having committed the murder, God summoned a padlock onto the door to seal the room? and then vanished Perfect grime One might say Divinely Perfect I am climbing back up from that dark planet, lit by no sun I am still alive. Somehow I escaped uncleansed Somehow I still have the bones and meat of my body, and the air and thought that keeps that body moving around I climb up through rock and long hallways and thousands of stairs I walk until the library of Marcus Vansten comes into view I step out of the trap door and carefully close it God hadn' itt disappeared from the library like a magic trick? God has a trapdoor In every room in the entire universe, God has a secret trap door If you look carefully enough in any room, you will find it But you should never look This was God's trapdoor in this room And God had slipped back through it when the murder was done. I walk through the window and look outside The sun is shining. I didn't know if I was going to see it again It's so good and the sky is so blue and I start to cry In my hands there is something warm Almost hot Almost too hot to touch but I hold it carefully against my body Because after all God, at the bottom of the well, had given it to me And so ends the mystery of Marcus Banstin killed by his own Godd Jayen Rutherford, killed by Harrison Kipp, in retribution for stealing the money meant for Kipp's religion. But speaking of Where is that money There was no sign of it in Jalen's accounts or hidden on his property Jalen's double does not know, it is a small fortune lost to the wind And what of Harrison's go who broke through the sky a little over a month ago We have the answers we sought, and yet, still, so little is settled No. Stay tuned next for the controversial new political chat show. Hey. No you shut up, Bozo And from one mystery solved to the next mystery beginning. Good night, Listeners Listeners. O me In the studio above me, I see A figure W a flickering face, like a TV screen that has gone out of whack It is Harrison Kip's God, who broke through our sky. Harrison's God is standing on the ceiling looking down at me with its flickering face. It is reaching for me. Oh Oh Welcome to Night Vale is a production of Night Vale Presents. It is written by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Craner, and Breee Williams. Sound design and production by Dpirition. The voice of Dana is Jessica Nicole. The voice of Deab is Meg Bashwinner The voice of Night Vale is Cecil Baldwin. Original music by Dispirition. All of it can be found at dispirition dot net