Broken Plates

"I know what it's like to lose your mother, and I will find out what happened to theirs."

Detective Gray Cooper investigates a mysterious disappearance in South Hadley, Kansas.

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Transcript

00;00;05;01 - 00;00;33;16
Gray Cooper
I'm Gray Cooper, private detective. According to the Department of Homeland Security, my business doesn't exist. But according to the blockchain, a government address pays my bills. The following are the recordings of my case log for insurance purposes. You understand? See, I deal in the strange. The place where monsters and conspiracies dance. The kind of strange you're not quite sure is real or unreal.

00;00;34;13 - 00;01;15;14
Gray Cooper
Officially, the following case did not happen. I told you nothing. Welcome to The Strange Chronicles case log. 933 July 22nd Year 2052 got the call regarding Dickey Baker, a neo farmer from South Hadley, Kansas. He claims his wife disappeared three nights ago, literally into thin air. Police think she's run off, but Mr. Baker insists that just after dinner, while sitting at the table with their toddler, Harvey, she evaporated.

00;01;15;29 - 00;01;51;26
Gray Cooper
DHS wanted me to prove that this was not a case of spontaneous human combustion. The bakers have three children. BRACKEN Megan Harvey, ages 1210 and two. I know what it's like to lose your mother, and I will find out what happened to theirs. Unless I'm flying out in the morning to investigate the disappearance of Mary Beth Baker. This afternoon, when I arrived in South Hadley, a depressing town in the middle of the plains, I tripped and twisted my ankle.

00;01;52;10 - 00;02;17;20
Gray Cooper
Luckily, I don't plan to stay long. Dickey Baker and his wife, Mary Beth, are farmers for a living. They grow hardly pork, a bioengineered non-meat. Mr. Baker said that Mary Beth was nursing a headache on the evening she disappeared. But other than that, it was a normal day. He made hardly pork chops and mashed potatoes for dinner. Mary Beth helped Brecon with his calculus homework while Meg watched TV with Harvey.

00;02;17;28 - 00;02;39;13
Gray Cooper
They ate dinner and chatted about the upcoming harvest. Brecon and Meg cleared the table, leaving Harvey and Mary Beth in the dining room. Brecon broke a plate. Meg scolded him. And then Mr. Baker went upstairs to fetch the vacuum for clean up. There was a flash of light, and then Mary Beth was gone. At first, Mr. Baker assumed the flash was faulty electrical work.

00;02;39;21 - 00;03;03;03
Gray Cooper
Meg in Brecon said it was like a bolt of lightning inside the house. They found a small pile of gray dust with blue particles on Mary Beth's chair and on the floor. The dust was what convinced Baker his wife had disappeared. And all baby Harvey ever said about that night is Mama. Blue, gray, blue dust has something from the past ringing in my ear.

00;03;03;06 - 00;03;13;01
Gray Cooper
But I'm afraid to pick up the phone.

00;03;15;28 - 00;03;39;10
Gray Cooper
Talk to the captain of family regulation today. Like every bureaucrat I've ever met, she was useless. She told me that because they know the baker's a very respected neo farming family. This was most likely a case of Mary Beth needing a mental health break. She left to take some time for herself, as she should. The captain said if Mary Beth didn't return in a week, that she'd look into it.

00;03;39;27 - 00;04;03;23
Gray Cooper
Like I said, useless. So Nebraska, my partner, is checking to see if the Bakers have a life insurance policy. He owes me. I suppose you'll meet him later. He's a real dog in the soup. There's been a break in the case. An earring was found in the woods nearby the Baker farm by a hiker with a metal detector.

00;04;04;03 - 00;04;29;04
Gray Cooper
Apparently, this is a common hobby in South Hadley. I'm hoping Mr. Baker will help us confirm that the earring was hers. Fortunately, Baker confirmed that the earring was, in fact, Mary Beth's. However, he also claims that his wife lost the earring ages ago. But this new development encouraged the captain of family regulation to turn the case over to PCA policing of criminal activity.

00;04;29;16 - 00;04;40;11
Gray Cooper
While taking Baker's statement, I noticed a book on the end table called Alien Life. I didn't realize he was interested in UFO folk.

00;04;43;19 - 00;05;04;12
Gray Cooper
Return to the Bakers this morning to talk to the kiddos. Today I focused on baby Harvey. He's two, so I did not expect much. When I asked him to tell me about his mama, he said there was a light. Then boom, mama blue, then mama. Bye bye. Tears gathered in those big eyes. But I think Mr. Harvey very much for his information.

00;05;05;01 - 00;05;25;26
Gray Cooper
The older kids didn't want to talk at first, Bracken said. No one believes us anyway, these poor kids. I reminded them that if I did learn something new, it could help us find their mom faster. I had to swallow the ache in my throat several times. Meg spoke up and said that after the light flashed they ran to the dining room to find their mother gone and Harvey crying.

00;05;26;01 - 00;05;46;07
Gray Cooper
Then there was dust on her chair and on the floor. Neither child could confirm Mary Beth going out for a walk at that moment. The front door creaks loudly and the children didn't hear a thing. Besides, Mary Beth wasn't wearing shoes. She only had four pair. One sandal, one sneaker, one dress up shoe, and one pair of work boots.

00;05;46;07 - 00;06;19;05
Gray Cooper
And all shoes were accounted for by Baker. Wish I could say I'm as frugal in most of these cases. The sad truth is that they turn out to be a product of domestic violence. I've met many an abuser and Baker just doesn't fit the type. No record seems to delight in the fact that Mary Beth is an equal partner in their business, and initially he hoped she'd gone out for a long walk to take a break.

00;06;19;21 - 00;06;42;22
Gray Cooper
He said she really has been working hard. It doesn't seem like an act, but still I need to talk to him privately. In my not so humble opinion, Baker is clean. The only thing of interest he did mention was a fear about the hardly park being the reason for Mary Beth's headaches. But that still did not explain her disappearing into thin air at the dinner table a week ago.

00;06;46;06 - 00;07;05;25
Gray Cooper
The lab test came back on the earring in the dust. The earring is confirmed to be old. 20 years old. The only defining feature is a tiny burn on the edge. I checked the photos where it was found. No scorch marks or any blackened spots near the earring. So it was likely burned before it fell or was dropped there.

00;07;06;01 - 00;07;28;28
Gray Cooper
Tests show that the dust did not contain human remains. It is mostly ash mixed with tiny particles of gadolinium, a magnetic mineral commonly used in the contrast dye for MRI's. What the tests do not tell me is why a pile of mineral ash appeared spontaneously on the chair in the floor precisely where Mary Beth Baker had been sitting.

00;07;29;05 - 00;07;52;22
Gray Cooper
Or what caused the flash? Joe is allergic to his phone today, but he did send me a document. It states that health insurance in the area is hard to get due to the high occurrence of medical ailments, likely because of the contaminated water nearby. I think insurance is backward. How do you provide less insurance to people who clearly need more insurance?

00;07;52;27 - 00;08;15;29
Gray Cooper
As per usual, the answer is money. I wanted to find out if this affects the case. Doing some research on spontaneous combustion and it seems that most reported cases included the victims burning. This was not what happened to Mary Beth Baker. And I'll give you two reasons why. One, alcoholism is a common characteristic in almost all cases, and Mary Beth abstained.

00;08;16;05 - 00;08;35;25
Gray Cooper
Two, there were always burnt remains found, whether the remains were human or surrounding objects. And in this case, there was nothing except the earring in the dust. But the earring was found in the woods. And the Bakers are certain Mary Beth was at dinner with Harvey in the house. I looked into the weather, and here's where it gets interesting.

00;08;36;03 - 00;08;56;25
Gray Cooper
That night, there were no reports of lightning, but there were two reports to the UAP WTF of UFO sightings in the area. The UAP TAF is the unidentified aerial phenomena task force established back in the 2020s, and if you haven't heard of it, consider looking it up.

00;08;59;10 - 00;09;23;02
Gray Cooper
The guys over there couldn't confirm anything specific, but they did say the night she disappeared was what they call active. I tried to use my pull with DHS to get more info, but since I'm not officially on the payroll, I got nowhere. Lucky for me, I got Joe. Joe knows UFOs. He's in deep with some online sleuths. He still hasn't called me back, but messaged me the names for the two sightings in town.

00;09;23;05 - 00;09;53;24
Gray Cooper
Andy Poff and Patti Acton. When I get to end his house, I shake my head. The yard lined with barbed wire has signs all over it. Keep out, earthlings, only EMF detection on sight and many, many more. Must be great for the property values in the neighborhood. Andy answered the door wearing a tin hat, which was actually a baseball helmet coated in foil.

00;09;53;28 - 00;10;16;01
Gray Cooper
He made me put my copy device in a Faraday cage, which I obliged. Fighting back a neck. Breaking eye roll. Speaking in conspiratorial, hushed tones. He told me what he saw that night. Said he was glad I was taking him seriously, since everyone treats him like he's loony. Who said I didn't think he was loony? Lucky for me, he didn't ask, according to Andy.

00;10;16;01 - 00;10;37;15
Gray Cooper
He was watching TV when he heard a worrying sound. When he looked out the window, he saw a saucer like aircraft real low, just over the trees with blue lights hovering. But by the time he got a few photos taken on his device, it was gone. He showed me the photos, which indeed were dated the night Mary Beth went missing, but only showed a dusty sky with some treetops.

00;10;37;23 - 00;10;49;27
Gray Cooper
I had him send me the photos so I could take a better look later before I head over to my second UFO sighting. There's a stop at the Bakers because there was one thing I wanted to check.

00;10;53;28 - 00;11;16;20
Gray Cooper
Mr. Baker, it's me, Greg Cooper. No one answered. As I wait in the silence, I hear a sound on the side of the house. It sounds like a raccoon is getting into the trashcans. When I check, there's no one there. So I go back to the front door. This time, Bracken answers. He looks sad and strange. Meg appears in the hallway behind him.

00;11;16;21 - 00;11;36;13
Gray Cooper
Then Mr. Baker comes outside, holding Harvey. I ask him why he was reading the book. He said in a slow, unusual manner. What book? The one on the end table by the door. I try to point it out, but it was gone. Mr. Baker looks vacant. He says that I should leave. That Mary Beth is just visiting family and would be home soon.

00;11;36;23 - 00;11;59;11
Gray Cooper
I'm incredulous. What happened to them? He proceeds to deny his entire story and apologize for my troubles. When I call out to Breckin and Meg, they say in unison, Goodbye, Ms.. Cooper. Mr. Baker tells me that my partner came by and explained everything, and then he shuts the door. I stand there in shock for a moment. My partner, Joe.

00;12;00;10 - 00;12;20;27
Gray Cooper
Joe is in Massachusetts who is going around telling people They're my partner. I go back to my car. I should have left then, but I did not. Instead, I slipped on some gloves quietly, got back out of the car and hid in the shadows. I made my way along the side of the house and opened the trash can.

00;12;21;08 - 00;12;37;07
Gray Cooper
I was too curious about what got thrown away. Carefully, I sifted through baby food jars, tissues, microwave popcorn bags. And then underneath there was the book Alien Life. Just then, the front door creaked open.

00;12;39;10 - 00;13;03;12
Gray Cooper
I sprinted for the car, jumped in, tossed the book on the passenger seat and got out of there. I tried Joe again, but got his voice mail. What the hell was that? There's no way I can go home now. Something was wrong here. And for the baker's to recant, the entire investigation made no sense. And who was it that met up with them and told them they were my partner?

00;13;03;26 - 00;13;29;13
Gray Cooper
I can't leave here until I find out. I still have an appointment with Patty Acton, the other UFO sighting. She lives just a mile away from the first guy, Indy. Upon arrival, I ask her if she knows her neighbor. Nut job was all she said. Patty is a religious woman, a widow who would count herself as very a nut job like her house for crosses instead of alien signs.

00;13;29;15 - 00;13;49;15
Gray Cooper
She told me she was quite uncomfortable with what she saw, but felt a responsibility to report it to the authorities. She kept asking me to confirm that it was a government ship. I said, Ma'am, I cannot confirm anything for the government. I am a private citizen outside her kitchen window. I could see the same patch of woods where Andy said he saw the UFO.

00;13;49;16 - 00;14;07;10
Gray Cooper
She gave a very similar description. Patty was washing her dessert plate in the sink when she heard a sound like a car idling. Then she dropped the plate because she was so surprised to see a round ship with a blue light. When I asked if she took any photos, she said she was too shocked to do anything but stare.

00;14;07;18 - 00;14;25;23
Gray Cooper
Thanking her as I got up to leave, she grabbed my arm. She just remembered. There's a video camera aimed at her garage. It was installed because she was trying to catch a thief who kept clipping her rosebushes. She turned on her device and began searching through the footage. There was a clip of the light, but it didn't capture the UFO.

00;14;25;29 - 00;14;48;29
Gray Cooper
When I looked closely, I could see the light emanate from the sky like a helicopter spotlight. Then I zoomed in and found a tiny black dot that looked to move from the sky into the woods. Over and over I watched the dust slowly descend from the light down and into the trees. And then I noticed something I hadn't before the date on the video.

00;14;49;00 - 00;15;10;13
Gray Cooper
This video was not from a week ago when Mary Beth Baker disappeared. No, this happened last night. I sent the clip to myself and then forwarded it to DHS and Jo and then hurried back to my car, looking out at the trees, swaying lightly in the wind. I hoped that this video might help the case. If not, this town had more than enough.

00;15;10;13 - 00;15;13;17
Gray Cooper
Strange for me to investigate.

00;15;15;18 - 00;15;38;04
Gray Cooper
I popped some candy into my mouth from the pocket of my trench and noticed the book Alien Life sitting there on the passenger seat. The opening paragraph told a story of a lonely alien named Tomo who wanted to farm the earth to save his species. This has nothing to do with the case. I have to laugh at myself because I dug in the garbage for that non clue.

00;15;38;10 - 00;16;02;04
Gray Cooper
But when I flipped the book back onto the seat, a card slips out my heart sinks when I read it, and my fingers immediately dial Jo voice mail again. Damn, Jo. Jo, call me back, will you? There was this book about aliens at the Baker house. There was this card inside. It says Mr. La Sue Lo and a number.

00;16;02;26 - 00;16;07;29
Gray Cooper
Jo It can't be him, right?

00;16;13;18 - 00;16;33;17
Gray Cooper
Mary Beth Baker was found in the woods last night nude and catatonic, but alive. Her skin is a hue of cerulean blue. First, tests reveal an obscene amount of gadolinium. Like the particles in the dust found at her home, Mr. Baker has snapped out of his trance and along with the rest of the town, believes she was abducted by aliens.

00;16;33;23 - 00;16;52;12
Gray Cooper
She is being studied at the local college hospital to find out how her skin changed and what it means. We don't know exactly what happened because she has yet to speak a word. There are many theories. And even though it was my tip to check the woods due to Ms.. Acton's video, I can't be sure that abduction is the only possibility.

00;16;52;18 - 00;17;09;16
Gray Cooper
The one I told authorities is that she got lost in the woods. Eat something. She shouldn't have, and is having some sort of strange allergic reaction. Not sure if they buy my story, but it provides them something to give the news and a theory allowing them to sleep at night. Looks like the one with the last word on this case is Harvey.

00;17;09;29 - 00;17;45;19
Gray Cooper
Mama sure is blue. Log 933 closed. There is something bigger going on here, something personal. This case reminds me of my very first one. Another suspected abduction. The recurring factor being the dust. I still haven't heard from Joe, and I'm getting on a plane now, but I want this on record. People from the past. Very bad people. Maybe after us.

00;17;46;01 - 00;18;28;05
Gray Cooper
If you read in the media that something has happened to me or Joe, please send this to DHS. Stop. This has been an episode of the Strange Chronicles of Fiction podcast. You can follow us on Instagram at the Strange Chronicles podcast or email us at info at the Strange Chronicles sitcom. This has been a kings of content production.

00;18;29;05 - 00;18;37;28
Gray Cooper
Thank you for listening and.