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Hello folks. I'm very, very excited today to share with you a preview to our new show called Sword and Scale Nightmares. We've been working on this show behind the scenes since last year, and we think you're really going to like it. One of the wonderful things about Sword and Scale that really set us apart early on was the use of audio clips such as interrogation audio and trial testimony, which adds a level of immersion to the story that feels like you're watching a well-produced TV documentary. But not every story lends itself well to this format, and sometimes the clips simply don't exist. Not to mention, we've heard directly from you over the years. We've heard what you like and what you don't like, and that you all don't like the same things, necessarily. So we've gone back to the drawing board, and reimagined how to tell these stories in a refreshing new way. For this new series, that means no clips, no jump scares, no loud techno music, and no unsolicited, unnecessary opinions from that over-appininated narrator. What an ass that guy is. The result is what we're calling true crime for bedtime, i.e. bedtime stories for adults. Now we've tried something like this before. You might remember Monstro, but let's face it, the feeling, the vibe wasn't quite right. But I think we've finally nailed it, though. And if you like Sword and Scale, you'll most likely enjoy Sword and Scale nightmares. You might even like it more. By the same token, if you don't like Sword and Scale for all the reasons I just stated, then maybe you'll still enjoy. Then you show. Now, in order for this show to be a success, we need your help. So I'm going to ask you for a favor. If you're listening to this right now, please take a moment and head on over to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast listening platform, and subscribe to Sword and Scale Nightmares. Right now, it really is going to make a world of difference if you do. And just so you know, Nightmares will eventually be part of Sword and Scale Plus. But for now, we're only going to be releasing it as a freely distributed podcast on all major podcast platforms. The response we get will allow us to see if you guys like it or not, and whether it's worth continuing. So thank you in advance. And without further ado, here's a preview to Sword and Scale Nightmares. Sweet dreams. St. John's Arizona is a tiny little town in Apache County with just over 3,000 residents. It's a little blip on the map north of the Apache National Forest. The town's motto is the town of friendly neighbors, and quite literally, everyone knows everyone. On November 5, 2008, Debbie Neckall was celebrating. She'd just been promoted to detective at the St. John's Police Department the day prior. This was her second year in the department, which in the line of police work is not very long at all. Given that her new title was so fresh, Debbie was understandably nervous about the responsibilities that entailed. Before her promotion, Debbie worked as a school resource officer. So the types of situations she dealt with involved scuffles between kids. Now, her job would be to respond to real crime scenes. She knew she had entered the big leagues, and she was about to get a taste of how gruesome reality can get. On this particular Wednesday, a little after 5pm, someone called the police department to report hearing shots fired, and then seeing something strange on someone's front porch. It looked like a dead body. Now this was only a few days after Halloween, so Debbie and her partner, Sergeant Lucas Rodriguez, weren't totally convinced this call would even amount to anything. But they strapped up their bulletproof vests and jumped in their cruiser. Debbie in the passenger seat and Sergeant Rodriguez driving. So as they're driving, their lights flashing through the streets of this quiet town, Debbie's looking at the window, waiting for the house to emerge. She's a little nervous, but you know, how bad could it be? This was probably just a leftover scarecrow that had gotten blown over by the harsh winds that they'd had over the last few days. Nothing to worry about. On the corner of 15th place west and 7th north, they see the house. It's a blue, two-story single-family home sitting close to the street. It's got a little front yard and a truck parked partially up onto a small gravel driveway. As the police cruiser pulls closer, Debbie sees what the caller was referring to. Even from that distance, she could tell this was not a piece of decor. This looks real. She squints her eyes and realizes that the lump on the porch is, in fact, a dark, complex male wearing a heavy car-heart jacket lying face down. They see someone else too, a frightened little boy standing outside the home, waiting for law enforcement to arrive and help them. Debbie quickly realizes that she recognizes this child. Living in the neighborhood herself, she knew him as the happy child who jumped on the trampoline with his cousins, and always yelled, have a good day, Mrs. Neckle, when she left for work. This kid was Vincent Romero's son. He's standing alongside an adult man and a teenage boy. They seem to be hovering over him in kind of a protective way. Debbie looks at Rodriguez as they're sitting on the street in front of the house. They're both wide eyed because they're realizing this might not be such an easy call after all. Rodriguez opens his door first, telling Debbie to stay behind while he assesses the victim and scopes the area. Debbie stays in the passenger seat looking out the window. She's getting progressively more and more nervous now. Her partner is in this house with a real dead body on the front porch, and now she's thinking about what else might be inside. For all they knew, the murderer could still be hiding in the closet. Pretty soon after that, Debbie hears shouts coming from the house. She opens her door and starts towards the porch, noticing blood droplets on the sidewalk as she makes her way forward. Rodriguez pushes the screen door from the front of the house, opening it from the inside, being careful to avoid this dead man lying on the door's path. Debbie sees her partner's face and knows it's bad. Rodriguez yells out to her, informing her of another dead body on the stairway to the second floor. Both men had been shot to death with a 22 caliber weapon, one of which was a familiar neighbor, Vincent Romero, a little boy's father. Both bodies were still warm. Rodriguez secured the area, Debbie went around the neighborhood asking if anyone had seen or heard anything. At this point, more officers were arriving on scene, so they split up across the neighborhood and started knocking on doors. The people who lived in the house right across the street confirmed that they heard several shots right around 5pm. Throughout this long night of witness interviews, police summarized that the two men were 29-year-old Vincent Romero and his friend 39-year-old Timothy Romance. They also learned that Vincent and Tim were not only friends, but co-workers and part-time roommates. The two worked for SRP, or Salt River Project, a power company in Arizona. Vincent and his wife owned the house and allowed Timothy to rent a room so that he could be closer to work during the week. The little boy who was found standing in the front yard when Debbie and her partner arrived on scene was a year-old Christian Romero. He had run to a neighbor for help and they called 911 and stayed to wait with him. So Debbie is just shocked that such a crazy tragedy could strike her tiny little neighborhood. She feels bad for this poor child, this kid who's just lost his father. So she has to find out if he saw or heard anything. She sits down next to the kid and says, okay, just tell us from the beginning. Christian starts to explain that his stepmom isn't home on Mondays and Wednesdays. She works until 5pm. And so he got off the school bus and walked around the neighborhood for a while, waiting for her to get home. When 5pm came and went, he figured he'd make his way back to the house. He says that as he approached, he saw a truck parked out front and started to call out Tim. Are you home? Then Christian tells them about the car that went past him as he approached the home. He says, it seemed it could have been leaving his family's house. He describes the car. It's a white car with no hubcaps on the back. So the police are like, we got to send out a below immediately, meaning beyond the lookout for this vehicle. Christian goes on to tell them that when he got to the front porch, he saw Tim lying face down. There was a lot of blood and even bits of brain. Little boy continues explaining that once he saw Tim's body, he started to yell for his father Vincent, but got no response. He says he carefully opened the front door and went inside, still calling for his dad. And then he saw him, lying motionless on the stairway. At this point, Debbie's thinking, holy moly, thank goodness this child didn't get home just a few hours earlier. He could have been killed too. Debbie knew they'd have to get Christian in for a forensic interview in the morning. First, they'd have to deal with Tanya Romance, Tim's wife. Tanya lived far enough from the power plant that it made more sense for Tim to stay with his friend during the week. Tanya, though far away from the crime scene, had some information about the previous day that Debbie hoped would shed light on why two people had suddenly been murdered. Please head on over to Apple Podcasts Spotify or your favorite podcast platform and subscribe. Sword and Scale Nightmares will launch its first three episodes on March 2nd at 323 Eastern Daylight Savings. Thank you and good night.