Introducing - Sword and Scale Nightmares - Sword and Scale Rewind

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello, folks, I'm very,very excited today to share with you a
preview to our new show called Swordand Scale Nightmares. We've been working on
this show behind the scenes since lastyear, and we think you're really gonna
like it. One of the wonderfulthings about Sword and Scale that really set
us apart early on was the useof audio clips such as interrogation audio and

(00:27):
trial testimony, which adds a levelof 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 theclips simply don't exist. Not to mention,
we've heard directly from you over theyears. We've heard what you like

(00:50):
and what you don't like, andthat you all don't like the same things
necessarily, So we've gone back tothe drawing board and reimagined how to tell
these stories in a refreshing new wayfor this new series. That means no
clips, no jump scares, noloud techno music, and no unsolicited,

(01:15):
unnecessary opinions from that over opinionated narratorWhat an ass that guy is. The
result is what we're calling true crimefor bedtime, i e. Bedtime Stories.
For adults. Now, we've triedsomething like this before. You might
remember Monstro, but let's face it, the feeling, the vibe wasn't quite

(01:40):
right. But I think we've finallynailed it though. And if you like
Sword and Scale, you'll most likelyenjoy Sword and Scale Nightmares. You might
even like it more. By thesame token, if you don't like Sword
and Scale for all the reasons Ijust stated, then maybe you'll still enjoy
then you show. Now, inorder for this show to be a success,

(02:02):
we need your help, so I'mgoing 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 rightnow. It really is going to make

(02:23):
a world of difference if you do. And just so you know, Nightmares
will eventually be part of Sword andScale Plus, but for now, we're
only going to be releasing it asa freely distributed podcast on all major podcast
platforms. The response we get willallow us to see if you guys like

(02:45):
it or not and whether it's worthcontinuing. So thank you in advance and
without further ado. Here's a previewto Sword and Scale Nightmares Sweet Dreams.

(03:15):
Saint John's, Arizona is a tinylittle town in Apache County with just over
three thousand residents. It's a littleblip on the map north of the Apache
National Forest. The town's motto isthe Town of Friendly Neighbors and quite literally,

(03:35):
everyone knows everyone. On November fifth, two thousand and eight, Debbie
Nickel was celebrating she'd just been promotedto detective at the Saint John's Police Department
the day prior. This was hersecond year in the department, which in
the line of police work, isnot very long at all. Given that

(03:58):
her new title was so fresh,Debbie was understandably nervous about the responsibilities it
entailed. Before her promotion, Debbieworked as a school resource officer, so
the types of situations she dealt withinvolved scuffles between kids. Now her job
would be to respond to real crimescenes. She knew she had entered the

(04:23):
big leagues, and she was aboutto get a taste of how gruesome reality
can get. On this particular Wednesday, a little after five pm, someone
called the police department to report hearingshots fired and then seeing something strange on
someone's front porch. It looked likea dead body. Now, this was

(04:47):
only a few days after Halloween,so Debbie and her partner, Sergeant Lucas
Rodriguez, weren't totally convinced this callwould even amount to anything. But they
strapped up their bulletproof vests and jumpedin their cruiser, Debbie in the passenger
seat and Sergeant Rodriguez driving. Soas they're driving, their lights flashing through

(05:13):
the streets of this quiet town,Debbie's looking out the window waiting for the
house to emerge. She's a littlenervous, but you know, how bad
could it be. This was probablyjust a leftover scarecrow that had gotten blown
over by the harsh winds that they'dhad over the last few days. Nothing
to worry about. On the cornerof fifteenth Place West and seventh North,

(05:40):
they see the house. It's ablue, two story single family home sitting
close to the street. It's gota 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 referringto. Even from that distance, she

(06:05):
could tell This was not a pieceof decor. This looks real. She
squints her eyes and realizes that thelump on the porch is in fact,
a dark complexed male wearing a heavyCarhart jacket, lying face down. They

(06:28):
see someone else, too, afrightened little boy standing outside the home,
waiting for law enforcement to arrive andhelp him. Debbie quickly realizes that she
recognizes this child living in the neighborhoodherself. She knew him as the happy
child who jumped on the trampoline withhis cousins and always yelled have a good

(06:51):
day, missus Nickle when she leftfor work. This kid was Vincent Romero's
son. He's standing alongside an adultman and a teenage boy. They seem
to be hovering over him in kindof a protective way. Debbie looks at
Rodriguez as they're sitting on the streetin front of the house. They're both

(07:15):
wide eyed because they're realizing this mightnot be such an easy call after all.
Rodriguez opens his door first, tellingDebbie 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 progressivelymore and more nervous. Now her partner

(07:40):
is in this house with a realdead body on the front porch, and
now she's thinking about what else mightbe inside. For all they knew,
the murderer could still be hiding inthe closet. Pretty soon after that,
Debbie hears shouts coming from the house. She opens her door and starts towards

(08:03):
the porch, noticing blood droplets onthe sidewalk As she makes her way forward,
Rodriguez pushes the screen door from thefront of the house, opening it
from the inside, being careful toavoid this dead man lying on the door's
path. Debbie sees her partner's faceand knows it's bad. Rodriguez yells out

(08:28):
to her, informing her of anotherdead body on the stairway to the second
floor. Both men had been shotto death with a twenty two caliber weapon,
one of which was a familiar neighbor, Vincent Romero, the little boy's
father. Both bodies were still warm. While Rodriguez secured the area, Debbie

(08:54):
went around the neighborhood asking if anyonehad seen or heard anything. At this
point, more officers were arriving onscene, 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 heardseveral shots right around five pm. Throughout

(09:16):
this long night of witness interviews,police summarized that the two men were twenty
nine year old Vincent Romero and hisfriend, thirty nine year old Timothy Romans.
They also learned that Vincent and timwere not only friends, but co
workers and part time roommates. Thetwo worked for SRP or Salt River Project,

(09:43):
a power company in Arizona. Vincentand his wife owned the house and
allowed Timothy to rent a room sothat he could be closer to work during
the week. The little boy whowas found standing in the front yard when
Debbie and her partner arrived on waseight year old Christian Romero. He had

(10:05):
run to a neighbor for help andthey called nine one one and stayed to
wait with him. So Debbie isjust shocked that such a crazy tragedy could
strike her tiny little neighborhood. Shefeels bad for this poor child, this
kid who's just lost his father,so she has to find out if he

(10:26):
saw or heard anything. She sitsdown next to the kid and says,
okay, just tell us from thebeginning. Christian starts to explain that his
step mom isn't home on Mondays andWednesdays. She works until five, and
so he got off the school busand walked around the neighborhood for a while

(10:48):
waiting for her to get home.When five o'clock came and went, he
figured he'd make his way back tothe house. He says that as he
approached, he saw a truck parkedout front and started to call out,
Tim, are you home. ThenChristian tells them about the car that went
past him as he approached the home. He says it seemed it could have

(11:11):
been leaving his family's house. Hedescribes the car. It's a white car
with no hubcaps on the back.So the police are like, we got
to send out a blow immediately,meaning be on the lookout for this vehicle.
Christian goes on to tell them thatwhen he got to the front porch,

(11:33):
he saw Tim lying face down.There was a lot of blood and
even bits of brain. The littleboy continues, explaining that once he saw
Tim's body, he started to yellfor his father, Vincent, but got
no response. He says he carefullyopened the front door and went inside,

(11:56):
still calling for his dad, andthen he saw him lying motionless on the
stairway. At this point, Debby'sthinking, Holy Moley, Thank goodness,
this child didn't get home just afew hours earlier. He could have been
killed two. Debbie knew they'd haveto get Christian in for a forensic interview

(12:22):
in the morning. First, they'dhave to deal with Tanya Romans, Tim's
wife. Tanya lived far enough fromthe power plant that it made more sense
for Tim to stay with his friendduring the week. Tanya, though far
away from the crime scene, hadsome information about the previous day that Debbi

(12:48):
hoped would shed light on why twopeople had suddenly been murdered. Please head
on over to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform and subscribe.
Sword in Scale Nightmares will launch itsfirst three episodes on March second,

(13:11):
at three twenty three Eastern daylight savings. Thank you, and goodnight.

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Introducing - Sword and Scale Nightmares

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Introducing - Sword and Scale Nightmares