Episode 109

"A Man, a Milkshake and a Serial Murderer" aired on January 20, 2016.

Nic and Alex Q&A
Alex asks Nic questions about Tanis, namely, why someone would want to find it given the dark mythology surrounding it. Nic explains that he's drawn to the mystery of Tanis, and enjoys the pursuit of its truth.

Prisoner Transfer, 1958
Phil Kaufman, a prisoner at the United States Penitentiary at McNeil Island in Washington State in the south Puget Sound, gave an interview to a reporter regarding a story told to him by a fellow inmate. While this man was being transferred from L.A. to Washington, the ferry broke down and the prisoner and his guards needed to travel by land up the coast to meet another ferry. It was during the land portion of the journey that the prisoner started hearing "the voice", and the guards that accompanied him reported feeling unwell and experiencing short-term memory loss. The inmate was then transferred back to California, released, and would be arrested for what was arguably the most gruesome string of murders in California's history. That prisoner was Charles Manson.

Nic wonders if there was a connection between Manson's time in the Pacific Northwest, possibly where Tanis is located, and the murders he later orchestrated. Nic also notes that both of the guards responsible for his transfer experienced violent ends within six months of the event: one guard killed his entire family before shooting himself, and the other jumped from a balcony of a hotel to his death.

The Children of Raywood
MK forwards Nic the contact information of a woman who lived in Raywood before it was evacuated, and whose children went missing but who returned "changed"; MK also notes that none of the children who returned had children of their own, and Nic later says that he discovered that none of the grown children had married, either. Nic calls the contact, Marnie Corrigan, who states that the two children that returned weren't in fact hers, and describes them as being faded versions of their previous selves. When Nic asks to speak with them, Marnie says she doesn't know where they are, and when Nic presses for more information, Marnie interrupts to ask about the Home Depot gift cards she was promised by an unknown source for doing the interview.

Map to Tanis
Nic talks with MK and wonders if the repeating number found on one of Karl's tapes that she later deciphered to be a latitudinal measurement is actually a map to Tanis, and they agree he'll need to keep investigating the geographical relationship to unexplained events.

Nic meets with Geoff van Sant to discuss the possible meaning behind Karl's tape, and whether Geoff has any information on the person or persons that purchased the rest of Karl's collection. Geoff says the team consisted of a man and a woman, well-dressed, and while they didn't leave contact information, their number did appear on Geoff's call display when they first contacted him, and he promised to forward this to Nic. MK traces the number to a courier company that does a lot of work for TeslaNova.

Meeting with Cameron Ellis
After Nic receives information on the company that contacted Geoff about Karl's tapes, he leaves the station and is met by Ellis, who agrees to meet Nic at the coffee shop across the street. Ellis admits his company contacted Nic regarding TeslaNova being mentioned on his show in connection with other corporations, but Ellis hasn't been responsible for having Nic followed. Ellis entreats Nic to stop his podcast and "attracting attention", and offers Nic information on the people who have been following him in a gesture of good faith, and Nic recognizes the address as one MK also tracked down as possibly belonging to the Cult of Tanis.

Visit with the Cult of Tanis
Nic contacts Morgan Miller and together they go to the address in Everett provided by Ellis. They arrive at a duplex and are greeted by a woman who calls herself Gwendolyn, but notes that all of the members also collectively identify as "Gwendolyn". Nic and Morgan tell her they're looking for Sam, and when she leaves to find him, Morgan mentions Sam's girlfriend, Arcadia, may have been working with Gwendolyn to recruit him into the cult. When Gwendolyn returns, she tells Morgan and Nic that Sam isn't up to seeing visitors; however, Nic catches a glimpse of Sam as he's being led up to the kitchen from the basement, and he notices he's wearing a white robe and may be stoned. After it was clear Nic and Sam saw each other, Sam sits down to talk with Nic and Morgan, and Nic notes that Sam seems reserved, but that he said he was staying with Gwendolyn by choice, and that he was close to finding Tara. When Nic asks him for more information, Gwendolyn reappears and leads Sam out of the room.

Morgan later tells Nic she believes Sam is under hypnosis, and may be under the influence of low doses of hallucinogens. Nic tells Morgan he's going to return to convince them to release Sam, but Morgan doesn't think he'll succeed. Nic returns to find two men in the living room, who wouldn't let him see Sam.

Journal Entry, Day Four
Alex reads the next entry from the unidentified journal. The Journalist describes hearing an otherworldly kind of crying coming from everywhere at once, and seems to find the source in a large tree seemingly made of human flesh, embedded with the twisted face of the Zealot. As though waking from a dream, the Journalist exits that image and expects the light of day as it was daytime, but everything remained in darkness. A ringing in his ears signals the Runner calling to them, and the ringing gives way to a rumble, the end of which seems to snap the Journalist out of their reverie. The Runner says they are very close now, but they must not look behind them or else they might never make it back.

Search for HaidaGurl
Nic resumes his search for HaidaGurl, paying a visit to the address he has for Veronika Pilman. Melanie Nedved answers the door instead, invites Nic in for tea, and explains that Veronika left a few months ago to walk Melanie's dog, but never returned (though the dog did). Nic explains he's looking for her to determine whether she was working for and environmental research facility in the Pacific Northwest, and when Melanie offers to pass along his information, she invites Nic to pay a visit to the Grackles.

Recurring Characters
Nic Silver, producer and host

MK, information specialist

Geoff van Sant, Karl van Sant's brother

Cameron Ellis, head of TeslaNova

Morgan Miller, author of Pacifica

Sam Reynolds, Tara Reynolds' brother

Guest Characters
Marnie Corrigan, former Raywood resident

Gwendolyn, member, Cult of Tanis

Arcadia (mentioned), Sam Reynolds' former girlfriend

Melanie Nedved, Veronika Pilman's friend