Has Anyone Heard of The Left Right Game? | Episode 1

I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff. I'm Anasega Nikolasi, former New York City homicide prosecutor. And we're back together with a brand new podcast. Homicide 360. It's a show that examines every angle. Because the impact of murder goes far beyond the headlines. I looked up and there was a gun in my face. We did a large grid search of that area. What do we miss? What went wrong? You'll hear from the people who lived it. Loved ones, survivors, investigators, and prosecutors. The pain. Is she breathing? No. And the strength. I did it. We got him. These are real victims, real families. They centered the victim always. Every angle. Every life. This is Homicide 360. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sonos speakers are designed from the inside out for incredibly detailed sound and rich bass. Then fine tuned by Oscar and Grammy winning producers, mixers, and artists. Go to sonos.com to learn more. Hello listeners. Be advised. This show is an immersive audio experience. Please use caution if you're operating a motor vehicle, as it may seem like sounds, are coming from the sides and behind you. The left-right game is brought to you in this dimension by Sonos. Experience brilliant otherworldly sound with Sonos. [Music] [Music] [Music] You're awake. Just came in to check your. Are you recording? No. It's just. There's a red light on though. No, that's okay. Yes, I am. Don't know why I. Don't worry. It's fine. It's actually a good idea for your. You know, not much to record around here though, I'm afraid. I wouldn't move too much. It's my mum here. She was here yesterday. I'm surprised you remember that. That's good. But yes, when you went back to sleep she left to collect some things from your flat. I think she's taking some clothes to a house for when you're back out. You're right. Yeah. What day is it? It's Friday, 7th of March. I thought it was February. It was? Oh yeah. You said before. Sorry. That's all right. It was a lot to take in and. You were more than a little dazed. Do you remember any more about the accident? No. Okay, well that isn't uncommon with concussions. You might recall more over time. Until then I'd suggest you refrain from watching the footage on your little camera. It was recording at the time, so. You haven't looked at you. No. Good. I think that's for the best. It was quite a sizable dent in that 4x4. At least you got a good hit in. It feels like a hit back harder. Well, fortunately nothing you're reversible, but. Yes, it did do quite a number on you. You have three broken ribs, fracture in your left arm, and two breaks in your right leg. Like the joke. I'm sorry. What do you do if you break your legs in two places? Never go back to those two places. Yes, I've heard it. Right. Well, unfortunately you're not going to be going back anywhere. For a little while. We need to transition you very carefully and there'll be some physical therapy, a few tests, probably some time with a consultant. It'll be a long road, but we'll get there. How long? I'm sorry. How long do you expect it to take? A month? A month? I'm sure you can occupy yourself. You have two weeks of TV to catch up on. Otherwise, feel free to keep recording. Document your journey. That's what you're all into, isn't it? I really wouldn't watch that footage though. Just my advice. Understood. Thank you. What's he saying? I don't know. Alice, hey, hey, talk to me. Who's Alice? Who's Alice? So, before we get started, I want to be honest. The story isn't mine. I'm not his author. It's a protagonist. By all rights, I shouldn't even be the one telling it. In truth, each one of those honors belongs to a single person. A person you'll be hearing from soon. A person who frankly is far better qualified for this than I am. I don't know why she's not telling you all of this herself or why she's chosen me of all people to explain things in that place. I'm recording this from a hospital bed on a broken condenser mic that my mum brought for me from home and editing it on a software I can barely understand. All I have going for me is that I'm stuck here for the next four weeks. Nothing else to do but put it all on record. Come to think of it, that's probably what she chose me. My key defining trait, total availability. Maybe she's relying on the idea that wherever she went, might still be in the same place. She knew I'd be right here and for some reason that she wouldn't be. Oh, I'm sorry. Are you recording your. Oh, no, I was, but it's fine. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Honestly, honestly, it's fine. Okay, a bit of background, which will save us all some time in the long run. I once knew a girl called Alice Charmin. She was an undergrad at the University of Edinburgh. The same time I was. My educational poison was history. A degree that has greatly benefited my career as a bicycle repairman. And as Charmin studied journalism, though studied isn't really the word. I mean, it's not an exaggeration to say that she lived and breathed the subject. Editor-in-chief of the campus paper, the voice of student radio, blogger, podcaster. Well, the rest of us were blindingly scrambling for a shred of identity. Alice burst onto the scene just fully formed. A singular person with a singular goal defined by her future vocation in almost every conceivable way. To begin with, we did kind of resent her for it. She definitely stood out and with her six-am runs, her collar-coated schedule, her constant internships and summer jobs. She just made the rest of us look lazy. And though we were undoubtedly very lazy, we didn't really appreciate the reminder. She could be annoying in her own right, too. She was blunt and tunnel visioned and at times a little too practical. But no one could deny she was exceptional. At least of all the luck if you really got to know her. Alice and I met in the student halls. That most of our housemates were very different people with nothing in common except post-code and a shared kitchen we tried desperately to avoid. I'm not sure how it happened who spoke to first. What we even talked about by the end of the first week. We'd somehow peered off from the group and managed to evolve from all good strangers into all good friends. I grew up in a hamlet, a farming village in the middle of nowhere. She was an army-based kid who spent her childhood touring Europe. She'd done more by the time she was nine than I had in my whole life. Anyway, whatever brought us together, I wasn't about to question it. She was inspiring and smart and she proofread all my essays. I'm still not sure what she saw in me. We eventually flatmates down in London where she chased her dreams and I chased my tail. She got a few small jobs, a magazine, a blog there, but none of it was a challenge. None of it represented that next big step. Almost a year passed before Alice called a flat meeting and told us that she'd accepted a job in the USA as a junior correspondent for a show called "American Stories" with the Chicago Public Radio. You wouldn't know it's speech, but despite being born on US soil, Alice spent most of her life in the UK. For a moment, I thought she was asking our advice. Huh? It was a stupid of me. It was a big step for Alice. That was exactly what she was looking for. She accepted it the moment they offered. After that, things moved quickly. Alice started making the rounds, visiting all friends, boxing up everything essential and leaving everything else behind. Less than a month after she made her announcement from the anniversary of our graduation, we helped pack her stuff into a rental van through a bittersweet going away party and put her room up for rent. That party was the last time I saw Alice Charmin. She dropped out of contact a month later, a complete radio silence, no calls, no texts, no social media. After a few embarrassing one-sided emails, it all kind of decided she'd moved on. Eventually, said her way. And then some months later. It's sad to admit, but getting hit by that car was probably the most interesting thing that's ever happened to me, or at least it was. Until I woke up 14 days later, checked my email and realized the radio silence had been broken, Alice had gotten back in touch. I received three emails so far, all blank, no text, no subject, no sender's address. They each had one prominent feature, though, and attachment, a set of audio files labelled left-right one, two and three. And nothing better to do, so I gave them a listen, and then I listened to them again and again. I've probably played each of them upwards of 20 times in the past few days and I still don't know what to make of it. But it's definitely Alice, and if any of it's to be believed, it goes a long way to explain why she hasn't been in touch. I'm going to let you listen to the first of these files now. I don't expect you to believe everything you hear. Maybe you'll think it's a hoax, maybe you'll think Alice is just in a creative writing phase. If I didn't know her, I'd happily agree. But the thing is, I do know her, better than most. Alice Sharman doesn't have time for fiction. She never did. She only ever cared about the truth. If that's the case with these recordings, as ridiculous as it might sound, I think my friend may have documented her own disappearance. Like I said, I don't know what she's chosen for this, but please consider this an open call for information. If you know anyone involved in this story, any of the locations mentioned, anything I can use to get in touch with Alice, please don't hesitate to contact me. Were you in the area on February 7th of this year? Did you meet or speak with a girl called Alice Sharman? Has anyone heard of the left right to come? Your coffee? Do you have any tea? I just got coffee. You didn't seem like a friend on the phone. No, that's fine. Coffee's fine. Alright. Okay, so something like. They say great stories happen to people who can tell them. Rob J. Gutherr is an exception to that rule. As I said at his table in a small house in Phoenix, Arizona, sip his coffee and listen to him recount the past 65 years, it sounds like he's reading off a shopping list. Every event, his first job, his second wedding, his third divorce, none of them receive more than one or two sentences, Rob plows through the years, the current dispassionate curator of his own personal history. Yet, the story itself is so fascinating, so rich with moments, so wildly meandering that it somehow stands in its own merits. It's a great story, no matter how you tell it. So, you're 21 years old, you've already worked as a farmer, a mover, a boat engineer, what snacks for Rob J. Gutherr. Had my boy? Got married? Hmm. Wow. Okay, how was married life? Not so great. Got divorced. Oh. That must have been hard on you. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty hard. Cool. Yeah. Cool. So, what was the situation with your son then? She had him. I went away for a while. For work? Vietnam. Wow. You were in Vietnam. How was that for you? Well, I ain't never been back since. Sure. Sure. Just to be clear, that was everything he had to say concerning his first marriage and the entire Vietnam war. Still, the story continues. Rob had four marriages after that and even more professions. After the war, he worked with a firm of private detectives, got shot at once by the mob, and then he became a courier, which is how a poor boy from Alabama got to see the world. He'd been to most of the continents with that job I've been to. Where are you from? My dad's American and my mother's British Caribbean. Yep. See? Caribbean. I've been there. Good to know. He'd been arrested once in Singapore after one of his packages had been found to be full of white powder. He's been three days locked up before someone got around to checking the substance. It was truck. A friend he made during his brief custody, Eroji Sato, invited Rob to stay with him in Japan. Just getting over the breakup of his third marriage, Rob took the offer. He stayed in Japan for another five years. And clearly, something important happened there. It's only at this point in his long and poorly told story Rob begins to talk in full sentences. Japanese are good people, good manners, but they got all these urban legends, ghost stories that Eroji was crazy for. It's been always free time chasing him down. Like, you heard of Jorogumo? I can't say I have. Well, she's this spider lady, lives in the Jorro Falls around Izu. It meant to be real pretty, but real dangerous. Eroji took us out there a few times to get a picture of her. So, did you ever meet Jorogumo? No, she didn't show. None of them did. I didn't believe any of that. So we went to Ayoki Jara. Ayoki Jara? The suicide forest? Yeah. Deserves that name too. Patchou Woodland at the base of Mt. Fuji. The hunter or so people kill themselves there every year. That's just the ones that they can find. Eroji took me to chase Yuri. Ghosts and the forest. Guess he thought if they was going to be anywhere in big numbers, they were going to be there. Well, I got to be honest. That does seem a little ghoulish. Yeah. Well, he was a friend. So, did you find anything in Ayoki Jara? I ain't going to ask you to believe me, Ms. Sharman, but. I was a PI. Professional cynic, straight-laced as they come. And even I can't deny, there was a spirit in those woods. Really? One of the array? Hmm. It walked up to me through the trees. Looks like static, you see on a TV screen, but it had a. It was a human shape, almost. Almost? It was missing an arm. He reached out to me, but I bolted out of that. - That four is so fast. - Herodian ever saw it. And he'd been going twice a year for three decades. He holds it against me to this date. - I can see why, it's staged by a rookie. - Yeah, well, I wasn't a rookie for long. After that, I took it all serious. Investigation, documentation. When I came back to state side, I looked into everything. The Jersey Devil, Amityville. I said bloody Mary in a mirror every day for a year, just to see if I got cursed. - Did anything happen? - Yeah, about three months in, I got bronchitis. - Not her usual MO. - Yeah, well, that one's just a story. But I figured if one of them was true, then who knows how many others were? I was real scientific with it, too. High standards of proof, tests, records. - So how many of these urban legends have met your standards? - Since I opened your heart? I mean, none of them had any proof to them. - Except for one. - You're talking about the left-right game. - Yes, ma'am. - Hey, this is Rachel from the QCode Production Team. We hope you've been enjoying the left-right game on Sonos. We take pride in creating premium audio experiences, which is why we love listening on Sonos. Sonos creates technology that celebrates sound, like we do, continuously refining the listening experience so that we can connect listeners and creators. - When our team listened to the finished product on Sonos speakers, we felt like we were writing along with the left-right game Convoy. The base of the truck's engine, everyone's voices coming in on the CB and other mysteries along the road. It felt like we were there. None of the effort we put into the sound design and mix got lost in translation from the studio to the speaker. Then fine-tuned by Oscar and Grammy-winning producers, mixers, and artists. So, Joe, I'm here at the scene where police have been investigating throughout the evening. I'm bringing you true crime in real time from the people closest to the facts. I'm bringing you true crime in real time. Morning! Oh sorry, I should have knocked. I mean, I did, but just not on the door. I made waffles. I got bananas, strawberries, chocolate syrup. We got more cooking downstairs, too. And we won't be eating this stuff on the road. Where are we heading out? Well, I let you sleep in. We're heading out in 40 minutes, so. I'm trying to be down by then. Everybody's looking forward to meeting you. Oh my gosh. Wait, who else is coming? I don't care who else is coming. We don't get a lot of bona fide journalists interested in what we do, so I apologize. Apologize for what? Hey, you're Alice, right? Yeah. Lilith? Yeah. Hey. This is Eve. Hey. Hey. We were wondering what are you doing after this, because we have a friend in Roswell. Yeah, in Roswell. And he's a seismologist? Yeah, he's a seismologist, and he's been seeing, like, tremors, but, like, predictable, predictable tremors, like the follow-up pattern. It's subterranean. I'm not sure that I understand exactly what some people are saying that the Roswell UFO came from under the ground, like a digging machine. It could be, like, a big story for your show. Okay. Okay, sure. I think that. Excuse me, would you be the journalist? Yeah. Yeah, we don't mean to interrupt, but, hey, funny, funny. We were wondering if you'd want to bring these pictures to your ender. See those lights? Ah. Sword on? That's a will of a whisper. Ah. All right. Yeah. We ready to head out, guys. Hey, Rob. What's this about Alice and I having a call sign? What? Oh, the call signs are for radio contact between the cars. You've been traveling with me, so I don't think. You want one? Well, if everyone else has one. Well, I did think about it. I told everyone you were from London. How about that? I'm from Bristol. Oh. Bristol? I've never heard of it. Yeah, no one has. Okay. Bristol. You want to help me wheel the car out? Happy to. All right. Fair warning. All right, hang on, beauty. What do you think? Well, beauty's subjective. Not right now, it ain't. Looks like a tank. That picture up good. I put the winch in, heavy duty tires, light rig on top's LED. They'll make midnight look like new. They don't hardly use any power. To got the back seat, make room for supplies, extra fuel, a sleeping area. How much did all this cost, Rob? A whole lot. Worth it, though. You gonna need a hand? I'm all right. Thank you. God, damn it, God damn it. What is it? Were we expecting someone else? We were two hours ago. Nice. Are you fucking kidding me? No. Not happening. Turn around. What? Look, I'm sorry, I'm late. No. It ain't happening. Rob. No. Are you kidding me? You don't call. You missed the briefing. Are you sure, but I got him convertible? What's going to soak in some sunshine on the road? Do you know how much the lease is on this thing? I don't care. It's my car. What do you want me to get a new car? You didn't even read my itinerary. Look, you got nothing packed back there. I did read it, sir. OK? Calm down. I have a bag. I won't ask you for anything. God damn right, you won't. Well, that's everyone, I guess. You ready for this Bristol? I'm ready. You sure? Yeah. I'm sure. OK, man. That's it to road. All right. Yeah. Here we go. This is a poem for the last fairy man. As many as it takes, brother. That's really meant for official business. No, dude. Did he say fairy man? Your call sign's fairy man. Yep. Huh. As in the guarding of the River Sticks. As in a man who drives a fairy. Oh, huh. Of course. A far less foreboding. You all right? Yeah, yeah. Sorry. How many turns so far? 32. Why are you born? But no, no. Just thinking. You're thinking the same thing Apollo was. What do you mean? When we left, how many more to go? You wonder how many turns we're going to take before we hit some wall or something. Before you find out, this is all just a story. Does that disappoint you? I'd be disappointed if you weren't thinking something like that. You're a journalist after all. But whether you believe me or not, now we're on the road. I got to say something to you. And you got to listen to it, all right? All right. We are coming up to a spot not too far from here, a tunnel. Anytime we reach it, you can get out, walk in any direction you like, and you won't be in the game no more. Whole thing, all you can't allow. You can go on about your day. But once we go through, you got to retrace the route we took to get yourself back through that tunnel. That's when you're home safe. And you got to convince someone to take you back in a car, because I ain't fairing you back 20 minutes in. I ain't playing till the end. Any doubts you got that tunnel to skip out? You understand? I understand. But I have to tell you, you're making me a little nervous. Well, ain't nothing wrong with a little nervous. [HORN HONKING] [MUSIC PLAYING] There's a matter of the climbers in our big forest slaughter. Who is that? What? Standing outside the Marishond. It's me. Nora, she's coming. He couldn't come with me. Oh, I caught him out. The lake is so clear. It drinks the wolves' glee. And life, it drinks people empty and cry when they're done. Are you, Miss, are you all right? What are you doing? Are you mad? Are you mad? You don't know. You're going to shatter like fucking china. You're a little split. And then splinter. Rob. [HORN HONKING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] That is the darkness that will shred you down to your sins. Don't take her, you fucking bastard. [MUSIC PLAYING] Don't. Don't do it, please. Don't. I-- I didn't see. I didn't see. Please. [MUSIC PLAYING] Oh, my god. What? Did you guys see that? Then we'll just smash your head and don't fuck it near like she just-- Don't bear no mind. Any of you. Keep moving. [MUSIC PLAYING] You've gone quiet again and thought you'd have more questions. Is there something you want me to ask? Not particularly. I was just thinking about that woman. She did to herself. Do you think she's OK? But she's long behind us now. To be honest, the surprise you didn't ask about her at the time. Why would I wait to know her? Not exactly. She's sort of a fixture always there. What, on that street? On that turn. Wait, are you saying that she's part of this? She's part of the game? One of the first signs you know that it's working. Wherever you play it, New York, Chicago, 34 turns in. She shows up. And I got to say, she's never acted out that much before, though. Must be a special trip. I don't know how I feel about that. All right. You're saying that that clearly troubled woman-- don't you think assuming she's somehow a part of this, that she serves as proof of your game as a little-- ghoulish, and how you feel? Well, see how you feel about it tomorrow. Well, it's your best, though. Sarah, you've gone through the footage of that woman. We've got some pretty messed up video, but no sound. Do you have an audio? Oh, yeah. I think it picked her up. Oh, my god. Thank you, thank you. Can you send us that file when we stop? Can you ask when we're stopping? Sure, we'll do. When's our stopping point? For them? About two hours. For you? Well, you tell me. - This is the tunnel you were talking about. - Mm-hmm. I'm confused. Why is there a tunnel in an alleyway? What's it supposed to pass under? - Ain't supposed to pass under anything. It's just there. - And if we weren't playing the game? - Then it wouldn't show. And look, I ain't asking you to believe me. But I told you, this street, this is your last chance. If you get out now, you can go wherever you want to go. But through there, you'll need a car to get yourself home. And mine ain't turning around until the end. - I remember. - But I gotta know you understand. I ain't gonna press you. You wanna get out? This is the time. - What are you waiting for? - I have death. - This is ferryman to all cars. Anyone wanna step out and pull to the side now. Otherwise, stay in formation and have some supplies at hand. We've got a long way to go. - Much like the game, I'm so tentatively playing. My view of Robert J. Guthrard seems to change direction frequently. I'd heard all about his life, but I'm not so sure that I know him. I like the guy, but I'm not certain I can trust him. And though I admire his dedication to the left-right game, I'm not so sure I'll like where it might lead us. Yet, as he takes us into the tunnel, his face vanishing and reappearing under the dim sodium lights, I can tell that he expects this trip to be a major step in his already impressive story. And this time, for better or worse, I'm alone for the ride. - The left-right game stars Tessa Thompson as Alice. Amela Meene as Tom. W. Earl Brown as Rob. Dio Kinney as Apollo. Inana Sarkis as Lilith. Jojo T. Gibbs as Eve. Brian Greenberg as Ace. Robin Bartlett as Bonnie. And John Billingsley as Clyde. With additional performances by Peter O'Brien, Rebecca Field, Steve West, and Larissa Gallica. Created and written by Jack Anderson, directed by Emma Tammy, produced by QCode Automatic and Tessa Thompson. The left-right game is a QCode production. - Experience brilliant room-filling sound with Sonos. Expand your audio verse at sonos.com. Then fine-tuned by Oscar and Grammy-winning producers, mixers and artists. Go to Sonos.com to learn more.