 Welcome to WNOK, the place you come when you're all alone. I'm Dr. Phil Wright, waiting to take your call on another rainy night in the city. You need a friend? Dr. Phil Wright's going to take you in. Let's get back to the phone lines. Alice on 2. What's on your mind tonight, Alice? Uh, doctor? It was one of my regular patients from the office. Alice Stone. I recognized her voice. My regulars didn't call the station as a rule, but I'd take this call. She was clinically depressed and suffered from dissociative disorder, but was generally harmless if left to her own devices. Yes, this is Dr. Phil Wright. What's on your mind? There was silence. You're going to be upset with me? I'm not here to judge you, Alice. I just want to help. Tell me what's going on. There was more silence. I've made a mess in your room. My room? What room? Where are you, Alice? What sort of mess? There's blood. Lots of blood. Are you in danger, Alice? Are you hurt? Tell me what's going on. No, I'm not hurt. Not in danger. Who's blood, then? I heard rustling sounds in the background. Alice, this is live radio. We need to keep things moving. What's this about blood? Yes, I'm sorry. It's...it's your wife's. My wife's? What are you talking about, Alice? Where are you? I'm at your house, in your room. I snapped my fingers to get my producer's attention. I muted the mic and told her to call 911 to send cops to my house. I...I hear you, Alice. I can tell you're upset. You must be scared. Yes. I'm here to help you. Now tell me, why do you think you're at my house? How is it you know where I live? I've seen it before. From the outside, I found it in the property records. That was plausible, I suppose, but my house was owned by a family trust. It would have taken some doing. She woke up before she died. She was softly crying now. I cut her throat like he told me, but she opened her eyes and saw me before she died. He...who is he? The man who talks to me sometimes. Is he there now? No. There was more rustling, like maybe she was wiping her nose. Well, yes, he's here, but only in my head, but...but he's quiet now. I need to know precisely where you are, Alice, so I can call an ambulance. It sounds like someone's hurt. She isn't hurt. She's dead. Alice, I insist you tell me where you are. I've already told you. I'm in your house, in your room. And you're alone? No one's there with you. No, well, just your wife, but... But the man who tells you things, you're saying he's not real. He's not really there. Oh, he's real. I just can't see him. Jesus, this woman was more messed up than I'd realized. Nothing I'd seen from her to date indicated this type of delusion. She was young, though. Maybe the onset of schizophrenia. What's the address where you are, Alice? It's very important that you tell me right now. You don't know your own address? If you're really at my house, how did you manage to get in without tripping the alarm? The man? The man? He let you in. No. He told me about the key under the plant, and he gave me the code to disarm the alarm. Alice, listen to me. This is very important. Are you listening? Yes. There's never been any key under a plant at my house. You thought you went to my house, but you went somewhere else. Look around for a piece of mail or something. I need to be sure where you are. Otherwise, I can't help you. There were more rustling sounds, and then came another voice, a sweet little voice I knew all too well. It was my daughter, my little baby girl. Daddy, fear gripped my throat. Daddy, mommy's got blood. I can't get her to wake up. She's got blood. Oh, my God. This bitch had my daughter. Why was Jamie even there? She was supposed to stay the night with one of her little friends. Baby, why are you at home? I thought you were staying the night with Stacy. I got scared. Mommy came and got me. Mommy? No, no, this couldn't be happening. She won't wake up. Mommy's tired, baby. Listen, could you please give the phone back to the other lady? There was silence, but finally. You see? It was Alice. I told you the truth. I wouldn't lie to you, Dr. Jensen. What have you done? I needed to stay calm, needed to keep Alice calm. My little girl's life was hanging in the balance. Alice, can you hear me? Yes, I hear you. Where's my daughter now? She's here on the bed. She's talking to her mother, holding her hand and crying a little. I think she's scared. But she's safe, right? She's not in any danger, is she? Oh, no. The man told me she's a princess and mustn't be touched. She's good, not like her mother. Her mother was evil and needed to die. She had to die, but not little Jamie. Little Jamie is good and mustn't be touched. And the man knows, right? The man is good? Oh, yes. He's good. He's a good man. This was beyond horrifying, beyond surreal. My wife was supposed to have been home alone. She was supposed to have been alone. Dr. Jensen, I hear something. Someone's coming in the house. Thank God. Good. That's good. I think it's the police, Alice. They're coming to help you. But I'm scared. I'm scared they'll hurt me. No, they won't hurt you. They're going to help you. Trust me, Alice. You trust me, right? Yes, I trust you. Good. The police are there to help you. In fact, why don't I have them bring you to where I am? Would you like that? Yes, I'd like that very much. Good. Me too. Listen, why don't you send Jamie out in the hall to get them? It's a big house and they might get lost. Silence. Alice. I don't think they're here to help me, Dr. Jensen. I think I need to leave. Alice? No, wait. I heard a clunking sound, like maybe the phone had fallen to the floor. Alice? No, Alice. Complete silence. It was the most terrifying sound I'd ever heard. I kept calling out to her, to Alice and then to my daughter. But there was no sound at all from the other end. She'd taken her. That crazy bitch had taken my little curl. I got up and started from my car without even having made a decision to. Without speaking a word to my producer, I had to get home, had to get home. I kept the call open and listened best I could as I ran. Once I'd started my car, the call synced up with a communication system. Just as I broke through the parking garage gate and squealed onto the street, I heard voices on the line, frenetic, distant voices, but they were moving closer. Then there was a protracted commotion, which from my perspective was excruciating. But finally someone picked up the phone. Dr. Jensen? Yes. This is Officer Steele. I'm in your bedroom with with your wife. Yes. Yes. What about my daughter? We haven't found anyone else. I have officers securing the house and EMTs are working on your wife. Are you saying your daughter is here? Yes. My daughter and Alice, Alice Stone. That's whose phone you're holding. They were there just a few minutes before I was talking to them. I could hear several officers speaking, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Then Dr. Jensen, are you sure your daughter is supposed to be here? We haven't found anyone else in the house, just your wife. Then check outside. They couldn't have gotten far that they were just there right before you picked up the phone. Please God, please. She's got her. My daughter's in grave danger. Please find her. More garbled talking on the other end of the call than who is the lady? Alice Stone. She's a patient of mine. She's not well. She broke into my house. Please find them. We're looking. Listen, do you know what kind of car she drives? I have no idea. Officer Steel started to say something else, but then the call dropped. I tried to call back several times, but it kept going straight to voicemail. I was all alone racing down the rain soaked interstate towards my house, towards what I was coming to believe was a tragedy of my own creation. None of the patients I'd ever used the deep hypnosis techniques on had ever been aware of the fact that they'd been hypnotized. Including Alice, and they'd all proved to be very susceptible to suggestion. Alice had been exceptionally so, which is why I'd chosen her. Of course, I'd instructed her that my daughter wasn't to be harmed on the off chance they might have crossed paths. But I thought I'd taken care of all that. Why had my wife gone to get her? Why? As I sped along at a speed a little too high to be safe on these wet roadways, what I came to focus on was how likely it was that Alice would follow my instructions where Jamie was concerned. Could I trust her? Or more aptly, could I trust that I'd effectively instilled that dictum? Had I? Or was she too screwed up in the head to be counted on? She'd followed the instructions about my wife. Wouldn't she follow the one about Jamie? Wouldn't she? Why the rush? The voice had come from behind and had startled me. But I knew it's demonic timber all too well. I knew who was there in my back seat. My old friend had come to call. Please, I begged. Please, you've gotta help me. Seems all I've ever done is help you. What have you ever done for me? But this is different. It's my little girl. I made no deal with your little girl. This is a situation of your own creation. But she's innocent. Really? I glanced in the rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of his harsh profile as the lights from an oncoming car rushed past. In my experience, I've found that we're all a little guilty. No, you don't understand. You, I understand perfectly well. It's you who seems confused. You wanted special gifts, special talents, and I gave them to you. You wanted the ability to influence people, to control their minds. He roared a malevolent laugh. I could hear the stench of his breath. And I gave you that too, as if you have the capacity to understand the first thing about it. This isn't right. It isn't fair. Fair. You speak to me of fair. What about your wife, lying dead in your bed, over nothing more than her misfortune of having married such a small little man, one who couldn't deal with the rigors of upright life? How fair was that for her? Who are you to talk to me about fair? There was more to say, more pleading to do, but I couldn't find the words. This will end as it ends, he said. And however it turns out, you will keep the knowledge that all of it, every last drop, came by your hand. My driveway was filled with police cruisers and an ambulance, so I pulled along the curb in front of my house. I glanced in the mirror as I came to a stop. As expected, my old friend was gone. I noticed several officers walking toward my car and they didn't seem to be in any particular hurry. I got out to face them, their expressions were grim.