Blood on the Bridge (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

**MrBallen** (0:00)
One morning in early November of 1888, a conductor drove a steam train through the woods outside of Chantilly, France. And everything was business as usual until the conductor noticed way up ahead, just next to the tracks, there were these two men, two maintenance workers waving frantically at him and pointing at something that was on the ground, on the tracks. The conductor couldn't really tell what they were doing, but he squinted and looked ahead trying to figure out what was on the ground. And when he saw what it was, he lunged for the brakes. But before we get into that story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark & Mysterious, Delivered in Story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do.
So if that's of interest to you, please invite the follow button to go to the movies with you. But when you get there, be sure to tell the ticket checker about all the secret candy the follow button is sneaking inside. Okay, let's get into today's story.
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**SPEAKER_2** (1:44)
The Colonel's cooked up a new $10 bucket of the day just for you. Monday, 24 nuggets for $10. Tuesday, 8 piece fried chicken for $10. Wednesday, 10 wings for $10. Thursday, 8 tenders for $10. Friday, 24 nuggets for... Oh, you guessed it, didn't you?
$10.
The $10 bucket of the day deal every weekday only at KFC. It's finger lickin good.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:10)
Prices and participation variable supplies last. Not available on third-party ordering platforms.

**MrBallen** (2:13)
Tax extra.
On the evening of November 2nd, 1888, a 45-year-old man named Ipolita Ollos got dressed in a three-piece suit in the bedroom of his very cramped apartment in Paris, France. In the next room, he could hear his wife, Alphonseine, cooking dinner while their three young kids ran around playing. And even though this really should have felt like a happy, idyllic moment, Ippolita instead felt this pang of worry. Because keeping this family afloat was his responsibility.
And recently, he'd had a very hard time doing that. So Ippolita had grown up on a farm in Belgium, and when he was younger, he'd gotten into some trouble with the law, and basically had a really tough time kind of finding his way in life. But about ten years ago, he had moved to France, and he had met Alphonseine, and he also found a steady job, running a farm for a wealthy French noble in the countryside. Now Ippolita knew a lot about agriculture. He'd grown up on a farm, so in theory, this job really should have been perfect for him. But the problem was, no one on the farm really liked him. And it was true, he'd been very strict with the farmhands. But a lot of them had taken that sternness, and they had gone to their boss and complained about him, saying that he was overbearing and very difficult to work with. So, last month, when Ippolita's contract was up and he was expecting his boss would renew it, his boss didn't. And so now, Ippolita's, you know, perfect life, this amazing life he had built for himself here in France with Alfonsine, felt like it was falling apart. And so, following not getting his contract renewed, Ippolita and his wife and their kids had moved to Paris so he could look for other work. But luckily, they'd also found this very cheap but luckily furnished apartment just the week before, so they at least had a place to live. But Ippolita still needed work. Now this new neighborhood they were in, you know, understandably, because it was so cheap, it was largely full of, you know, working class people. And there were lots of factories and lots of warehouses. So it was sort of a little bit rough and tumble compared to what Ippolita had become accustomed to working for this, this nobleman out in the countryside. I mean, Ippolita, you know, he wasn't crazy about the area. He had expensive tastes, even though he didn't have an expensive budget. However, Ippolita knew that this whole situation was just temporary because after all, he was about to come in to a huge windfall and he actually had to travel outside of Paris right now to actually get the money, which was what he was currently getting dressed for. And so on this trip, his friend, 52-year-old Louis Barone, would be accompanying him, at least for a portion of the trip because he was going the same way for a job interview that Ippolita had actually helped set up for him. Now, Louis was also from Belgium, and so he had known Ippolita for a long time, but things were tense between them at the moment. Ippolita had arranged for Louis to work on the farm that he used to manage, but when Ippolita was fired, it had also cost Louis his job there as well. The reality was Louis was quite furious. I mean, he was really upset about it, to the point where Ippolita had actually helped pay for a room at a hotel just a few blocks away from his apartment in Paris for Louis. And he'd even let Louis borrow one of his suits to wear to this job interview. And so really, Ippolita was hopeful that by the end of this trip he was going on, his buddy Louis would finally just stop being mad at him. That was causing lots of problems. So now, after getting dressed in his fancy suit, Ippolita packed up a bag with some extra clothes and some cash, and he put on a hat. Then he went into the kitchen to kiss Alphonseen goodbye.