The Case of the Secret Room, Part 1

From Adventures in Odyssey Wiki

039: The Case of the Secret Room, Part 1
Season	1988
Album	02: Stormy Weather
Aired	August 13, 1988
Written by	Phil Lollar
Directed by	Phil Lollar
Produced by	Unknown
Sound Design by	Bob Luttrell
Music by	Unknown
Prev: Camp What-A-Nut, Part 2 Next: The Case of the Secret Room, Part 2

[edit] General information

Theme: Greed, Justice

[edit] Summary

Whit and Jami Martin solve a forty-year old mystery after finding a skeleton in a hidden room in the basement.

[edit] Plot

Whit is in his basement working on an "automatic freezing machine" when Tom and his great-niece, Jami, come to visit. Whit shows the invention to Tom and Jami and accidentally drops an important part. It rolls under a large cabinet. Tom and Whit move the cabinet to recover the part and discover an ancient, hidden door. When they wrench open the door, they find a small room. Sitting in the middle of the room is a fully-clothed skeleton with a bullet hole in its shirt. They immediately call the police, and an inspector named Inspector Ralph Howards answers a few questions for them.

The skeleton is Spencer Barfield, a man who came to Odyssey in 1946. He worked as a maintenance man at Whit's End when it was known as the Fillmore Recreation Center. He disappeared the day after Odyssey Bank was robbed of $25,000. The police assumed Barfield was in on the robbery and searched all over the country but never found him-until now. Howards says that Barfield had a partner who double-crossed him, shot him, then ran off with the money.

Whit wants the police to look for Barfield's killer, but Inspector Howards says they wouldn't even know where to start looking. As far as he's concerned, the case will just have to remain a mystery.

But that's not good enough for Whit, so he and Jami head to the library to dig up some clues. They read the microfilm of newspaper articles dating from the approximate time of the robbery. From those, Whit and Jami learn that the bank was managed by Percival Fenwick. Percival now lives as a semi-recluse in his family's mansion on Chatwick Hill.

Whit and Jami also discover another interesting bit of news from the microfilm: A rookie policeman was making his rounds at the bank when the robbery occurred. The man was knocked unconscious by the robbers. His name? Ralph Howards.

Whit and Jami go talk to Percival Fenwick. He's a strange old man with an extensive collection of African weaponry (spears, shields, blow darts, etc.).

Fenwick says the robbers cut the alarm and slipped in through a back window. Only he, the bank president, and the police knew where the alarm box was located. Fenwick thinks somebody on the police force tipped the robbers off in exchange for a share of the money.

Whit and Jami leave, more puzzled than ever. They go talk to Inspector Howards again. They reveal what they learned about him in the newspapers and tell Howards what Mr. Fenwick said. Howards says he wasn't knocked out, he blacked out. He adds that the police commission cleared him of any wrongdoing in the matter. The whole incident has been an embarrassment-he just wants to put it all behind him. Howards tells Whit to stop pursuing the case.

That night, Whit goes back to Whit's End, where Connie tells him a strange woman came by that afternoon asking all sorts of questions about the basement room and the skeleton. She left Whit an envelope. Inside is a headline dated June 7, 1946: "Police in Car Chase." More mystery!

Suddenly, they hear a crash in the basement. Whit goes down to investigate, and the lights go out. A harsh voice whispers for Whit to stay out of things. Then Whit is pushed into a stack of boxes and is knocked unconscious!

[edit] Discussion Questions

1. Why was Whit so intent on following this case?
2. Whit said that he was exercising his rights as a citizen by pursuing the case. What did he mean?
3. Whit lamented that this whole incident was caused by greed. When have you felt greedy?
   1. What’s the best way to keep your greed under control?

[edit] Cast

[edit] Notes

• PARENTS: This is a mystery about a 40-year-old murder. It contains subject matter that may be too intense for younger children.

• VERSION DIFFERENCE: The broadcast version has a slightly longer introduction where Chris introduces the mystery. She also asks parents to come in the room.

• Part of the intent behind the writing of this episode was to show how big Whit's End could be. In this case, the secret room with the secret door demonstrated just that.

• These two episodes were tied for 9th place in an audience poll where listeners named their favorite episodes.

• Tom and Whit "lifted" a cabinet that went from floor to ceiling.

[edit] Reviews

What did you think of The Case of the Secret Room, Part 1? (3 votes) 5 stars 100% 4 stars 0% 3 stars 0% 2 stars 0% 1 star 0% Message (ENTER to confirm)

[edit] Quotes