The Case of the Secret Room, Part 2

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040: The Case of the Secret Room, Part 2
Season	1988
Album	02: Stormy Weather
Aired	August 20, 1988
Written by	Paul McCusker
Directed by	Paul McCusker
Produced by	Unknown
Sound Design by	Bob Luttrell
Music by	Unknown
Prev: The Case of the Secret Room, Part 1 Next: Return to the Bible Room

[edit] General information

Theme: Greed, Justice

[edit] Summary

A secret room is discovered in Whit's End that holds the skeleton of an old Janitor from The Fillmore Recreation center. Whit and Jami Martin attempt to discover some answers.

[edit] Plot

Whit ends up all right but is still at odds with Inspector Ralph Howards about investigating the case. Howards insists that Whit drop it. Whit suspects that Howards might be hiding something-and continues his quest to solve the mystery. The plot is further complicated when Whit learns that Howards was involved in a car chase that led to the death of a man named Alfred Myers. In the man's car, the police found a .38 caliber pistol (the same caliber as the bullet found in the skeleton).

Just then, the mysterious lady arrives and introduces herself as Spencer Barfield's sister. She's determined to clear her brother's name and help Whit in any way she can. She claims that Alfred Myers was in cahoots with Percival Fenwick, the bank manager! Fenwick later denies the claim. He says he had hired Myers as a private investigator to keep an eye on Howards, who Fenwick thinks was in on the bank robbery, too. Whit, Connie, and Jami can't figure out who to believe. Then Tom Riley comes up with an idea of his own: What if the money is buried in the basement of Whit's End?

That night, Whit goes down to dig for the buried box and is surprised to find that it's there! That's only the first surprise, as he is suddenly interrupted by someone. Who? It would be unfair to solve the mystery for you. But you can be sure that justice is served-and everyone involved learns an important lesson about greed and how it can lead even the best people into trouble.

[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.

• In this episode, Whit says "I haven't done this much digging since I was in the army." However, as made clear in Rescue from Manatugo Point and Operation Digout, Whit was in the navy.

Very slight possibilities: (a) Whit "transferred from the army to the navy (quite unlikely), (b) Whit used army collectively (i.e., "armed forces") to refer to the military in general (very unlikely for someone in a specific branch of the military), (c) Whit lied (which is simply not a possibility since Whit NEVER lies!).

• VERSION DIFFERENCE: The broadcast version of the program has a longer introduction with Chris explaining what happened last time.

• The blow dart at the end of this episode was originally a gun, but it was changed to dispel potential audience fears about violence.

[edit] Reviews

[edit] Quotes