Adventures in Odyssey

Guest (Male): Because portions of today's Adventures in Odyssey mystery may be a little too scary for young children, we recommend that kids under the age of 10 listen with their parents. Kids, if your parents aren't with you, please get them before you listen.

Chris: Hi, this is Chris. Welcome to Adventures in Odyssey!

John Avery Whittaker: Hi there. I'm John Avery Whittaker, but you can call me Whit. My friends and I are about to set off for a time of wonder and excitement. Want to come along? We'd love to have you join us for today's Adventure in Odyssey.

Guest (Male): Beware!

Kent Wakefield: Incredible. Is this guy alright?

James Wakefield: He's a very sick man.

Kent Wakefield: I don't believe it. No!

Connie Kendall: Help! Mr. Whittaker!

Connie Kendall: Bills, bills, bills. How boring, Whit. Don't you ever get any interesting mail?

John Avery Whittaker: Just what kind of mail would you find interesting?

Connie Kendall: Personal letter, big fat catalog, maybe a magazine or two.

John Avery Whittaker: Those go to my home. Why would I have them delivered here?

Connie Kendall: So I'd have something to read.

John Avery Whittaker: Read? Don't you have other things to do, like work, for example?

Connie Kendall: Whoa! Yeah.

John Avery Whittaker: This is interesting.

Connie Kendall: What is it?

John Avery Whittaker: Another letter about that magazine article.

Connie Kendall: Really? But that article was weeks ago. People are still writing to you?

John Avery Whittaker: This one's from Alaska.

Connie Kendall: You're kidding!

John Avery Whittaker: Well, it's a national magazine. Let's see. "Dear Mr. Whittaker, article and pictures in Home and Town Magazine. Would it be possible for my family to come and visit and stay in one of your rooms?"

Connie Kendall: What?

John Avery Whittaker: I guess folks got the impression from the article that Whit's End is a hotel, too.

Connie Kendall: Well, I can't blame them. I'd want to stay here, too, if I didn't work here already.

John Avery Whittaker: Did you say work?

Connie Kendall: All right, I'm going, I'm going!

John Avery Whittaker: I don't believe it. Hi. Can I help you?

Kent Wakefield: It's not possible.

John Avery Whittaker: I beg your pardon?

Kent Wakefield: This place. It's real. It's here.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, yes, it is. Can I help you?

Kent Wakefield: I don't know. I just need to look at it, take it all in. Incredible. Just like I pictured it.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, I get it. You saw the article in the Home and Town Magazine.

Kent Wakefield: Yes, but that's not what I mean.

John Avery Whittaker: It isn't?

Kent Wakefield: No. I found you because of the magazine article, but I know this place for another reason.

John Avery Whittaker: Really? What reason?

Kent Wakefield: This was my home. I used to live here.

John Avery Whittaker: Did you say you used to live here?

Kent Wakefield: Yes. Now that I can see the place with my own two eyes, I'm sure of it.

John Avery Whittaker: I'm sorry, Mr...

Kent Wakefield: Wakefield. Kent Wakefield. Please call me Kent.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, I'm John Whittaker, but you can call me Whit. Now...

Kent Wakefield: You don't know how remarkable this is. I've dreamed of it for so long. Look! The stained glass decoration above the kitchen door!

John Avery Whittaker: Well, there must be some mistake.

Kent Wakefield: Oh, it's no mistake. You fixed it up differently, of course, but it's no mistake.

John Avery Whittaker: Kent, I'm sorry for saying so, but you couldn't have lived here. Not unless you're a lot older than you look.

Kent Wakefield: Well, I'm 28.

John Avery Whittaker: I've owned this building for several years now, and for years before that, it was ready for demolition. For decades before that, it was the city's recreation center. So it's just not possible.

Kent Wakefield: There's a servant's staircase in the kitchen, isn't there? Kent, you have to believe me. Where is it? It should be right here. It is behind that door. I enclosed it so kids wouldn't play on it. Like I did when I was a child. It led up to my parents' bedroom.

John Avery Whittaker: This one leads to my office, but I keep the door locked.

Kent Wakefield: This is wonderful.

Connie Kendall: Whit!

John Avery Whittaker: In the kitchen, Connie. Many Victorian homes had staircases for the servants, Kent. That doesn't mean...

Connie Kendall: I was wondering if you... oh, sorry!

John Avery Whittaker: Connie, this is Kent Wakefield. Kent, meet Connie Kendall.

Connie Kendall: Hi.

Kent Wakefield: Pleased to meet you.

John Avery Whittaker: Kent is under the impression that he once lived here.

Connie Kendall: What? Here at Whit's End?

Kent Wakefield: I was trying to explain that it just isn't possible. But it is possible. I lived here when I was a small child. I remember. I've been dreaming about it ever since. Let me see the upstairs. I bet I could find each room blindfolded.

Connie Kendall: Is this guy all right?

John Avery Whittaker: I don't know.

Connie Kendall: Should I call the police?

John Avery Whittaker: No, no. Well, not yet. Would you like milk for your tea?

Kent Wakefield: No, thanks. I'm sorry for barging in like that. The excitement...

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, it's all right. But will you please tell me what this is all about?

Kent Wakefield: Okay. Where do I start? My parents died tragically when I was a child, when I was living in this house.

John Avery Whittaker: Kent...

Kent Wakefield: Bear with me, Whit. I don't remember much about their deaths, but my uncle took me in and moved me to Pittsburgh. He didn't want me to be scarred by the memories of losing my parents, and he would never tell me where the house was.

In fact, I wasn't even sure what town I lived in until I saw the magazine article and the pictures of your shop. Then I knew. I was a boy here in Odyssey, and I lived in this house.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, you may have lived in Odyssey, Kent. That's something we can check. But I'm telling you as clearly as I can, you didn't live in this building. Now, how can I prove it to you?

Kent Wakefield: I'm not sure you can.

John Avery Whittaker: But I have the documents, the deeds for the place. Come, have a look at them and you'll see that no one lived here during the time when you would have been a child.

Kent Wakefield: I don't want to. I'm very tired. You don't have rooms here, do you?

John Avery Whittaker: No, I'm sorry.

Kent Wakefield: Then I'll check into the hotel. Can I come back?

John Avery Whittaker: Of course.

Kent Wakefield: Thanks. And thank you for the tea. I'll see you later.

John Avery Whittaker: Goodbye, Kent. Boy, this is strange. Well, thanks for seeing me, Dale.

Dale Jacobs: My pleasure, Whit. After you called, I had our intern go through the newspaper's archives to see if we had any articles about a Kent Wakefield. Lucy?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Yes, Mr. Jacobs? Hi, Mr. Whittaker.

John Avery Whittaker: Hi, Lucy. You're the intern?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Uh-huh. The school has loaned her to us as part of her studies.

Dale Jacobs: What did you find out about Kent Wakefield, Lucy?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: If you're sure that's his name...

John Avery Whittaker: Well, that's what he told me.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Then I'm sorry, but I checked everywhere and couldn't find out anything about him.

John Avery Whittaker: Really?

Dale Jacobs: That isn't to say he didn't live here, only that he didn't make it into the newspaper.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: I was thinking about it, Mr. Whittaker. Did you check the Hall of Records?

John Avery Whittaker: Yes, I stopped in on my way here. They didn't have anything about Kent either.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Then technically he doesn't exist. At least not where Odyssey is concerned.

Dale Jacobs: You know, Whit, Kent could have Odyssey mistaken for somewhere else, or he's, well, out of his mind.

John Avery Whittaker: Yeah, I've been wondering about that. But he was so sure of himself. He swears that Whit's End was his home. Now, that's unsettling.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Are his parents dead?

John Avery Whittaker: Yes, I think he said tragically.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: What does that mean? A car accident or something?

John Avery Whittaker: Well, I didn't ask.

Dale Jacobs: There wasn't anything in the papers about an accident involving the Wakefields, and there would have been if he was telling the truth.

John Avery Whittaker: That's a big if, considering he's a complete stranger to you.

Dale Jacobs: Why are you getting so involved in this, Whit?

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, I don't know. Because there was something about him, something in his eyes that seemed so, well, lost.

Connie Kendall: Hello, Whit's End. Hello? Is anybody there? This is Whit's End.

Guest (Male): Beware!

Connie Kendall: What? Hello? All right, who is this? Hello! Oh, great. Mr. Whittaker! Mr. Whittaker!

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, hi, Lucy. What's wrong? Did I forget something in Dale's office?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: No, Mr. Jacobs asked me to help you.

John Avery Whittaker: Help me?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: He thinks if you're onto a good mystery, I might be able to write a story for the newspaper.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, I don't think I have much of a story yet. Just one or two dead ends.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Still, I'd like to tag along if it's okay.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, I don't mind. Get in. There.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Besides what we told you, do you know anything else about this mysterious stranger?

John Avery Whittaker: Only that the whole thing is very peculiar.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: He really might be, you know, crazy.

John Avery Whittaker: I know, but there was something about him, something that makes me want to check into his story.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Why?

John Avery Whittaker: Well, it was that look on his face. There was a spark of recognition that, right or wrong, was very real to him.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: But how could he recognize Whit's End?

John Avery Whittaker: He said he remembered the stained glass decoration above the kitchen door and the servant's stairs.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Didn't a lot of Victorian-style houses have those?

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, they did, but maybe there's more to this building than even I know.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: So where are we going now?

John Avery Whittaker: The police station.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: The police station?

John Avery Whittaker: Uh-huh. Maybe they can tell me a few things about Mr. Kent Wakefield of Pittsburgh.

Detective Aldridge: Okay, Whit, I have it. Sorry about the delay.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, it's quite all right, Detective Aldridge. Thanks for helping us.

Detective Aldridge: I'm not sure that I have. I talked to a friend of mine with the Pittsburgh police. He said that Kent Wakefield definitely exists, but the police don't have anything in their records about him. Just a driver's license, the usual. He's clean.

John Avery Whittaker: I see.

Detective Aldridge: Oh, and he fits the description you gave me.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: That's something.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, at least it confirms that the man exists.

Detective Aldridge: You know, Whit, it's none of my business, but maybe you need to go at this a different way. Maybe you need to try a long shot.

John Avery Whittaker: What do you mean?

Detective Aldridge: Well, if it was up to me, I'd check the blueprints at City Hall.

John Avery Whittaker: Hmm, City Hall.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: City Hall?

John Avery Whittaker: Yes, of course! Thank you, Detective. Let's go, Lucy.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: To City Hall? But why?

John Avery Whittaker: To find out why Whit's End looks so familiar to our mystery man.

Guest (Female): Hi, Mr. Whittaker. What can I do for you?

John Avery Whittaker: You have the plans to all the buildings in Odyssey, right?

Guest (Female): We sure do.

John Avery Whittaker: Could you please get me the plans for Whit's End? Well, not just Whit's End as it is now, but the various plans from the past.

Guest (Female): You mean the Fillmore Recreation Center and all that?

John Avery Whittaker: That's it.

Guest (Female): It'll take me a few minutes.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, thank you. I can wait.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: What are you doing, Mr. Whittaker?

John Avery Whittaker: Well, I'm not sure, Lucy, but if I can look at the blueprints, maybe they'll give me a clue about why it looks so familiar.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Mr. Whittaker?

John Avery Whittaker: Yes?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: There's a man in a wheelchair coming right at us.

James Wakefield: Excuse me, are you John Whittaker?

John Avery Whittaker: I am.

James Wakefield: James Wakefield is my name.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Wakefield?

John Avery Whittaker: Wakefield? Well, what do you know about that?

James Wakefield: I believe you've been visited by Kent, my nephew.

John Avery Whittaker: That's right.

James Wakefield: I was afraid of that. Sir, there are a few things you need to know about Kent. Is there somewhere we can go to talk, maybe alone?

John Avery Whittaker: I suppose so. Would you mind waiting for the plans, Lucy? I'll meet you at Whit's End a little later.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Sure.

John Avery Whittaker: Thanks. This way, Mr. Wakefield. It's a cold day.

James Wakefield: Yes, unusual for this time of year.

John Avery Whittaker: Are you the uncle who took Kent to Pittsburgh after his parents died?

James Wakefield: He told you about that?

John Avery Whittaker: Only a little.

James Wakefield: You should know that I'm not his real uncle. I adopted him.

John Avery Whittaker: So his real name isn't Wakefield?

James Wakefield: No.

John Avery Whittaker: Do you know what it is?

James Wakefield: No. At first, the agency said they wouldn't divulge the information. They operate on the basis of anonymity or something like that. Later, I made a more diligent effort to find out about Kent's history, but by that time, his records had disappeared. Some clerical error, I would imagine.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, that's a pretty serious clerical error.

James Wakefield: Indeed. Well, frankly, Mr. Wakefield, I'm relieved to meet you. I was beginning to wonder if Kent was pulling some kind of trick on us.

James Wakefield: Well, in a way he is, but he doesn't mean to.

John Avery Whittaker: What do you mean?

James Wakefield: Well, you see, he never recovered from the loss of his parents. He gets these spells where he simply goes crazy trying to find out what happened.

John Avery Whittaker: What did happen, if I may ask?

James Wakefield: Well, Kent's counselors, his psychologists, I should say, suspect that his parents died in a terrible fire of some sort. They believe Kent barely escaped with his own life.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, no.

James Wakefield: Yes. We believe it happened when he was around three years old. You can imagine what something like that will do to a boy. In fact, he's a very sick man.

John Avery Whittaker: What do you mean?

James Wakefield: Mr. Whittaker, when I said Kent goes crazy, I meant it literally. Kent is insane.

John Avery Whittaker: Kent is insane?

James Wakefield: The doctors think that Kent's parents' death left him completely out of his mind.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, I'm so sorry.

James Wakefield: Yes. Every now and then he shows some improvement, and we get rather lax watching over him. And that's when he escapes.

John Avery Whittaker: Escapes?

James Wakefield: Yes. Off to another small town where he imagines he'll find the house where his parents died. The doctors say he's trying to recreate his childhood again, to lose himself in the lies of his imagination.

John Avery Whittaker: The lies?

James Wakefield: Yes. He can only remember part of what happened that day. The rest he makes up. The doctors fear that if he ever finds the house, he'll snap completely.

John Avery Whittaker: How sad.

James Wakefield: Indeed. I have to confess that your nephew really had me going. I thought I was onto a genuine mystery.

James Wakefield: The only mystery is how long it'll take Kent to get better. Thank you for all your help.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, no, no. Thank you, Mr. Wakefield. And please give my regards to Kent if you can. Whatever his problems, he seemed very, very nice.

James Wakefield: You'll never meet a nicer young man, Mr. Whittaker. Nor a more troubled one.

Connie Kendall: Whit!

John Avery Whittaker: Hi, Connie.

Connie Kendall: Something really weird is going on.

John Avery Whittaker: What do you mean?

Connie Kendall: Anonymous phone calls all day.

John Avery Whittaker: Really?

Connie Kendall: Someone keeps calling, whispering, then hanging up. I got so bugged I stopped answering the phone. Here, listen to the answering machine.

Guest (Male): Beware! Beware! Beware! Beware!

Connie Kendall: Creepy, huh?

John Avery Whittaker: Very, but I think I can guess who it is. Hello, Lucy.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Mr. Whittaker, here are the plans.

John Avery Whittaker: You know, I'm sorry about deserting you at City Hall.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Oh, it's all right. These are plans of Whit's End, copies. Some of them are from before World War I.

John Avery Whittaker: Thank you, Lucy, but I may not need them now.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: You won't? Why not?

John Avery Whittaker: Well, the man I met is Kent's uncle. He says Kent is insane.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Oh, no. Then he's the one making those phone calls.

John Avery Whittaker: Maybe. Well, no sense wasting the effort. I may as well look over these plans.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Why?

John Avery Whittaker: Just curiosity.

Connie Kendall: You're up to something, Whit.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, to be honest, I think there's something in the way Kent looked when he came in. He recognized this place. I'm sure of it. Ah, here's the design for the house. It was done by Lyle Architects. Hmm, there's the servant's stairwell to the second floor hallway and the old corner fireplace, and... hey, wait a minute!

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: What's wrong?

John Avery Whittaker: There's a note from the architect here on the bottom.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: So?

John Avery Whittaker: So, it says from the Tate House.

Kent Wakefield: Yes, the Tate House! Boy, I had to dig back for this one.

Mr. Lyle: Well, thank you, Mr. Lyle. As you know, Whit's End has been through a number of transformations. It was built on the site of the town church after the main sanctuary burned down around the turn of the century.

John Avery Whittaker: Yes, the church tower is still there.

Mr. Lyle: Right. The city commissioned my grandfather to design the building. According to these notes, the city elders asked him to make it look more like a house than a building because of where it sits.

John Avery Whittaker: Because it's in McAlister Park?

Mr. Lyle: Yeah. They thought a house would look better than an institutional building in such a beautiful setting. Well, my grandfather did such a good job that it actually was used as a house before they turned it into the recreation center.

John Avery Whittaker: It was?

Mr. Lyle: Yes. For four years, it was the mayor's house.

John Avery Whittaker: The mayor lived at Whit's End?

Mr. Lyle: Right after the First World War.

John Avery Whittaker: That's amazing.

Mr. Lyle: It certainly explains things like the servant's stairs, the rooms, and all the other things that didn't seem right for a city recreation center.

John Avery Whittaker: But what does this have to do with the Tate House?

Mr. Lyle: Thaddeus Tate was a very wealthy railroad developer back then. He ran the line through Connelsville and built a modest house for himself on the outskirts of Odyssey. Later, when the city asked my grandfather to design what became Whit's End, they told him to model it after the Tate House.

John Avery Whittaker: So Whit's End is a copy of another house? Well, why didn't I know all this?

Mr. Lyle: No reason you should.

John Avery Whittaker: Oh, I better have a look at this Tate House. Where is it?

Mr. Lyle: On old route 40 towards Connelsville. Well, what's left of the place.

John Avery Whittaker: What's left of it?

Mr. Lyle: Uh-huh. The house burned down over 20 years ago.

John Avery Whittaker: Do you see anything else, Lucy?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: No, but this microfiche is making me go bug-eyed.

John Avery Whittaker: Me too. Well, I'm glad the newspaper let you have access to these archives.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: But why are we here, Mr. Whittaker? I thought you wanted to go look at the house.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, I do, just as soon as... wait, here we go!

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: What is it?

John Avery Whittaker: The fire department's final report about the Tate House burning down. Let's see. "The fire officials have two theories. Bad wiring or early suspicion of arson, but no proof. Catherine Anderson died of smoke inhalation, but Stephen Anderson, the husband, was still alive when he was taken to the hospital."

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: The Andersons? Then it couldn't be Kent Wakefield.

John Avery Whittaker: Well, actually, it could be, Lucy. Wakefield is Kent's adopted name.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Does it say if the Andersons had any children?

John Avery Whittaker: Yes, it says that three-year-old Kenneth Anderson was put in a foster home until his next of kin could be found. Kenneth, Kent... it's awfully close to be a coincidence.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Mr. Whittaker!

John Avery Whittaker: What's wrong, Lucy?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Here on my screen! I found a photograph of the Tate House taken a few years before it burned down.

John Avery Whittaker: Really? Can I have a look?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: There.

John Avery Whittaker: I don't believe it. It looks exactly like Whit's End.

Guest (Male): Connie!

Connie Kendall: Yes, Scrub?

Guest (Male): Everyone's leaving the train room.

Connie Kendall: They are? Is the train broken?

Guest (Male): No, they're scared.

Connie Kendall: Scared? Why?

Guest (Male): There's a man up there, and he won't let anybody play with the train. Will you make him go away?

Connie Kendall: A man. This is some kind of trick, isn't it?

Guest (Male): No!

Connie Kendall: Okay, I'll go take a look. Oh, hi, Kent, right? I'm Connie. We met earlier. You know, if you run the trains too fast, they'll wreck.

Kent Wakefield: I don't care.

Connie Kendall: Look, some of the kids want to play with the trains and, well, you know, they're mostly for kids, so if you don't mind...

Kent Wakefield: He talked to my uncle today, didn't he?

Connie Kendall: You mean Whit? Well...

Kent Wakefield: I knew it! I knew it! Somehow he always knows. He always finds me.

Connie Kendall: It's really none of my business, so maybe I'll just go back downstairs.

Kent Wakefield: I want to come home. Do you understand? This is my home!

Connie Kendall: We all feel at home here!

Kent Wakefield: Don't patronize me! Why can't I make you understand? It's my uncle, isn't it? He told you things! Lies!

Connie Kendall: Honest, he didn't tell me a thing!

Kent Wakefield: He'll say anything to make me stay with him.

Connie Kendall: Maybe that's because he loves you and wants to take care of you.

Kent Wakefield: He said I'm crazy, didn't he?

Connie Kendall: Crazy? Why would anyone say a thing like that?

Kent Wakefield: Because sometimes I think I'm crazy. I keep having these dreams about this house. Why don't you believe me?

Connie Kendall: I really think I should go back downstairs.

Kent Wakefield: No, wait!

Connie Kendall: You're hurting my arm!

Kent Wakefield: Listen to me!

Connie Kendall: Help!

John Avery Whittaker: If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: It's Whit's End! A burned-out Whit's End.

John Avery Whittaker: Amazing. Except for the church tower, it's identical.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: The charred walls, fallen beams. It's creepy.

John Avery Whittaker: Creepy, yes, but even more puzzling.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Why?

John Avery Whittaker: Well, because of Kent. You know, considering his uncle says he's crazy, everything he's told us is proven to be true. Oh, watch out for that hole.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Thanks. So you think Kent isn't crazy?

John Avery Whittaker: I don't know what to think. What was that?

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: I don't know. The wind, I hope.

John Avery Whittaker: Maybe we should leave.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Good idea.

John Avery Whittaker: Go, Lucy! Look out, Mr. Whittaker!

Chris: Oh, no! On opposite ends of Odyssey, Whit and Connie are in danger. What will happen to them? You can find out next time when we discover the truth about the mysterious stranger. Thanks for listening. If you ever want to get in touch with us here in Odyssey, the address is: Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80995. Or in Canada, write to: Box 9800, Vancouver, BC, V6B 4G3. And don't forget to ask how you can get a copy of today's episode. It's called The Mysterious Stranger.

Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. The Mysterious Stranger was written and directed by Paul McCusker. Our production engineer was Dave Arnold, and our executive producer, Chuck Bolte. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.