Adventures in Odyssey

Host (Male): Previously on Adventures in Odyssey.

Mayor: Greetings, Mr. Butler. Have you heard about the clock at City Hall? The clock is stuck on 11:45. We believe it's a glitch in our new computer system we set up. Alicia Jennings is in charge of our technical support at City Hall. You should talk to her first.

Whit: Has anyone gone into the programming code itself?

Alicia: None of us have that level of expertise, especially since it's a third-party program.

Mayor: Would you mind resetting the clock to the current time?

Alicia: I don't mind, but it won't help. It'll go back to 11:45.

Eugene: No doubt it will, but I would like to look at the clock itself whilst that happens.

Matthew: What is that? Somebody left flowers up here?

Eugene: There's a card attached and it's addressed to you, Alicia.

Alicia: What does it say?

Matthew: "Time is running out." What does that mean?

Mayor: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Mr. Butler.

Michael Butler: When I was a young man in Odyssey, I loved a girl more deeply than I ever thought possible. Her name was Wendy. We had a secret courier who delivered the letters back and forth.

Matthew: Who would do that for you?

Michael Butler: Her little sister, Alicia. I wanted to run away with Wendy. I wrote her a letter telling her to meet me at the clock tower that night at 11:45.

Matthew: That's right.

Alicia: I decided I wasn't going to be their delivery girl anymore. So I tore the letter in half and shoved it into my coat pocket.

Michael Butler: Wendy didn't show up.

Alicia: Somehow someone knows what I did, that the anniversary is 20 years ago and I'm now being tortured for it.

Eugene: The clock's moving again. The entire system, even the clock, has started a countdown.

Matthew: A countdown to what?

Eugene: 11:45 tomorrow night.

Matthew: Here's some water.

Eugene: Thank you, Matthew. Alicia?

Alicia: Thanks. I don't know what to do.

Eugene: We'd better think of something. We've got a countdown and I don't know if it's to a banquet of flowers, a big laugh, or a bomb.

Whit: Mr. Mayor, I suggest you notify the police.

Mayor: I will. In the meantime, you two need to figure out who's behind this.

Matthew: I'll help too.

Mayor: Fine. You three.

Guest (Male): I'm still here.

Mayor: Who are you?

Guest (Male): Andrew.

Matthew: He empties the trash.

Mayor: Good, because the one in my office is full. Come with me.

Guest (Male): Okay.

Alicia: How am I going to explain all of this to my sister?

Eugene: Where does she live?

Alicia: In Los Angeles. She's a doctor, but she's coming into town to visit me. We're selling our family home and moving our mother into a retirement facility.

Eugene: I see. So it has nothing to do with the anniversary.

Alicia: No, because there is no anniversary for her. She doesn't know why Michael left her.

Eugene: Well, someone knows what happened, Alicia. Whoever put those things in the clock tower and rigged everything for 11:45 tomorrow night knows.

Alicia: But how?

Eugene: Have you ever communicated the truth anywhere to anyone in any form or any place?

Alicia: Only one. My private diary, which I've kept hidden and locked up. No one has ever seen it or I would have known.

Eugene: Well, where is it now?

Alicia: In a safe deposit box at the Odyssey Bank. I put my most precious possessions there because of the move out of our house.

Mayor: Alicia, Eugene, are you there?

Eugene: Yes, Mr. Mayor.

Matthew: I am too.

Mayor: The police are on their way. I'd like you to come up to my office and talk to them.

Eugene: Yes, sir. We'll be right up.

Alicia: What am I going to do?

Eugene: We're going to find out who's doing this and why.

Matthew: So, how are you going to find out who's doing this and why?

Eugene: I have no idea. I'm exhausted. Barely any sleep last night. I worked through the night with the police technicians trying to stop the countdown.

Matthew: Can't you just shut off the computers?

Eugene: No. Whoever programmed the countdown has integrated it into the city's entire system and rigged it to erase all of the government's database. The payroll, welfare benefit information, everything will disappear if we turn off the computer. It's a technological time bomb, if not an actual one.

Matthew: Is there a chance that you're dealing with a real bomb?

Eugene: We can't know since we don't know what the computer is counting down to. The bomb squad from the state police is going over City Hall and surrounding area with a proverbial fine-tooth comb.

Whit: Has anyone been able to talk to the programmers from what's it called, Dreadlox Computing?

Eugene: They can't be found. A detective drove past their office and it was locked up. The staff in an office next door claims they haven't seen anyone go in and out for days. I can only wonder who gave Dreadlox the job in the first place and I'll ask the Mayor about that one. This entire scheme could be nothing more than an elaborate hoax.

Matthew: A hoax to torture poor Alicia?

Eugene: Perhaps.

Whit: It's pretty clear that if we can find out how someone learned Alicia's secret, then we'll find out who that someone is.

Matthew: But Alicia said she never told anyone about the letter and the only place she wrote about it is now locked up in the bank. Is it possible that someone saw the diary at the bank?

Eugene: Possible, albeit unlikely. One can't simply walk into a bank and look inside the safe deposit boxes, except in the case of a bank robbery, which Odyssey Bank hasn't had recently.

Matthew: Well, I still think we ought to check it out.

Eugene: We, Mr. Kendall?

Matthew: We're helping you, Eugene. Somebody has to.

Eugene: Thank you. I'm being summoned. Back to City Hall then.

Matthew: Bye, Eugene.

Eugene: Farewell.

Matthew: Poor Eugene.

Whit: Poor Alicia.

Matthew: Whit, should we tell Michael Butler what we know?

Whit: That's not our place. At some point, Alicia is going to have to talk to Michael Butler and her sister.

Matthew: I wouldn't want to be her. Come on, let's see what Oliver Dravel can tell us.

Whit: Oliver Dravel?

Matthew: He's the manager at Odyssey Bank.

Eugene: Good morning, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor: Good morning, Eugene.

Alicia: Hi, Eugene. Are we ready to go to work?

Eugene: Matthew, what are you doing here? Career Day ended yesterday and today's Saturday. You should go play like a normal child would.

Matthew: But my parents said I could help you and the Mayor agreed.

Mayor: He is a tenacious boy.

Eugene: So he is.

Matthew: What are we doing first?

Eugene: First, I'd like to ask the Mayor who recommended Dreadlox as the company to install the program that has caused so much trouble.

Mayor: Naturally, we went through several candidates, putting out bids, the usual process.

Eugene: Of course, but how did Dreadlox know about the job? Did you contact them or did they approach you?

Mayor: I think the bank recommended them to us. Odyssey Bank. Oliver Dravel spoke very highly of them.

Eugene: Why would he do that?

Mayor: Because they'd done some programming work there and he was thrilled with them.

Eugene: That's an interesting coincidence. Will you excuse me please while I make a phone call?

Guest (Male): I can assure you, Mr. Whitaker, that Odyssey Bank has no security issues and certainly no complaints from any of our customers about our safe deposit boxes. Now, is this woman you're talking about implying that something is amiss?

Whit: Not at all. We're merely investigating the possibility.

Guest (Male): Has she authorized you to represent her? It would be customary for her to speak directly to us.

Whit: And maybe she will.

Matthew: Who do you let into the safe deposit area? If I wanted to put my stuff in there, who gets to go in and out?

Guest (Male): Myself as the bank manager and Mr. Kincaid, our safe deposit box manager. Of course, we have a security guard keeping an eye on the safe and everyone who goes in. We are all trusted and trustworthy people.

Whit: I'm sure you are. That's my cell phone.

Eugene: Sorry, that's mine. Excuse me. Hello? Oh, hi, Veronica. You are? He did? No kidding. When? That's interesting. Do you think there's a connection? A van? That's unexpected. I never heard of them, but I'll ask. Thanks. No, thank you. Bye. Bye.

Matthew: Well, that was very enlightening.

Eugene: You first.

Matthew: You go on. That was Veronica from Gower's Flower Shop.

Guest (Male): She's one of our customers. Now don't tell me she's having a problem with us.

Matthew: No, but she was walking down the street and saw the man who bought the jilted roses from her shop.

Eugene: The ones we believe were put in the clock tower.

Matthew: He was driving a company van with the name Shore Clean on the side.

Eugene: Shore Clean? What did Eugene have to say?

Whit: He asked the Mayor who suggested using the Dreadlox company to install the computer program at City Hall.

Matthew: Okay, who did?

Eugene: That would be me.

Matthew: You?

Guest (Male): Well, they did outstanding work for us and when I heard the City Hall was looking for a local company...

Matthew: So the company that did work for you is the same company that did the work for the city and caused these problems.

Eugene: And nobody can get in touch with them.

Guest (Male): They can't?

Eugene: They've disappeared.

Guest (Male): That's worrying.

Matthew: It sure is. But now we know there's some other guy who works for the Shore Clean company who bought the flowers that were put in the clock tower. Is there a connection? I don't see the connection.

Guest (Male): Actually, I know what the connection is.

Whit: What is it?

Guest (Male): My son.

Matthew: Your son?

Guest (Male): And now I'm very concerned. Excuse me while I make a call.

Guest (Male): He's not answering any of his phone lines. That's not like him.

Whit: I think you should explain about your son, Mr. Dravel.

Guest (Male): Well, he's one of the owners of the Dreadlox company.

Matthew: Wait a minute, isn't that a conflict of interest for the bank manager's son to program the bank's computers?

Guest (Male): It was all above board. The company competed with other companies for the job and the final decision wasn't mine.

Whit: But you recommended them to the Mayor.

Guest (Male): Why not? They do good work.

Matthew: Yeah, but what's this Shore Clean company?

Guest (Male): Dreadlox ran into financial trouble, so my son diversified into other types of businesses.

Whit: What types?

Guest (Male): Janitorial, office cleaning, all-purpose kind of work.

Whit: From computers to janitorial. That's a little odd, isn't it?

Guest (Male): Whatever it takes to pay the bills, Mr. Whitaker.

Whit: Do they clean this bank?

Guest (Male): As a matter of fact, they do.

Whit: Your son's company.

Guest (Male): It's all legit.

Whit: Does his company also clean City Hall?

Guest (Male): Well...

Matthew: Okay, I'd better call Eugene.

Guest (Male): Look, none of this means my son has anything to do with Alicia Jennings or that clock tower.

Whit: Does your son or any of his employees have access to the keys in this bank?

Guest (Male): Of course, to get in and out at night.

Whit: The safe deposit area?

Guest (Male): No. As I said, only two of us have...

Whit: Does your son know where you keep the keys to the safe deposit boxes?

Guest (Male): I suppose he might. It wouldn't occur to me to keep that a secret from him. But the vault is on an overnight timer. A free-standing timer or a timer connected to, say, a computer program?

Guest (Male): It's part of the main computer system.

Whit: Which was programmed by Dreadlox. Look, I understand what you're suggesting, Mr. Whitaker, but it's absurd to believe that my son broke into those safe deposit boxes.

Whit: Well, maybe we should ask him about it.

Matthew: Mr. Dravel, I've got Eugene on the phone. What's your son's name?

Guest (Male): Andrew.

Eugene: What?

Matthew: I think he knows your son.

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Guest (Male): Andrew? Andrew! Are you sure this is his apartment?

Whit: Of course I'm sure. Wait, I may have a key. There it is.

Matthew: Are you sure we should go in?

Guest (Male): I insist. If my son is involved in anything questionable... Andrew? Are you here? This place is a mess.

Matthew: No kidding. What are all these pictures? Alicia? Wow, those are a lot of pictures. At the grocery store. In her car. Maybe it's just me, but this looks like a serious crush in a dangerously obsessive kind of way.

Guest (Male): Oh dear.

Whit: What did you find?

Matthew: Well, here on the desk. These look like photocopies of a diary.

Whit: The one from the safe deposit box?

Matthew: I assume so. And look, he's highlighted the words "clock tower" and "11:45". Mr. Dravel, we need to find your son.

Guest (Male): I know. And as bank manager, it's also my duty to call the police.

Alicia: I don't understand. Andrew had photos of me in his apartment and photocopies of my diary?

Eugene: But I hardly noticed him. He emptied the trash. We said hello.

Matthew: It looks like he was doing a lot more than that. He must have been following you all over town.

Alicia: What does all this mean?

Eugene: I'm no psychologist, but I would suspect that he had an unhealthy affection for you and since you wouldn't reciprocate, he intends to enact revenge.

Alicia: Huh?

Matthew: He likes her, she didn't like him, so he wants to get back at her.

Alicia: Thanks. But what's going to happen at 11:45?

Eugene: Perhaps nothing. Perhaps a lot. Perhaps this entire scheme has been concocted to humiliate you by exposing what you'd done to your sister and Michael Butler. You'd have to confess about the undelivered letter.

Alicia: I was young. They shouldn't have trusted me to be their delivery girl.

Eugene: Still, they did, and you were trustworthy... for a time.

Alicia: One moment of anger. One mistake.

Eugene: Indeed, it boggles the mind. We make so many decisions in the course of our lives, most of little consequence. But others, entire lives can be changed in one moment from one act of emotion.

Matthew: Your sins will find you out.

Alicia: What?

Matthew: Sorry, it's something my parents say. Like when I left that cheese sandwich under my bed and three weeks later...

Eugene: I understand, Matthew. Thank you.

Alicia: I'm picking up my sister at the airport later. I'll have to tell her everything then.

Eugene: Meanwhile, we must work to stop that countdown. But Eugene, you only have six hours left. Six hours be hanged. I will not be thwarted by a computer program.

Guest (Male): This is Kevin Killerman with Odyssey 7 News. I'm just outside of City Hall where, if you look just behind me, you'll see that the clock, which had been stuck at 11:45, is now moving backwards. Officials refuse to explain what's gone wrong with the clock, though our inside sources are blaming a computer malfunction.

There is a rumor that the clock is engaged in some sort of countdown to 11:45 again, but no one seems to know why. We've learned that City Hall is being evacuated tonight as a precaution. Police have also evacuated the surrounding buildings with a barrier line right here at the edge of the town square. A few moments ago, we spoke to the Mayor. Mayor, is there any danger to the public?

Mayor: No, we don't believe anyone is in danger, but we're taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our people and property.

Guest (Male): Sir, there's a rumor that the countdown is to 11:45 again. That's just an hour away.

Mayor: I won't confirm or deny that rumor.

Guest (Male): Mr. Mayor, do you know who or what is behind this?

Mayor: It would be wrong to speculate at this time, but the police are investigating every lead. That's all I have to say right now. Thanks.

Guest (Male): So we'll be right here watching and waiting with the growing crowd. Kevin Killerman, Odyssey 7 News.

Mayor: All right, Eugene.

Eugene: Just one more minute.

Mayor: No, sir. Time is up. Shut the system down.

Eugene: No, you'll lose everything. The city government will effectively collapse.

Mayor: Better that than something worse.

Eugene: But...

Mayor: If you won't do it, I'll have one of the police technicians come in.

Eugene: All right, all right. I'll do it. Somehow it seems symbolic of my failure. Systems shutting down. Well? Nothing happened. It's not powering down.

Mayor: What do you mean? You've turned it off, haven't you?

Eugene: Yes, but it's not powering down. I don't understand. It must be running off-site.

Mayor: You mean like someone's using a remote?

Eugene: Sort of, though from where? There's no time to find out where. We have to go. That's an order. Yes, but Mr. Mayor, please, I can send out a signal to try to find the remote source. It'll only take a second.

Mayor: No. Let's go outside now.

Matthew: This is amazing, Whit. In another minute, the whole mystery will come to an end. You don't think there's a bomb, do you?

Whit: Well, the police say they've searched every inch of City Hall and the clock tower. Nothing dangerous.

Matthew: But it would have helped if they found Andrew. Where do you think he disappeared to? Did he skip town?

Whit: Maybe. Or maybe he'll show up here just to see how his scheme played out. Everyone else has.

Matthew: No kidding. There's Alicia and I guess that's her sister. I'd love to eavesdrop to hear what they're talking about.

Whit: At least they're talking. That's a good sign. Oh, hello. Mr. Butler.

Guest (Male): What are you doing here?

Whit: Well, since this mystery is somehow connected to me, I decided to come see how it plays out.

Matthew: Michael, it's probably none of my business, but Alicia Jennings is right over there with her sister Wendy.

Guest (Male): What? Oh, if I'd known that, I wouldn't have come.

Matthew: It may be a good thing that you did. There's something you don't know. Go over and see what happens.

Guest (Male): What's the point?

Matthew: Reconciliation, healing, peace. Who knows what might come of it? Don't you think it's time to put the past behind you?

Guest (Male): I'll think about it. Thanks.

Matthew: Do you think he'll go over?

Whit: I hope so. If he can make it through the crowd, it's like New Year's Eve at Times Square. Everyone has turned out for this.

Matthew: Everyone's curious.

Whit: That's funny, because while we're all standing around here, our culprit could be off somewhere else doing whatever he wants.

Matthew: What?

Whit: I'm just thinking. Everything's come together so easily, pointing us to this place at this time.

Eugene: Mr. Whitaker! Eugene! We tried to shut down the system, but it wouldn't respond.

Whit: Oh?

Eugene: It's being operated from another location. Now I tried to track it, but...

Whit: Eugene, what if this scheme isn't really about Alicia and the clock tower?

Eugene: What?

Matthew: What? Watch, here it comes.

Whit: What if this is a diversion to get everyone here while the real event is happening somewhere else? Of course. And I believe I know where.

Matthew: Where?

Whit: Odyssey Bank. This way.

Guest (Male): This is the perfect crime. Everyone's at City Hall watching that clock and drooling over Alicia's unrequited love story. By the time they all realize what's happened tomorrow morning, we'll be long gone with all the money.

Guest (Male): Are you sure? I don't want any security cameras getting us.

Guest (Male): Are you kidding? The program is impenetrable. The cameras, the locks, everything will just shut down and we can just walk into the vault. Trust me, Dad.

Guest (Male): You know I do, son. But if something goes wrong, all our work...

Guest (Male): That's it. The system is now shutting down. And now the vault locks are released. Do you have the keys?

Guest (Male): Right here. Let's go. Huh? What's that? Why are all the lights coming on?

Guest (Male): It must be a minor glitch in the program.

Whit: Actually, it's a major glitch in your program, Andrew.

Guest (Male): What? It's not possible.

Eugene: It's possible, albeit unlikely.

Whit: All right, Mr. Dravel and Mr. Dravel, hands up. You're both under arrest.

Guest (Male): No!

Guest (Male): But you can't arrest me. This is my bank. I'm merely conducting a routine check on the systems.

Whit: In a ski mask? Come on, tell it to your lawyer. Maybe he'll believe you. Cuff them, boys.

Matthew: That's amazing. So everything that happened with Alicia and the clock tower really was a diversion for a bank robbery.

Whit: It seems so. Oliver and Andrew Dravel were both in financial trouble. I guess they invested all they had in the Dreadlox company, but business dried up after they did the work for Odyssey Bank and City Hall.

Matthew: Yeah, but I still don't get how they knew about Alicia's story.

Whit: Well, you see, Andrew had a genuine but unhealthy crush on Alicia after he began doing janitorial work at City Hall, but she hardly noticed him. His free access allowed him to search employees' desks and offices, and he saw in her purse that she had a bank card for the safe deposit box area and decided to snoop a little to see what it could lead to.

Matthew: Maybe he hoped to find a way to get to know her better.

Whit: Maybe he wanted revenge. But once he saw her diary, he came up with the idea to use what he knew, the programming he'd done, and his father's position to rob the bank.

Matthew: See, I told you he was the bad guy.

Whit: And you were correct.

Matthew: Well, I'm disappointed. I had hoped this whole mystery would be romantic.

Whit: Well, there is a bit of romance to the story. Alicia confessed what she'd done to her sister Wendy and later to Michael Butler.

Matthew: Oh, so he did go over and talk to them?

Whit: And now Wendy and Michael are conversing again. And neither of them is married.

Matthew: I didn't know. So it's kind of a happy ending after all.

Whit: 20 years in the making and it all started because a young girl didn't deliver a letter. We never know which moment in our lives could be the one that changes everything.

Matthew: Yeah, that's right.

Whit: Which is why we need to live every single moment the way God wants us to.

Chris: The Bible says in the book of Numbers, "You may be sure that your sin will find you out." Everything we do at every moment has consequences. Even small decisions can have a huge impact.

Alicia's moment of anger changed the lives of at least three people, maybe more. That's why we need to stop and think about what we're doing or going to do and ask ourselves if God would be pleased with it. That will keep us out of a lot of trouble.

If you liked today's episode, I'd love to hear from you. You can write to me at Adventures in Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80995, or in Canada write to Box 9800, Vancouver, BC, V6B 4G3, and visit us online at whitsend.org.

Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. The Mystery of the Clock Tower was written by Paul McCusker with sound design by Jonathan Crow. Our cast included Andre Stojka, Katie Leigh, Will Ryan, and Will Utay. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.