The Perfect Witness, Part 1 of 3

Chris: Hi, this is Chris. I'm glad you could join us for Adventures in Odyssey, a place of discovery, imagination, and excitement. But don't take my word for it. Find out for yourself on today's Adventure in Odyssey.
Guest (Male): Cop car's coming down the street. It's made me so nervous. On the floor, big guy! Grab the blind girl.
Eugene Meltsner: No!
Katrina Shank: Eugene! Everything is gone. Hurry! They took Jenny out the back door.
Guest (Male): She's the perfect hostage.
Fred Holstein: Yeah, gentlemen, it is my pleasure to be of your assistance. I have put True Crime stories over here in our non-fiction crime section. I maintain an exhausting supply of both new and secondhand books. And the name, by the way, is Fred Holstein, which is why we call this shop Holstein Books. And if I can be of any service, just call me by name. I'll be behind the counter. Just say, "Fred Holstein, we need your help," and I will zipper like a mad dash right over.
Guest (Male): That's one way of putting it. Thanks, Mr. Holstein. We'll just browse for a while.
Fred Holstein: It is my delightfulness.
Katrina Shank: Good afternoon, Mr. Holstein.
Fred Holstein: Good afternoon, Katrina. You are early.
Katrina Shank: A little. One of my students didn't show up for his tutoring. I thought you might need the help.
Fred Holstein: It has been quiet with customers, but there are many books to be placed upon the shelves. Please, put your coat and knapsack in the back room and I will explain.
Katrina Shank: Okay, thanks. Oh, the first edition of the Haggard book!
Fred Holstein: I beg of your pardon?
Katrina Shank: On the desk in the back. The first edition of the Eric Haggard book.
Fred Holstein: Yeah, I am excited beyond repair. One of perhaps ten copies left in this country, and I found it. At no small cost, let me tell you one thing for sure. I phoned Professor Marcus to tell him it was here. He is as happy as a bird in a clamshell.
Katrina Shank: Would you like me to deliver it to him when I go back to the college?
Fred Holstein: I had thought of that, but it occurs to me that for such a rare and very, very special book, I should deliver it to the good doctor myself.
Katrina Shank: Of course. Hello, Jenny.
Jenny Roberts: Hi, guys.
Fred Holstein: Jenny, my little strudel, how are you today?
Jenny Roberts: I'm okay.
Katrina Shank: Any changes I should know about?
Jenny Roberts: A new book display to your left. Got it, thanks.
Fred Holstein: What is this "okay" business? It is a beautiful day today. What is this "okay"?
Jenny Roberts: Sorry, I got a little mad because everyone keeps treating me like I'm some kind of invalid. A woman nearly killed me trying to help me across the street just now.
Katrina Shank: People mean well.
Fred Holstein: Yeah, nobody thinks that you're helpless.
Jenny Roberts: But they act like I am. Just because I'm blind, they think I can't do anything for myself. I can. I walked all the way over here.
Fred Holstein: Wonderful! You're here for the books your mother called in, right?
Jenny Roberts: Right. We're almost finished with The Chronicles of Narnia.
Fred Holstein: I believe it is a beautiful thing for your family to read together like you do every night. It reminds me of my own childhood in Heidelberg and brings a tear to my cheek.
Guest (Male): Thanks, Mr. Holstein.
Guest (Male): Yeah, thanks.
Fred Holstein: Leaving so soon, gentlemen? Did you not find what you were looking for?
Guest (Male): Actually, we're not leaving. We just need to lock the door for a minute.
Fred Holstein: Lock the door? Oh no, the law does not permit me to lock that door during business hours.
Guest (Male): Well, we're not really interested in the law at this point. Open the cash register. I'll get the you-know-what in the back. Right.
Jenny Roberts: What? What's going on?
Guest (Male): Go on, open the cash register and no one will get hurt.
Jenny Roberts: What's happening?
Katrina Shank: I think we're being robbed.
Jenny Roberts: What?
Fred Holstein: You are robbing my store?
Guest (Male): Yeah, now quit stalling and open the register.
Fred Holstein: If you insist, but there is not much money there.
Guest (Male): We'll take what you've got.
Fred Holstein: You've made me so nervous. I can't remember how to open the register without a purchase. Would you like to buy a bookmark?
Guest (Male): Open it!
Fred Holstein: Yes, of course.
Katrina Shank: Katrina?
Jenny Roberts: Don't be afraid, Jenny. It'll be all right.
Guest (Male): Yeah, we're not interested in hurting anybody. We just need to pick up a few things. Got it.
Katrina Shank: You can't! That's my knapsack.
Guest (Male): Pretty handy, good quality too. Put the money in it, Mr. Holstein.
Fred Holstein: Oops! I am sorry. I am such a butterfingers. I am so nervous.
Guest (Male): Get out of the way and let me do that. Come on, that's enough. We have what we want. Okay, check the front door and I'll... Hey, what's this?
Guest (Male): What? Which what?
Guest (Male): This button here.
Fred Holstein: That button? Well, that is a buzzer. Yeah, it's a buzzer to call Katrina from the back room when it becomes busy.
Katrina Shank: Right, right. He calls me.
Guest (Male): Yeah, or a silent alarm. Why'd you have to go and do a thing like that? Now I'm going to have to tie you up. Turn around.
Fred Holstein: I have string in the back.
Guest (Male): This packing tape will do just fine, thank you. Cop car's coming down the street. Slow though. Great, and this could have been so easy. On the floor, big guy! What do you reckon? They'll have a police car out back too?
Guest (Male): In a town this small, they probably only have one police car.
Guest (Male): I don't want to take a chance. We need some insurance. Grab the blind girl.
Jenny Roberts: No!
Katrina Shank: Stop, you can't!
Guest (Male): The blind girl? Yeah, take me instead!
Guest (Male): The blind girl's perfect. We'll use her to get away from the police and she can't see where we'll take her. Hurry, will you? They're getting out of the car.
Guest (Male): All right, step back, whatever your name is.
Katrina Shank: No, I won't! I won't let you! You can't!
Guest (Male): Look, we're not interested in hurting you. We just need to get out of here without a hassle. Now, let's go!
Fred Holstein: No, you must not do this!
Jenny Roberts: Stop it! Let me go! I don't want to go with you!
Guest (Male): Behave yourself and you'll be fine.
Jenny Roberts: No! You can't!
Guest (Male): Okay, we're clear back here. Start the car. You, get over there and tend to your boss.
Katrina Shank: You're making a big mistake!
Fred Holstein: A huge, great big mistake! Just take it easy. Don't move to the door. Don't do anything stupid. And tell the cops we're sorry we missed them.
Katrina Shank: Oh, Mr. Holstein! Let the police in!
Fred Holstein: Right! Hurry! They took Jenny out the back door!
Chris: In Album 79, "11th Hour", a time of crisis. Renee, call 9-1-1 now! Help, my dog! Oh, she's in the playhouse! Wait, it's falling! Don't go in there! Get out! Hurry! My arm! Hurry to Album 79, "11th Hour", now on the club CD and download. Find out more at adventuresinodyssey.com.
Guest (Male): Any sign of them?
Guest (Male): Nope, not a cop car in sight. Looks like traffic as usual.
Guest (Male): Good. Hey, kid, how you doing back there? What's wrong? Aren't you speaking to us?
Jenny Roberts: No, as a matter of fact.
Guest (Male): I don't blame you. Must be rough going all the way to the bookstore just to get hijacked.
Jenny Roberts: You should try it sometime.
Guest (Male): I'm not real happy about this. This was supposed to be a simple job. A charge of kidnapping wasn't part of the deal.
Guest (Male): Don't blame me. She was insurance. How was I supposed to know we wouldn't be chased? Mr. Sauerkraut hadn't set off the alarm. Never mind, just check the stash, will you? Yeah. Let's see what we have here. How much money did we get?
Guest (Male): Who cares? Here we go.
Guest (Male): Is that it?
Guest (Male): Looks like it. You've got to give him credit for knowing. Open it and check. Yep, it's what we were looking for.
Guest (Male): Good. When we get to the hideout, you make the call and we'll figure out how to return... Hey, kid, what is your name?
Jenny Roberts: Abraham Lincoln.
Guest (Male): Well, Abraham Lincoln, you just keep quiet and do as you're told and maybe we'll have you home in time for dinner. Okay? Abraham Lincoln, that's funny. Did I say she was perfect or what?
Guest (Male): Okay, Abraham Lincoln, you sit right there and be a good girl. Maybe we should tie her up.
Guest (Male): No, she wouldn't be dumb enough to try to run away. It's not like she can see where she's going. You're not going to try and run away, are you, Abe? We're three flights up and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. Well?
Jenny Roberts: Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth this great nation.
Guest (Male): That's great. Okay, let's get changed. Ouch! That hurt!
Guest (Male): You need to use the remover. You'll tear off a layer of skin doing it like that.
Guest (Male): I just want to get on with it. I don't like having this kid around.
Guest (Male): What? You're afraid she'll give the police our description? Maybe tell them where we brought her? Like I said, she's the perfect hostage. What are you doing?
Guest (Male): I'm changing shirts.
Guest (Male): Well, go in the other room, will you?
Guest (Male): Why?
Guest (Male): The girl!
Guest (Male): Don't be such an idiot. She's blind, remember?
Guest (Male): Well, I'm going in the other room. All right, so the plan is what?
Guest (Male): I'll get rid of the car while you take the kid back to Odyssey in the pickup truck. What, are you nuts? Look, we're not just a couple of robbers now. We're kidnappers. Don't you get it? There'll be a statewide search for her. The heat will be on as long as she's missing. But once we get her back, things will calm down.
Guest (Male): But how am I supposed to get her back without trouble?
Guest (Male): What trouble? First, you'll be in a pickup truck. Nobody's looking for a pickup truck. Secondly, you look completely different without your disguise. And thirdly, we have to deliver her safe and sound or we'll have no end of problems.
Guest (Male): It makes me nervous.
Guest (Male): It'll be okay. Just drop her off someplace safe where the police will find her.
Guest (Male): I'll take her to the police station in Odyssey. That should be safe enough.
Guest (Male): Okay, President Lincoln, just stay low in the seat until I say you can get up. Now, here's what I'm going to do when we get there. I'll pull up to the curb and tell you when you can get out. And for the hundredth time, you won't get hurt if you do as you're told. Got it?
Jenny Roberts: Got it.
Guest (Male): Now, you weren't part of the plan. You know that. We never intended to have to take you and we never planned to hurt you. Try to remember that when the police are grilling you, okay? It was sort of an accident. Understand?
Jenny Roberts: I'll be sure to mention it.
Guest (Male): Yeah, and tell them I said you were perfect.
Jenny Roberts: Yeah, perfect.
Guest (Male): Okay, here we are. You know, I have to give you guys high marks on your town. Quiet, trusting. Bet it's a nice place to live. So, live on, kid.
Jenny Roberts: Huh?
Guest (Male): You can get out now. Even your police station is nice and quiet. Everybody's probably out looking for you.
Jenny Roberts: I can go?
Guest (Male): Yeah, but don't say a word until I'm gone. Watch your step. Thanks for all your help.
Jenny Roberts: Hello? Can anyone help me? Hello? I don't know where I am. Can anyone help me? Hello?
Captain Richard Quinn: Yeah? Oh, you must be Detective Ethan. I'm glad you made it. I'm Captain Richard Quinn, Odyssey Police. Come in, come in. Jenny's in the living room with her parents. It's been a couple of hours, so things have settled down a little bit emotionally, if you know what I mean. Doc Morton looked her over and gave her a clean bill of health and said it was okay for her to answer questions. She's just shaken a little. We put out an APB on the pickup truck, but frankly, without more information, there wasn't much she could tell us since she's blind. I understand that's your department.
Detective Pat Ethan: I understand.
Captain Richard Quinn: Mike, Linda, Jenny, I want you to meet Detective Pat Ethan from the County Sheriff's Office. Detective Ethan specializes in cases like this and is here to help us investigate the robbery and kidnapping.
Mike Roberts: Hello, Detective. It's nice to meet you.
Detective Pat Ethan: The pleasure's all mine, though I'm sorry it has to be under these circumstances.
Linda Roberts: Yes, come in and make yourself at home. I'm sorry.
Detective Pat Ethan: Is something wrong?
Linda Roberts: Well, when Captain Quinn said a Detective Ethan was coming, I just assumed...
Detective Pat Ethan: That I was a man. I know, it happens a lot.
Jenny Roberts: Detective Ethan?
Detective Pat Ethan: Yes, Jenny.
Jenny Roberts: Captain Quinn said you specialize in cases like these. What does that mean? Cases of robbery and kidnapping or cases with blind people?
Detective Pat Ethan: To be honest, both. Mostly I'm here to help you remember every detail of what happened.
Jenny Roberts: I already told them everything I know.
Detective Pat Ethan: Oh, I'm sure you did. But I think you know more than you think you know.
Jenny Roberts: What do you mean?
Detective Pat Ethan: You'll find out as we go along. Are you ready?
Mike Roberts: Wait, you mean you're going to do this now? Tonight?
Detective Pat Ethan: Yes, Mr. Roberts. We want to catch these guys and we don't want the trail to get cold.
Jenny Roberts: Wait a minute, I don't understand how this works.
Detective Pat Ethan: Well, it's easy. I ask you questions and you'll answer them. Simple, huh? Captain Quinn? Captain Quinn, would you please take that in the hallway? Jenny will need all the powers of concentration she has.
Captain Richard Quinn: Certainly.
Detective Pat Ethan: Jenny, you're blind in sight only. But you have other senses that you use to compensate for that loss. That's what you've been learning at school, right?
Jenny Roberts: Right.
Detective Pat Ethan: What I want to do is help use your other senses with your memory to construct a... well, let's call it a sound picture of what you know.
Captain Richard Quinn: I'm sorry to interrupt, but if our witnesses are right, we found the getaway car.
Detective Pat Ethan: Oh, great! That's a good start. Now, where was it found?
Captain Richard Quinn: Route 29 near Odenton.
Detective Pat Ethan: In the center of town or somewhere remote?
Captain Richard Quinn: There's only the gas station, and my officers said it was found near there.
Detective Pat Ethan: My guess then is that the car is stolen. You may want to check reports of car thefts over the past few days.
Captain Richard Quinn: Good idea.
Detective Pat Ethan: Okay, Jenny, shall we begin?
Eugene Meltsner: Mr. Holstein!
Fred Holstein: Well, hello, Eugene.
Eugene Meltsner: Where is she? Is she here? Katrina!
Fred Holstein: No, don't count your chickens before they are eggs. She is in...
Eugene Meltsner: Katrina! I can't believe it. I didn't know. Are you all right?
Katrina Shank: I am now, Eugene.
Eugene Meltsner: I'm in a state of shock. I was at the police station and only happened to hear about the robbery and Jenny Roberts' kidnapping.
Katrina Shank: It's all right, Eugene. Calm down.
Eugene Meltsner: I'm afraid I've ventured beyond the capacity for calmness.
Fred Holstein: Hold a cotton-picking minute. What were you doing at the police station?
Eugene Meltsner: I was at the police station because I'm the victim of a robbery as well.
Katrina Shank: What? You weren't hurt, were you?
Eugene Meltsner: Not at all. I returned to my room after one of my classes and my dorm room had been burgled.
Fred Holstein: Did they take much from your cash register?
Eugene Meltsner: Strangely, they only took my laptop computer.
Katrina Shank: Only your laptop?
Eugene Meltsner: Indeed. They left my larger desktop computer, my stereo, even the money I left on my dresser. But the laptop is gone.
Fred Holstein: Perhaps the intruders were interrupted and only had enough time to...
Eugene Meltsner: Perhaps, but that isn't all they took.
Fred Holstein: But you just said...
Eugene Meltsner: I said that was all they took from my room. If indeed it's the same culprit or culprits, they purloined one other thing outside of my room.
Katrina Shank: What?
Eugene Meltsner: My car.
Fred Holstein: They took your automobile? Things have gone crazy. Who would want such a car?
Captain Richard Quinn: Hello, Captain. Hi, Fred, Katrina, Eugene.
Eugene Meltsner: Hi.
Captain Richard Quinn: Eugene, I hate to add to your trauma, but I need you to come back down to the police station.
Eugene Meltsner: Of course, but why?
Captain Richard Quinn: We found your car and I want you to look it over for clues.
Eugene Meltsner: Clues to find out who took my laptop?
Captain Richard Quinn: No, to find out who robbed Holstein's Books.
Eugene Meltsner: I beg your pardon? I fail to understand the connection.
Captain Richard Quinn: Brace yourself, Eugene. Your car was the getaway car.
Eugene Meltsner: What?
Captain Richard Quinn: Well, Eugene?
Eugene Meltsner: It is indeed my car.
Captain Richard Quinn: Well, we had it towed back here and searched it top to bottom for clues. Not a thing.
Eugene Meltsner: Of course. Fingerprints?
Captain Richard Quinn: Only yours. Other than that, the car's clean.
Eugene Meltsner: Clean? On the contrary, Captain Quinn, the car is absolutely filthy. Look closely. Have you done an analysis of the dirt?
Captain Richard Quinn: I have to confess that the dirt looked like dirt. Typical Odyssey dirt. Our lab techs didn't find anything unusual.
Eugene Meltsner: But this dust is a different color than the dust that usually coats my car, particularly on my drives between the college and Wit's End. This is a most peculiar clay.
Captain Richard Quinn: Have you ever thought of working for the police, Eugene?
Eugene Meltsner: What does it pay?
Captain Richard Quinn: You can't afford the pay cut. Dave, get those lab techs back in here. They missed something. Eugene, you said some things were stolen from your dorm room?
Eugene Meltsner: Yes, sir. My laptop.
Captain Richard Quinn: Anything else?
Eugene Meltsner: Not that I was aware of.
Captain Richard Quinn: Are you sure? Did you check your room thoroughly?
Eugene Meltsner: Well, not thoroughly as such, but under the circumstances...
Captain Richard Quinn: I think you'd better go back and look again. Until now, I thought your break-in was unrelated to the holdup. Now I'm not so sure.
Eugene Meltsner: Then I'm on my way, if someone can give me a lift.
Captain Richard Quinn: Come on, I need some fresh air anyway.
Captain Richard Quinn: Well, is there anything else missing?
Eugene Meltsner: Nothing that I would consider valuable except... I just realized...
Captain Richard Quinn: What?
Eugene Meltsner: My box of computer disks. They were right over there next to my main computer.
Captain Richard Quinn: So they took your laptop computer and a box of blank disks?
Eugene Meltsner: No, not blank. They had all my files on them, all the work I've been doing over the past couple of years. This is horrible!
Captain Richard Quinn: What are you doing?
Eugene Meltsner: Checking my main computer. The disks were merely a backup for the files on my larger desktop. Quickly now, come on, come on. Oh no!
Captain Richard Quinn: What's wrong?
Eugene Meltsner: The hard drive on my computer where all the files were kept, it's been reformatted.
Captain Richard Quinn: You'd better explain. I'm bad with these machines. Everything is gone!
Captain Richard Quinn: What's gone, Eugene?
Eugene Meltsner: My files! Everything! They've been completely erased!
Detective Pat Ethan: Wait, Jenny.
Jenny Roberts: What's wrong?
Detective Pat Ethan: You've told us this much before. Now I want you to concentrate. Think details. Forget for a moment what they said. Think about the sound of the car, the sounds outside of the car.
Jenny Roberts: I thought I was. I heard the sound of the motor, cars going by.
Detective Pat Ethan: That's good. Keep going.
Jenny Roberts: Okay, the motor, cars going by, and...
Detective Pat Ethan: And what?
Jenny Roberts: A train. We stopped at some train tracks.
Detective Pat Ethan: Good girl! What else?
Jenny Roberts: I heard the bell, the gate closed, and the train went past.
Detective Pat Ethan: Fast or slow?
Jenny Roberts: What do you mean?
Detective Pat Ethan: Was it a fast train or a slow train?
Jenny Roberts: It was a slow train.
Detective Pat Ethan: Probably a freight train. Excellent. See, now do you understand what we're after?
Jenny Roberts: Yeah! Wow!
Detective Pat Ethan: You want to go on?
Jenny Roberts: Sure!
Detective Pat Ethan: Okay, after the train, what happened? Wait a minute. We need to isolate some of that information.
Jenny Roberts: Like what?
Detective Pat Ethan: One of them asks about the money and the other says, "Who cares?"
Jenny Roberts: Yeah.
Detective Pat Ethan: So robbing the store for money wasn't their motive. That's not what they were after.
Jenny Roberts: Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Then what were they after?
Detective Pat Ethan: Good question. Let me double-check the report. Mr. Holstein reported the money missing, and the Haggard book.
Jenny Roberts: The what?
Detective Pat Ethan: A rare first edition of a book by Eric Haggard, a Danish writer. Mr. Holstein said it was delivered that morning and missing after the robbery.
Jenny Roberts: That's right! One of them went into the back room and came back with Katrina Shank's knapsack. Apparently, they shoved the book inside, which is why it wasn't obvious to Mr. Holstein or Katrina that they had it. And I heard them digging around in the knapsack. I remember now! One of them found it and the other said, "Is that it? Looks like it. You've got to give him credit for knowing. Open it and check. Yep, it's what we were looking for."
Detective Pat Ethan: Give him credit. Give who credit? Do you think somebody hired them?
Jenny Roberts: Possibly. Well, maybe they were hired to steal the book by a jealous collector.
Detective Pat Ethan: Maybe. But let's not sidetrack. They referred to another person, then opened what sounded like an envelope, correct?
Jenny Roberts: Yeah.
Detective Pat Ethan: And then they were pleased to find that the envelope contained what they were looking for.
Jenny Roberts: Yeah, I remember that clearly.
Detective Pat Ethan: Good girl. So it's possible the thieves were hired to go to Holstein's Bookstore to steal that book. And it's also possible that stealing money from the cash register was merely a ploy to throw us off their main goal. But why go to all that trouble? Why not just go in and steal the book?
Jenny Roberts: Maybe to keep us from asking the questions that will lead us back to them. And many questions are left unanswered still. But I'll have to think about that for a while.
Detective Pat Ethan: Officer Specter?
Guest (Male): Yes, Detective?
Detective Pat Ethan: I need to talk with Mr. Holstein. Will you get him for me either on the phone or bring him here in person?
Guest (Male): Yes, ma'am.
Detective Pat Ethan: Until then, we go back to what we know, or rather what you know, Jenny. Let's see what you can remember about the hideout.
Chris: The plot thickens! I wonder if Eugene's car and computer have anything to do with the robbery at Holstein's Bookstore. If so, what's the connection? Will Jenny help Detective Ethan catch the crooks before they get away? I guess we'll have to hear the answers to those questions and more on our next adventure. Don't miss it! If you ever want to write to us for any reason, just send your letter to Adventures in Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80995. Or in Canada write to Box 9800, Vancouver, BC, V6B 4G3. And don't forget to ask about how you can get your own copy of today's episode. It's called "The Perfect Witness." Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. "The Perfect Witness" was written and directed by Paul McCusker. Our production engineer was Dave Arnold and our executive producer is Chuck Bolte. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.