No Way In

Deep beneath the McAlister house, Whit lies badly hurt - stranded when his car broke down, he followed an intruder through a hidden bootlegger's tunnel and fell through a trapdoor into a secret room. His only hope is Lester, a gentle runaway terrified of doctors, shots, and the room upstairs where old Ernie died. When Marvin and Tamika follow a trail of cheese-doodle dust to a hollow floorboard, Lester finds the courage to call for help, and Whit is rushed to the hospital. But the danger isn't over... Mac the plumber has drugged the family's water, tied up the children, and brought explosives to crack a hidden safe. Lester faces his deepest fear, climbs the stairs, and lures the thief into the tunnel to save his friends. Inside the safe waits a fortune - and Ernie's journal, leaving everything to Lester, who gives the house to the Washingtons and, no longer ruled by fear, goes home at last.

Found on No Way Out Album 42 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0541 Bernard and Saul After losing a student-council election to a more popular classmate, a bitter Trent hears Bernard tell the story of King Saul, a leader whose jealousy threatened to consume everything he had.

0542 Eggshells After canceling her engagement, Connie comes home ready to move on with her life - but the people who love her most can't stop treating her like she's about to break.

0543 Nothing But the Half Truth When easygoing Wooton Bassett agrees to stand in for his identical twin at a high-stakes business meeting, his promise to just smile and nod proves harder to keep than anyone expected.

0544 Split Ends A modeling agency's flattering scouts pull two feuding former best friends into a head-to-head audition for a shampoo commercial.

0545 Somethings Got to Change A beloved carnival-master's hour-long commute forces his family to weigh the home they love against the community that needs him.

0546 No Way Out Whit awakens injured in a hidden room with no door, held by a strange, childlike man who won't explain how either of them got there - while his son races to trace a garbled cry for help.

0547 No Way In When a missing friend's abandoned car points to the Washingtons' new house, a search uncovers hidden passages - and secrets the old home was built to keep.

0548 Sounds Like a Mystery When a priceless Statue of Liberty model vanishes from Whit's exhibit and suspicion falls on Nick, an experimental audio recording system at Whit's End may hold the clues to the real thief.

0549 Think on These Things When two boys discover a machine that can turn homework into thrilling adventures, their shortcuts inside it start reshaping who they are outside it.

0550 Fairy Tal-e-vision Kids' Radio imagines what television would look like in fairy-tale land, where nursery-rhyme characters' news flashes, courtroom dramas, and commercials reveal how one person's bad choices ripple out to everyone around them.

0551 Stars in Our Eyes With only days to invent a television commercial for Whit's End, the gang's wildly clashing visions collide - while Tamika's essay assignment sends her searching for what truly makes someone a hero.

0552 Sunday Morning Scramble Determined to finally arrive at church on time for their big Scripture recitation, the Washington family discovers that a laminated schedule is no match for gum-tangled hair, an uninvited neighbor in a bathrobe, and three secretly adjusted clocks.

0553 Potential Possibilities A boy tries to escape the gifted class he's convinced he doesn't belong in, while Aubrey and Tom Riley strike a bargain that forces each to face a fear of failing at what they do best.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 6 more roles

1 featured character

Officer Stew Burke Marshal Younger

5 supporting roles

Elaine Washington J Karen Thomas Leon Wankel Bob Hoose Lester Jeff Doucette Mac Phil Crowley David Dockhart Richard Green

Made by

Chris Anthony Host John Fornof Writer · Director Glenn Montjoy Sound Designer · Producer Bob Hoose Producer Marshal Younger Producer Paul McCusker Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Jason traces the ice-cream truck near the Covenant Church neighborhood and finds Whit's abandoned car on Whitehorn Drive. An address book inside lies open to the W section, where the Washington family's new Sycamore Lane address has recently been written. Jason hurries to the McAlister house for help.

The damaged phone Marvin and Tamika found belongs to Whit. Its call history leads Jason to Wankel Automotive, whose owner says Whit's fuel pump failed and no tow truck was available. Unable to reach Jason, Whit must have set out on foot toward the Washingtons' nearby home.

The family searches the house without finding him. Meanwhile, Whit shows Lester that the injured leg is losing circulation and warns that infection and fever may cost his life. He gently explains that the shots Lester fears were hospital treatment, not attempts to hurt him. If Lester trusts his former caregivers enough to return for help, he may save his new friend's life.

Marvin follows a trail of cheese-doodle dust to a hollow-sounding floorboard. He and Tamika lift it and discover a secret entrance leading into a tunnel. Below them, Lester hears the children and finally overcomes his fear. When Whit becomes unresponsive, Lester opens the trapdoor and calls for help.

Whit reaches the hospital. By reconstructing his broken memories, the others learn that he saw someone entering a basement window while he was walking from his disabled car. He followed the intruder through a tunnel, fell through the hidden trapdoor, and suffered the injuries Lester treated. The tunnel and concealed room appear to have belonged to an old bootlegging operation.

Lester apologizes for taking food, Xavier's jacket, Tamika's blanket, and other items while hiding in the house. The Washingtons and Whit refuse to press charges because fear, not malice, kept him underground. Jason invites Lester to stay with him while everyone decides how to help.

Mac returns that night and claims to finish the plumbing repairs. After serving Ed and Elaine water, he remains alone in the house. Dockhart then calls and reveals that he somehow already knows about the secret tunnel. Whit remembers that Lester never went upstairs, so the muddy footprint and crooked pictures in the Washingtons' bedroom must have come from another intruder.

Lester slips away from Jason's guest room. At the McAlister house, Marvin's hidden recorder captures heavy footsteps and tapping behind the bedroom wall. He and Tamika watch Mac remove an antique mirror and expose a safe. Their parents cannot wake because Mac has placed sleeping powder in the water.

Mac cuts off Marvin's telephone call for help and ties up the children. Lester speaks from below but is terrified to enter the room where Ernie died. Mac recognizes that Lester's repeated 3-18-99 may be the safe combination Ernie ordered him to keep secret. When Mac insults him, Lester proves his courage and intelligence by going upstairs, distracting the thief with money, and luring him into the tunnel. Mac's attempted robbery is stopped.

Officer Burke later explains that Mac is Ernie McAlister's great-nephew. Convinced that Ernie's money belonged to the family, Mac searched the house, drugged Ed and Elaine, and carried explosives to open the safe. Inside, investigators find both the fortune and Ernie's journal, which amends his will to leave the house and all his money to Lester.

Lester has lived secretly in the house since Ernie died, so the Washingtons have unknowingly moved into his home. Grateful for their kindness, Lester chooses to give the house to them. Whit also learns that Lester ran away from the Albert Brewer Center in Connellsville. The people there miss him, Mrs. Olsen no longer works there, and his medication is now available as pills instead of injections.

No longer ruled by fear, Lester decides to return to the center he once called home. His trust in Whit has helped him ask for help, face the upstairs room, protect the children, and recover the life and inheritance Ernie intended for him.