The Green Ring Conspiracy

Agent Tanner is furious that Whit and Polehaus have concealed Monty's movements from her. Whit admits that they suspect someone inside the Secret Service warned Dirk about Monty's undercover role. Tanner refuses to answer their questions, but agrees that they must work together to find the missing agent. She leaves to question the injured pilot, while Polehaus follows an anonymous tip about printing equipment at Haggler's Junkyard.

Whit wonders whether the identification chip in Monty's arm can be used as a tracking device, despite Tanner's claim that it cannot. Polehaus, meanwhile, has found a toothpick near the place where Monty was abducted. Because Buck habitually chews toothpicks and has appeared at several important locations, Polehaus asks Whit to obtain a saliva sample without alarming the boy. Buck is scheduled to begin working at Whit's End that afternoon.

Wooton visits Connie and nervously asks her to learn whether Penny likes him. Connie recognizes immediately that Wooton is smitten and agrees to speak with Penny at their next class. Whit also arrives, exhausted and burdened by Monty's disappearance, but he can tell Connie only that she should keep praying.

Katrina investigates the address Buck supplied and learns that neither he nor Skint lives there. The house belongs to a company and is supposed to be vacant while local workers repaint it. Eugene initially worries that Katrina has become too personally involved, but the false address convinces him that her questions are justified.

Buck takes Emily along the route where he claims to have lost his phone. They find children's footprints, and Jay appears after secretly following them. While teasing Emily about abandoning Matthew at the carnival, Jay accidentally reveals that Matthew found an Appleberry in the woods. Buck immediately realizes that it must be Dirk's phone. He encourages Emily to bring Matthew to Whit's End, then hurries back for his first day of work.

At the junkyard, Polehaus finds an empty space where the printing presses had stood. Jay carelessly confirms that they were there the day before, forcing Wally to explain. Wally says Skint brought the machines and has tried to frame him. He has moved the equipment but can produce it for examination, and his tracking device has led him to Skint's hideout on Gold Camp Road. Polehaus reluctantly accepts Wally as an ally.

Whit contacts a trusted expert who helped develop the agents' implanted chips. She confirms that Monty's chip can be tracked and sends the necessary program. Whit and Eugene begin configuring it with Whit's satellite equipment. They also compare what Katrina and Polehaus have learned about Buck, realizing that the boy may be connected to both Monty's abduction and the Green Ring.

Emily confronts Matthew about the secret Appleberry. He admits that he found it, but becomes alarmed when he learns that Buck knows. Certain that Buck is hiding something, Matthew races to Whit's End to protect the phone before Buck can reach the basement.