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S DA FOUNTAIN Odyssey archive · est. 2000
Episodes 708 of 1,068
0688 14 May 2011 25 min Part 10 of 12

The Green Ring Conspiracy

The police let Buck go, hoping he'll lead them straight to Skint - and he does, slipping his tail and sneaking back to the dock at Trickle Lake. There the mysterious Archie takes charge, ordering Skint to hide out at the carnival and to remove Whit, Monty, and Detective Polehaus from the operation's path... by whatever means necessary. But Buck wants out: the people at Whit's End showed him real kindness, and he won't help hurt them. Back at the shop, Whit closes the doors and puts the whole crew on the case, recovering clues from a shattered Appleberry and tracing a suspicious truck through town, while Emily struggles to forgive the boy who used her trust. As the big carnival auction begins, officers surround the grounds to catch the counterfeit cash on its way out. Then Archie springs his trap - Jason is seized, blindfolded, and shoved into a van, bound for a painful meeting with Mr. Grote himself.
Found on The Green Ring Conspiracy Album 53 · 12 episodes

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Polehaus questions Buck about his fingerprint on the counterfeit money, his presence at Monty's abduction, the printing equipment, and the activity at the Ross compound. Buck stays close to facts the police already know while admitting nothing that would expose Skint. Katrina reminds Polehaus that Buck is a minor without his guardian or a lawyer. Polehaus agrees to release him, secretly hoping the boy will lead officers back to Skint.

Whit asks Eugene to salvage whatever information he can from Dirk's shattered Appleberry, then prepares to visit Monty at the hospital. Connie goes to Wooton's house to report that Penny likes him. Before she can explain her concerns about Trask's group, Wooton learns that Connie and Penny are hiking at Trickle Lake the next day and plans a surprise picnic for Penny at Montague's Point.

Buck easily slips away from the police officers assigned to follow him. Using an old coded message from Skint, he returns to the dock at Trickle Lake. Skint praises him for deceiving the investigators, but Archie soon arrives and condemns Skint's mistakes. He orders Skint to shave, cut his hair, abandon the distinctive truck, and stay at the carnival. More ominously, Archie tells him to remove Whit, Monty, and Polehaus from the operation's path by whatever means are necessary.

The next morning, Buck tells Skint that he wants to leave. The people at Whit's End have treated him with genuine kindness, and he refuses to harm them. Skint argues that survival means looking after oneself, but Buck asks whether Skint would ever risk himself to rescue him. Skint avoids answering and insists that everything they have worked for will happen that day.

At Whit's End, Eugene recovers fragments of Dirk's messages, including a sequence of numbers matching those written on the paper found in the counterfeit backpack. Whit closes the shop so everyone can concentrate on the investigation. He sends Matthew and Emily to search old newspaper records for counterfeit cases that might reveal the local person who has secretly manufactured the money for years. Eugene equips the team with small earphones that allow them to communicate across town.

Emily is hurt that Buck used her trust to advance his deception, but she is also worried about him. Whit encourages her to pray both for Buck and for the grace to forgive him. At the same time, Polehaus places officers around the carnival and orders them to inspect every truck leaving the auction, convinced that the counterfeit money will be hidden with the sold equipment.

Whit and Polehaus trace the truck from the Ross compound through traffic cameras. It traveled to the carnival but stopped first at Burger World and at Trickle Lake Concrete across the street. They also learn that the company owning the Ross compound is the same company that owns the carnival, though Polehaus sees no immediate importance in the corporate connection.

Archie summons Jason before the auction and announces that the Stiletto's services are no longer needed. Archie's men have already dealt with Jason's helpers, and armed guards restrain and blindfold him. Archie says they are taking him to meet Mr. Grote, whose displeasure promises to be painful. Jason warns that a double-cross often turns back on the person who began it, but the guards force him into a van.