Waylaid in the Windy City

Connie Kendall is in the hands of Whit's old enemy, Dr. Regis Blackgaard, and the ransom is steep: Whit must bring the top-secret computer to the big clock at six o'clock, alone. Whit handcuffs the real machine to his wrist, stops to pray... and then vanishes in the middle of a parade. He wakes up in a sewer tunnel face to face with Richard Maxwell, fresh out of detention and hungry for revenge on Blackgaard - but willing to trade his scheme for Connie's rescue. At the warehouse the plan turns frightening when Richard pulls a gun and forces Blackgaard to beg, until Whit steps into the line of fire and the "gun" squirts only water. Then comes the real shock: the government agent running the case has been selling out the mission to Blackgaard all along, and he grabs the computer and escapes. But when the villains power up their prize, it erases every secret on board, leaving them nothing but a cheerful recorded goodbye from Richard and Whit.

Found on Other Times, Other Places Album 10 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0150 Home is Where the Hurt Is A scheme to score a teacher's edition math book unravels when it forces Curt Stevens to face the one thing he's spent his whole life hiding - what's waiting behind his front door.

0151 ...The Last Shall Be First When Connie can't convince her stubborn great-uncle that it's never too late to come back to church, an ordinary cleanup job at Whit's End turns into a living lesson from an old parable.

0152 The Meaning of Sacrifice When the Barclay family gives up television for a month as an act of sacrifice to God, everyone discovers that keeping a promise is harder than making one.

0153 Mayor For a Day When young Curt Stevens enters Odyssey's Mayor for a Day contest convinced the job is all cushy offices and celebrity handshakes, his imagination shows him just how wrong he might be.

0154 Coming of Age Aspiring young actor Jimmy Barclay starts keeping a journal again just as a string of strange changes - in his family, his body, and his heart - begins turning his world upside down.

1 of 2 0155 Waylaid in the Windy City A business trip to Chicago turns perilous when Whit and Connie cross paths with a fugitive thief and a stolen laptop full of military secrets.

2 of 2 0156 Waylaid in the Windy City When Connie is taken by an old enemy demanding a top-secret computer as ransom, Whit must navigate a Chicago full of double-crosses where no one - friend or foe - is quite what they seem.

0157 Last in a Long Line A chance shortcut through a cemetery leads Eugene to a gravestone bearing his own family name - and a mystery that could rewrite everything he believes about being the last of the Meltsners.

0158 A Day in the Life When a Hollywood producer buys Whit's affectionate short story about everyday life in Odyssey, the whole town lines up for its shot at movie stardom.

0159 The Homecoming A young man with a troubled past returns to Odyssey seeking something the town may not be ready to give.

0160 A Rathbone of Contention When Bart Rathbone fast-tracks the grand opening of Odyssey's new electronics store, his habit of cutting corners - and borrowing other people's talent for free - puts the whole venture on shaky ground.

0161 Isaac the True Friend Feeling friendless, Isaac takes an Imagination Station trip into the story of David and Jonathan and discovers what true friendship really costs.

0162 Peacemaker When two friends' quarrel threatens a church project to help the homeless, Connie learns that making peace takes more than smoothing things over.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 3 more roles

3 supporting roles

Pinky Barry Stigler Frank Phillips Greg Berg Woody Barry Stigler

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Phil Lollar Writer · Director · Producer Paul McCusker Writer Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer Dave Arnold Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

In the conclusion of this two-part adventure, Connie Kendall is missing, and John Whittaker refuses to believe she has simply gone sightseeing. Agent Phillips of the government is not so sure - until the hotel phone rings. It is Connie, talking fast: the man holding her wants Whit to bring the top-secret computer to the big clock at a college campus at six o'clock, alone. The caller turns out to be Whit's old enemy, Dr. Regis Blackgaard, who insists he has not kidnapped anyone. Connie is free to leave his electronics warehouse anytime she likes, he purrs - but if she does, who knows what might happen to Whit? Connie reminds him of all the trouble he caused back in Odyssey, but Blackgaard smoothly points out that no one has any proof, and he drops a chilling hint: what makes her think he is not working with the government?

Whit insists on carrying the real computer to protect Connie, handcuffs it to his own wrist, lets the agents attach a homing device, and asks for a moment alone to pray - the best safeguard he knows. But at the big clock, everything goes wrong. A parade sweeps past, the homing signal clicks off, and Whit vanishes before the agents' eyes. Blackgaard is baffled too, because his own clown-costumed henchman, Pinky, never got the chance to grab him.

Whit wakes up with an aching head in a sewer tunnel, face to face with Richard Maxwell, the young man whose schemes once caused so much grief in Odyssey. Released early from detention, Richard has spent weeks secretly tracking Blackgaard, and he saw him take Connie. He is not working for the doctor - he wants revenge on him - but he offers Whit a deal: help with his scheme, and Whit gets Connie back.

At the warehouse, Whit appears just as Blackgaard is forcing Connie toward a car. Pinky is already tied up, and Richard steps out as the surprise partner. Then the plan takes a frightening turn: Richard pulls out a gun. He forces Blackgaard to his knees and makes him beg, while Whit plants himself in the line of fire, warning Richard that whoever digs a grave for revenge must dig two - one for his enemy and one for himself. Richard fires - and out squirts water. It is only a toy pistol. He never intended to wreck his life over a creep like Blackgaard, who scrambles away vowing they have not seen the last of him.

Agent Phillips bursts in and arrests everyone, but Richard has one more surprise: while watching the warehouse, he saw Phillips visiting Blackgaard again and again. The agent is a traitor who has been selling out the mission all along. Exposed, Phillips seizes the computer and escapes. Connie is left dizzy - the bad guys turned out good, the good guy turned out bad - but Whit stays strangely calm. Soon Blackgaard and Phillips eagerly power up their prize, only to watch it erase every secret on it, leaving nothing but a cheerful recorded message from Richard and Whit. Better the government lose its secrets completely, Whit says, than lose them to men like these. Blackgaard fumes that he is not finished with Whittaker - not by a long shot.