04 | Hunting for clues

This is an ABC Podcast. Truth Squad. There's a lot going on in Macroy. Here's where we're If we wanna access the real Zack Plug him in. Lovelace. Status report. Yeah. Zach, love lice.

Status report, please, Zach. Pollock used the password. He's the one controlling. Covered. Thank you everyone. Please take your seats. Hey, guys, over here. Mitchell, wait. We can't sit with Zach. We can't keep leaving him out of all of this. But he's recording us. Remember. Remember? Settle down! Whatever we say in front of him will be seen by Pollock. We can't risk letting him know what we're up to. I guess you're right.

But it doesn't mean we can't be friends with him. Stop talking, please. Now I know we're all keen to get out of here. But I have some exciting news to report. Yeah, that you're an evil mastermind with a robot spy. Tangsh. I've personally been informed that Four students from McElroy High have made the shortlist for the Jaffel Young Innovators Scholarship.

They are Alexandra Reyes, Pippen Malik, Riley Novak, and Mitchell Sharp. I made this shortlist? I can't believe it. Yeah, of course he did genius. But, even more excitingly, we have a very special guest to tell us more. It's Jaffles. 17-year-old founder and CEO. No way. Madeline Tolinsky. This cannot be happening. Settle down. Wow, thank you, thank you, Makaroi. She's actually here. Yeah, I know. I can see her too.

Okay, calm your farm. Thank you. That was intense. Love you, Maddie. I love you too, person who I'm not yet on pet name terms with. Okay, thank you, Mr. Pollock. Now what normally happens with these things is weeks of boring interviews and blah blah blah. But that's not how we work at Jaffel. Instead, someone is actually going to secure the scholarship today. What? That's right, I've made things a little more interesting with my amazing Talinsky treasure hunt.

All you need to do is find me. Find me, and the scholarship is yours. Found you! Nice try, but no. Pretty sure you're not eligible anyway. Pay attention and make sure you read between the lines. Here's your first clue. The first step towards your future begins by getting in touch with Macaroid's past. Good luck. I cannot wait to meet the winner. What just happened? Thank you, Madeline Talinsky. Good luck to the scholarship contenders. Everyone else? Dismissed.

Pollock's leaving. We need to follow him. We can't let him out of our sight. Dang, I've got to find Madeline. I need that scholarship. Yeah, but. Mitch, T, wait up. What's the hurry? Zach! Hi. Uh the hurry is... We are going to investigate a lead in the rat meat thing. I want to help. Why doesn't Zach just come with me? What? Then at least he can't let the rats know what you're up to? Our show isn't going to help me stay at the school. The scholarship will. Alright.

Let us know if you find anything juicy and don't bite off more rat meat than you can chew. Okay, bye. This is fine. See ya. I'll be fine. I can totally do this on the The library? What makes you think we'll find anything here? Because of what Madeline said. Make sure you read between the lines?

I think that was part of the clue. Where better to read about McEroy's past than the library? If you're interested in your past, you could try FamilyTrove.com, the n number one genealogy website For investigating your ancestry. Sorry, I'm trying to stop it. It's fine. Don't worry about it. It's not fine. It's weird. But I'm working on how to override it. Oh, cool. That's great. Ugh Looks like Alex figured it out too. What are you doing here, Zach?

Aren't we meant to solve this on our own, Mitchell? I didn't hear Madeline say that. I didn't hear Madeline say that. Listen, Mitch. I haven't spent literal years in the computer lab working towards this. only to be beaten by a snotty little seventh grader. I am NOT a seventh grader. The scholarship is mine. Only if you find Madeline.

Not now, K! And that's why I'm going to win this thing, Mitchell. I'm not as easily distracted. Take the call, Mitchell. I'll head in and see if I can find the clue. Okay, thanks, Zach. Tee, I'm a little busy here What do you reckon Pollock's password would be? I already tried Lovelace. Pollock's password T where are you? Pollock's office? What? What happened to not biting off more than you could chew? You said that, not me. Yeah, well maybe you should have listened. So did you find anything?

Actually, I did find one thing. He's got way too many photos of his dog bam bam. And I thought supervillains were all cat people. I have no idea what our principal's password Acting principle. Acting principal's password is. And I really have to go, so let me know if you find anything useful. And try not to get caught. You're full of good advice. Thanks, Miss Croc. Miss Croc, you're part of this. Uh-huh.

Isn't it exciting? So do you give us a clue or Yes. Great. But first, you have to answer a question on McElroy's history. Get it right, and then you get the clue. And if we get it wrong, then you have to put away this giant box of books. But that'll take ages. Which is why you want to get the question right. Miss Reyes managed to answer it no problem. All right. What is it? Hang on. Okay, here it is.

Before becoming the biggest producer of sugar in the region, what was town founder Robert McElroy's first love? I, uh Is it uh sailing? No, sorry, that's not right. I have to do the whole box of books? I'm afraid so. Okay, I've just put away my last book. Ugh, yeah, me too. Let's go. Miss Croc! We're finished. Oh, well done. Okay, so here's your clue. In the old part of town, Robert made a good point. McEroy's future was not set in stone.

The old part of town. The statue of Macroy in the town square. Well done. Oh, I wasn't meant to say that. Let's go. Let's just hope the others haven't figured it out yet. You two took your time. Ugh, great. Alex and Bippen are already here. Well, at least they haven't figured out the rest of the clue. It's something to do with the statue though, right? I can't believe you've brought help Mitch.

You so don't deserve to work at Jaffel if you can't even work this out by yourself. Well, if you're such a genius, what's the second part of Madeline's clue me? Hey Mitch. Come here for a sec. Nice try, Bippin, but I'm not sharing any more of my methods until I find Madeline. Translation? I have no idea. Are you kidding me? Look. Do you know what you've got last year? Yeah. The statue is pointing. Pointing. Could that be it? Zach, you're a genius. Yeah. So which way is he pointing?

I've got a compass on my phone. Okay, Bobby Mac is pointing southwest. And if we draw a line on a map along that compass bearing, we hit a car dealership. A bunch of houses, a park, and Greenfield Childcare Centre. That's it. Children. He's pointing to the future of Makaroi. Oh, sorry, it's okay. I don't think they noticed. before they do. Thank you.

Um, can I help you boys? Hi, I'm here to see Madeline. Okay, Madeline who? Madeline Talinsky. Madeline Talinsky? The CEO of Jackal? Why in the world would she be here? I thought that was it. Hey, it was worth a try. Oh tea. You okay? Did you find anything? Nup. Pollock has been buying blocks of land, which feels a bit dodgy, but that gets us exactly nowhere. Well

If it makes you feel any better, I'll lead on the treasure hunt just fizzled. Oh, Mitchell, you might want to put the phone down. T, hold on a second. What? Why? Mitchell, how's the Talinsky hunt? Great, thanks Mr. Pollock. On track. And Zach, you're helping? Uh-huh. Uh got anything fun planned this afternoon, Mr. Pollock? No, Mitch. Mitchell? I don't. I have to head back to the school. Life isn't all treasure hunts when you have responsibilities. Oh. Okay. Okay. Well, stay safe, boys.

D, are you still there? Great. What? She hung up. I can't think. Wanna go to Stefan's? He sponsors our show, might give us a free pastry. I could use a sugar hit. Hey Stefan. Mychel, this is Zach. Nice to meet you, Zach. Hey, how's it going? Where's Tang? She deserves serious kudos on that Panther episode.

So, what are you two up to? We're looking for Madeline Tolinsky. Madeline Talinsky? What from Jaffel? Yeah. She set this treasure hunt and whoever finds her wins a scholarship. We had a clue that this If Robert McElroy was pointing to the future, we thought it might be the childcare center, but we were wrong. Ah yes, Robert McElroy. He's the inspiration for my macarons. Here, try one. On the house. See? Told you free pastry.

Thanks Stefan. Uh-huh. Oh, by the way, Bobby Mac is not pointing at the childcare centre. He's pointing at the mill. Everyone knows that. Not everyone. The old sugar mill? Yeah, yeah. McElroy brought sugarcane to the region. That was the first refinery, built with his money. But it's been abandoned for years. It's a dump. T and I staked it out for a story once. Yeah, but Look at this article. Cheese Toasty Proprietary Limited, purchased for an undisclosed sum last year.

Cheese toasty. Oh, Jaffle! If it's Jaffles you're after, you should try Molly's Cafe on Main Street. They're only$4.50 with any coffee. You okay, Zach? I'm okay now. I think. Sorry. Can you guys hear that music? What? This music? No no, something else. What are you talking about, Zach? I. I really don't know.

Oh no. Zach, are you okay to get a rigal on? Yeah, I'm all good, Mitch. Good. Cause Alex just rode past. I bet she's on her way to the mill. I know a shortcut that should get us there before her. But we have to hurry. Wow, this place is a wasteland. Why would Jaffel buy this? Yeah, not exactly somewhere you'd expect to find Madeline Talinsky. How are you supposed to get through the fence? Uh oh, there's a hole over here. Okay. Here. Thanks.

But okay, your turn. No no. This is your moment. Besides, I need some time alone for a bit. Are you okay? You still don't look great. Uh yeah. I think I know how to stop my uh involuntary product recommendations. Okay, well good luck. You too. Thanks. Hello, Madeline? Mitch, you're the first! Yes Come in! Have a seat. Thanks. Sorry. It's all good. Nice? It's just temporary. Yeah, yeah. Totally. Impressive work today, Mitchell. Thanks.

But I I did have some help. Nothing wrong with admitting that. Well one, it wasn't against the rules, and two, do you think I run all of Japal on my own? Well I sort of do. But I'm the exception to the rule. So you must have a lot of questions. Uh yeah. Why do you have an office in an abandoned sugar mill? Straight to the point. I like it. Well, I know I said your school was chosen randomly for this little game, but that's not entirely true.

I'm not only announcing your school's winner of the Jaffel Scholarship, I'm also announcing that McElroy will be the site of Jaffel's new regional future hub. I am really sorry. Not now, T. You should probably take that. Are you sure? Looks like it must be important. Okay. I'll be real quick. T, what is it? I'm kind of in the middle of- We need your help. What?

Where are you? Pollock's house? What? Why? When you saw Pollock, he said he was going back to the school. It was a perfect chance to snoop around. Key, get out of there. I can't. I'm in- in his study and he's here. He's downstairs. Mitchell, I don't know what to do. Mitchell, everything okay? Uh, sorry. Uh-uh I'll I'll just be one second. No, of course. I just need to tell you that, well, Alex is outside, and if you're still on the phone when she arrives, it's about priorities, Mitch.

Okay. Um hey true squad. Right now I'm trapped. Okay, I'm going to try and sneak out while he's yes mr. Pollock you live here Mitchell why do you have bands? Mitchell? Oh my god. Thank you. I've got to get out of here. I found this little guy running around the street looking very confused. Lucky your address was on his tag. Bam bam, where have you been? How did you get out, you naughty little dog? Uh uh the side gate was open. How uh how strange. Well

Thanks Mitchell. Um uh Mr. Pollock, I was meaning to ask what do you feed Bam Bam? Dog food. What else would I feed a dog? Uh of course. Okay. Okay, see ya. Bye, Bam Bam. Bye, Mitchell. Thank you.

Dang, you okay? You are amazing! I'm on my way home. Meet me there! I've got something to show you! Mitchell, Zach, come on in. Hey Tang! The boys are here. Thanks, Mr. Way. Mitch, am I glad to see you? You will not believe what I found out. Oh, Zack. Hi. It's okay. You can speak. You sure? What about your Allergies. I edited them. What does that mean? Well, I don't know exactly. I kind of just looked inside at my code and made some changes. Now

I can choose what I upload and what I keep to myself. That's awesome, Zach. Yeah, not a bad afternoon's work. At least one of us had a win today. I lost the scholarship to Alex and Tang found nothing at Pollux. Actually, that's what I was about to tell you. I guess it's safe to show Zach too. Duval has been taken care of. Everything is under control. I'll wait for further instructions. No way! Pollock's behind Duval's disappearance. Yep, but you're missing the biggest part.

What do you mean? The person on the phone, they were like his boss. So, Pollock i isn't the big bad. It it's whoever he was talking to. Exactly. And we're gonna find out who that is. You've been listening to McElroy Uncovered, an eight part adventure series made by the ABC. We've got heaps more podcasts you might like to listen to. Are you into weird facts about animals? Like how sloths only poo once a week? Or did you ever wonder why people think of dogs as our best animal friends?

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