The InBESTigators (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - The Case of the Pestering Prank Caller - full transcript

[upbeat instrumental rock music playing]

[voice over]
The Case of the Pestering Prank Caller.

[beep]

[whirring]

When you hire the Inbestigators,

you can count on superior investigating
skills and cutting edge technology.

Which was exactly what
I told Maudie last Thursday.

But people count on superior investigating
skills and cutting edge technology.

No.

But I’m positive that
the Franklin cube could--

No.



-Can I just tell you about--
-No.

If there was an award for the most
frustrating person on the planet,

Maudie would win it.

Then she wouldn’t turn up to accept
the award. That’s how frustrating she is.

You always say it’s important
to hear all the facts!

That’s true.
Okay, tell me about the Franklin cube.

Really? Um, well, let’s see...

I was so surprised that she let
me tell her about the Franklin cube

that I couldn’t remember what
I was gonna tell her about it.

-Um, well... it’s a cube...
-I was expecting more facts.

Yes. Well. Um...

-[mobile phone rings]
-Oh look, No Caller ID.

Must be highly confidential,
I’d better take this.

-[clears throat] Hello? Hello?
-[caller hangs up]



Great. It was a random hang up.

-Well?
-Must’ve been a wrong number.

I’ve been getting a few lately.

I think I sometimes get tongue-tied
around Maudie because she’s so smart.

Either that or I panic,

because I’m not used to the
pressure of being taller than someone.

Anyway, I told her she should
have come to Tom’s with me.

Who’s Tom?

Tom Franklin from
Franklin’s Locks and Security.

He makes all this cool stuff, like,
remote window locks,

video doorbells and... the Franklin cube.

We got this ad from them for a free quote
in the letterbox so I told Mum

we should get one and she said
“we’re not doing that, Ezra”.

So I went to see Tom on Saturday.

[Ezra] Tom is really nice,

and he’s got a kid called
Luka in my little sister’s class.

Hi Ezra!

-[Ezra] And Luka’s super smart.
-[Maudie] And?

Is there a point to this story?

I just thought you’d be interested.

Tom’s a single Dad, like yours is.

And Luka hangs out with him all the time,
like you do with your Dad.

So?

We have a lot in common,
and we’re all in the security business!

Which is why he and I bonded
over the Franklin cube.

And then you pair it with your phone
and it sends you a log of who called you,

when they called you
and where they called you from

and also a map of their location!

-Wow!
-[Maudie] That's it?

Why would we need a gadget like that?
We could easily search ourselves--

Because it would make us look very
professional. I tried to get one for free.

Tom, we could trial the
Franklin cube at the Inbestigators,

and give you a plug out on social media.

You have social media?

No. But I will in two years when
I’m allowed to have an account.

-But Tom said no.
-Yes. But for a very good reason.

-Things have been a bit slow here lately.
-[front door beeps]

Are you sure you don’t need
me any more today, Tom?

Yeah, sorry Jack.

Hey, would you toss that cat out?
I don’t know how it always sneaks in here.

It obviously doesn’t know
how allergic we both are!

I don’t mind. He keeps me company
when there's no customers.

-Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to--
-No, no, no.

I’m really sorry for cutting
your shift short.

It's Ok. Things will pick up, you’ll see.
See you next Saturday.

Look, I wish I could help you out, Ezra,

but I can’t afford to
give away my equipment.

I can’t even pay Jack for a whole day!

That’s okay, pretty sure my partner
Maudie and I can find the money.

[Maudie] Where from?

We don’t have any money.

But we can ask your
Dad for his credit card?

Mm.
Well, now that I’ve heard all the facts...

I knew I could get her across the line!

-... my answer is still no.
-What? But...

-[knock on door]
-[Mrs Maniaci] Ezra Banks!

I want to talk to you!

[Ezra] If there was one thing that could
make me forget about the Franklin cube,

it was Mrs Maniaci from up the road.

She’s Italian and grows her own
fruit and I visit her all the time.

And by her, I mean her backyard.

I know what you do!
And I want you to stop!

Is this about the plum tree
because I can explain.

-No.
-The raspberries?

-No.
-The hole in the fence?

-What hole in the fence?
-Nothing.

Ezra! This is about the prank calls!

Phew.

I one hundred percent had no
idea what she was talking about.

I know it’s you! Every day, you call
right in the middle of my soap opera.

I do what?

You know I’m watching my favourite show
and you call up and say not one word.

-Mrs Maniaci, I promise--
-Today...

I’m about to see Chase
and Amanda find each other,

after Amanda was kidnapped by her
uncle who’s not really her uncle,

and boom,
the phone she rings and I missing it!

What time is your show on?

Four thirty. Who are you?

Maudie. It can’t have been Ezra who rang.

I’ve been with him that whole time
and he hasn’t used his phone...

-Well, he hasn’t dialled it.
-And

what about yesterday and the day
before that and the day before that?

I swear, Mrs Maniaci, it wasn’t me!

What makes you think it was Ezra
if whoever it was didn’t say a word?

Is a boy. I hear him sneeze. Two times.

A prank caller that sneezes?
Never heard that one before.

I was about to tell Mrs Maniaci that she
should just leave her phone off the hook

-during her show when Maudie said...
-We’ll take the case.

What case? I don’t have a case.

We’re a detective agency.
We’ll find out who’s prank calling you.

-We will?
-So, you know who do this?

Not yet, but leave it with us.

Even though I had no idea how we were
supposed to track down a prank caller,

I thought we could make some
money to buy the Franklin cube.

We’ll find who’s making the calls Mrs M.,

and I’m sure you’ll find
our rates very reasonable,

twenty dollars a day, plus expenses.

You find the boy,
I make you a rhubarb pie.

Deal.

Don’t judge me,
you haven’t tasted her pie.

Mrs Maniaci left and Maudie
had some explaining to do.

Okay genius, any idea how we’re
going to find this random caller,

who could be calling from
the other side of the country?

I don’t think that’s likely.

Oh, really?! And you would know how?

Because I think the caller is local.
Could you please unlock your phone for me?

What did Mrs Maniaci
say that made you think that?

She didn’t say anything.

Did I mention that Maudie was frustrating?

Mrs Maniaci didn’t say anything that made
me think the caller was from around here.

-You did.
-What?

You got a mysterious phone call
with No Caller ID just before.

Yeah, that was a wrong number.

And you’ve been getting
mysterious phone calls

between four thirty and
five for the last three days.

They were all during that time?

Yes. And what are the chances of
you and Mrs Maniaci, two doors apart,

getting randomly called
at the same time every day?

Maudie was right, we had a case.
Which we needed to solve immediately.

-[Ezra's mum] Ezra! Dinner!
-I’ll be there soon Mum!

[Ezra's mum] No, now!

There are certain disadvantages
to running a detective agency

and being eleven years old.

Maudie and I decided
to start up the investigation

the next afternoon with Ava and Kyle.

[Ezra]
We told them everything we knew so far.

Woh! That is amazing!

Especially the part about
Chase finding Amanda

after she’d been kidnapped by
her uncle who wasn’t her uncle.

In Mrs Maniaci’s soap opera.
He wasn’t her uncle.

So, we need to interview
some more neighbours to

see if anyone else has been
receiving the same calls.

-Got it!
-And we need to wait

for today’s mystery phone call between
four thirty and five and record it.

And we have to do it all before
my Mum calls me for dinner.

We should split up.

You two stay here and record the phone
and Kyle and I will do the interviews.

Let Ava and Kyle handle the
investigation without us? No way.

Yes way!

Ava, you get distracted with conversation,

and Kyle forgets what
he’s supposed to be asking.

That is so not true!

Okay, what are you supposed to be asking?

Can I have a hint?

Also, you can’t just go knocking
at some strange house across the road.

Amelia lives in the house across the road.
I had a sleepover there on Saturday night.

And Toby lives in this street too.
I can easily ask him about...

the thing you’ll tell me I’m
supposed to be asking him about.

In the end we decided that Maudie would
stay with my phone and record the call.

And Ava, Kyle and I
would talk to my neighbours.

Kyle went to Toby’s,
I did the neighbours I knew,

then we questioned the rest together,

while Ava went to Amelia’s.
Which seemed like a good plan.

She can’t be still in there.
We’ve done like eight houses.

[Ava] Okay, bye!

What took you so long?!

Excuse me, we had a lot to talk about.

Really?
Have they been getting prank called too?

Um, back in a sec.

Yep. She actually forgot to ask.

But she went back and found out that...

Amelia’s family haven’t had any
weird calls between four thirty and five.

Okay, so that leaves Toby,
Belinda in the green house,

and Mr Quinn,
who have all received phone calls.

So it must be someone who
has all those neighbours’ numbers.

And a kid. A kid with a cold.

Like clockwork,

our caller had rung my phone while
we were out and Maudie had recorded it.

[Maudie] Hello, this is Ezra’s phone.

[the caller sniffs]

-He’s definitely sniffing.
-Or she.

Yeah that could be anyone.

Kids have colds all the time. My sister
has a cold, wait is it my sister?!

-Shh!
-[Maudie] Hello?

-[caller sniffles]
-[hangs up]

[sighs] Maudie,
if we had the Franklin cube right now,

we would be able
to find out who this was.

The Franklin cube!

What’s the Franklin Cube?

I told the others all
about the Franklin Cube,

hoping they’d insist we buy
one but then Maudie said...

You went to see Tom at the
security shop on Saturday, right?

Yeah.

You gave Tom your card, and your
mystery phone calls started on Monday.

Yeah?

We need to go back to Mrs Maniaci, Toby,

Belinda in the green house and Mr Quinn,

and ask if any of them
took up this free quote offer.

I think I spoke on behalf
of all of us when I said...

What?

If someone wanted to sell
you a gadget that traced calls,

what better way to convince
you than by making annoying calls

that made you want to trace them?

[Ezra] I should write a thank you letter

to Maudie’s Dad for
sending her to my school

so we could start
a detective agency together.

We quickly ran back to all the
neighbours who’d been prank called,

[Ezra] and asked them who
had also received a free quote.

Toby’s Mum got a free
quote from Tom on Monday.

And so did Mrs Maniaci,
Mr Quinn and Belinda in the green house.

All before they started getting hang-ups.

So we’ve found our prank caller.

But it can’t be Tom! He’s a friend
of my Dad’s! He wouldn’t do that!

It’s not Tom.

I knew it wasn’t Tom either

We arranged to meet at the
security shop the next morning,

which was Saturday. Before we went in,
I made an announcement.

Guys, for the record,
I know who the prank caller is.

It’s Jack, the guy who works for Tom.

I just wanted to say who did it for once.
Before you did.

Okay. Except it’s not Jack.

How could it not be Jack?!

-[buzzing]
-[indistinct conversation]

He’s a kid, he works here,

and he needs Tom to sell more
stuff so he can have longer shifts!

Tom did the free quotes
in your street on Monday.

Jack only works Saturdays.
He couldn’t have

followed up those Monday visits
with prank calls during the week.

But no one else works here!

No one else works here.
But someone else is always here.

Luka?

[sneezes, sniffs]

But how did you know
he had a cold, Maudie?

He doesn’t have a cold...
He has an allergy.

[Maudie] Ezra told me that Tom said
‘we’re both allergic’ about the cat.

But Jack cuddled the cat, so Tom must
have been talking about someone else.

Maudie, you are amazing. Isn’t she, Ezra?

Yes, she's amazing. But how can we
prove that he made the calls?

Hi, I’m Maudie. I’m the one who
answered Ezra’s phone on Thursday.

Friday.

Poor Luka. He got really scared that
he would get in trouble with his Dad.

so we asked him to come outside.
He told us that he

knew his Dad’s shop wasn’t doing well.
So he tried to help.

He went through the list of houses
where his Dad had given free quotes,

and then made annoying calls
to make people buy the Franklin cube.

You can’t bully someone into
buying something, Luka.

But my Dad’s black cube
is so clever and it’s not selling.

That’s no excuse for harassing people

and interrupting their
soap operas which is very rude.

I’m sorry.

There are far better ways
to try and sell the Franklin cube.

Like what?

You could set up a stall here,
outside the shop, and demonstrate it.

You could make posters,
and have cupcakes and balloons...

Ava may get distracted sometimes,
never when she’s event planning.

She’s always awesome at that.

[Ezra] And not just planning it, doing it.

And don’t forget, with every cupcake

you get a free turn of the
world renowned Franklin Cube!

Do not be the one who misses out!

[Ezra] Tom sold three Franklin cubes,

and got four orders for video
doorbells and remote window locks.

Tom didn’t know why we were helping him,
but he was super grateful.

I said ‘I know how you can say thank you’
and he said,

‘I’m still not giving you a Franklin cube,
Ezra’. But he did give me a sensor light.

For all that night time work we do.

[Ezra's mother]
Ezra! Time to come inside please!

[upbeat instrumental rock music playing]

[voice over]
The Case of the Spoiled Sports Day.

[beep, whirring]

This week it was one of our own
Inbestigators who needed help.

Ezra, Mum said can you please
help me do my Citizenship poster.

No, I’m filming.

But she can’t,
she has to hop on a conference call.

Well I can’t either, don’t sit down.

[sighs] Fine, I’ll help. But I have
to upload this so no talking okay?

So which one of the Inbestigators
needed your help?

[Ezra] Last Friday was our
school Athletics Carnival,

which is Kyle’s most
favourite day of the year.

[Poppy[ Oh! It’s Kyle!

Yay. I’m so happy the story is gonna
be about Kyle. I like Kyle.

-Do you know what I like?
-When I don’t talk?

Kyle loves the athletics carnival because,
a) there’s no schoolwork,

b) he can do sport all day and
c) he can do sport all day.

Last year he competed
in every single event.

[Ezra] He did the discus.

[Kyle grunts]

[Ezra] He did the hurdles.

[Ezra] He did the high jump.

Yes!

[Ezra] He did the shotput.

Ah!

[Ezra] He even did the
pack-up-the-sports equipment,

which wasn’t even an event but
Mrs Parides still gave him a ribbon.

-Kyle is a good citizen.
-What?

He was helping.

See? I am a good citizen because I help.

Really? Because you are
not helping me tell this story.

Kyle loves all the events but he
loves the running events most.

On your mark!

[Ezra] He does the fifteen hundred
and the four hundred,

and the two hundred but his best
of all is the one hundred.

He is really, really fast.

Yes!

Kyle loves coming first,

because it means that he gets to compete
at the district athletics carnival.

Last year at District he came third.

So what happened this year?!

This year everything went wrong.

[Ezra] Kyle was super excited,

because the one hundred metres
was the first event of the day.

Obviously there’s been a lot of
anticipation in the build up to this race

but I had a great breakfast.

I was a bit nervous so I only
had eight bowls of cereal.

Kyle, what are you doing?

Pre event interview. All the top athletes
do them so I really need to practice.

Actually, you really need
to get to the start line.

Oh!

Kyle lined up with the other runners.

-[Ezra] He was focused.
-[Mr Barker] On your marks!

-[Ezra] He was steady.
-[Mr Barker] Get set!

-[Ezra] He was like a panther.
-[Mr Barker] Go!

[Ezra] And he leapt out onto the track!

Maudie, Ava and I were all cheering
for Kyle because he’s our friend.

A good citizen is honest.

Also, we’re in the same house and
we wanted him to get the points.

Which he really looked like getting.

Kyle was flying down the track, so was
Ethan from the other Grade Five class,

but Kyle is a really strong finisher,

so we knew he would overtake
Ethan in the last few metres,

because that’s what happens every year.

[Ezra]
And then just as Kyle was gaining on him,

something terrible happened.

[Ezra] Kyle lost.

That’s not terrible, Ezra.

That’s disappointing and annoying
but it’s not terrible to lose.

I know. Kyle losing was not the
terrible thing that happened.

-Well done Ethan McLaughlin from 4B!
-[crowd cheers]

The winner of the
one hundred metres sprint,

what a fantastic--

He threw the finish flag?
That’s terrible!

I told you.
I have never seen Mrs Parides so mad.

Kyle Klimson,
that is the worst display of sportsmanship

I have ever seen!
You could have hurt someone!

I am lost for words,
oh no, I’ve found them again,

you are banned from
the rest of the day’s events!

Now apologise to Ethan,

and then you can go and pick up that
flagpole and put it back in the ground!

Kyle! Kyle!

Kyle did not apologise and
he did not pick up the flagpole.

Kyle is not a good citizen.

-I’ll get the flagpole, Mrs Parides.
-[Mrs Parides] Leave it, Ava!

Kyle needs to pick that up and put it
back at the finish line, so the junior

school can run their one hundred metres.

-I never thought Kyle was a bad sport.
-Neither did we.

-Maybe Kyle’s not used to losing.
-I’ve seen him lose before.

One time, at mixed basketball,
in the last seconds of the game,

it was a draw,
and Pixie and I were defending,

and the ball was up the other end of the
court so Pixie was showing me a handclap,

and we didn’t see the
ball come down the court,

and it went through the hoop and we lost.

Sorry, what’s your point?

Kyle didn’t get mad.

I mean, he did a bit, but once we showed
him the handclap and he forgot about it.

What was the handclap?

-What?
-How did the handclap go?

-That’s not part of the story.
-You just said it in the story.

But the actual handclap is not,
shouldn’t you colour your poster?

The important part of the story,

is that we needed to get Kyle to
put the flagpole back in the ground.

We found him in the most unlikely
place to be during an athletics carnival.

[Ezra] The library.

[Kyle sniffles]

-Kyle? Are you okay?
-Do you need a tissue?

-I’ve just got an allergy.
-What are you allergic to?

-Books.
-[Poppy] Poor Kyle.

That would be a really bad allergy
to have. Books are everywhere.

He didn’t really have an allergy.
He was upset.

Oh. So what did you say?

-It’s okay to be upset you know.
-[Ava] Of course it is!

Crying is a very normal
response when you’re sad.

Or angry. Or shocked.
Or worried. Or stressed.

Maudie we get it.

I’m just saying Kyle will be feeling
all those things after what happened.

But I don’t even know what happened!

You threw the flag across the field and
got banned from the rest of the day.

I mean before that. With the race.

Kyle was still upset about losing
the race. Which was weird.

Kyle, I have known you since we
were five and you are not a sore loser.

What’s the matter?

The matter is I don’t understand.
I did all my prep.

I practised my starts, you saw me during
the week, my reaction times were perfect.

[Miss Tan] But the remainder is seven
so that’s an odd number...

-[school bell rings]
-[Miss Tan exclaims] Kyle!

Kyle, can you stop doing
that every time the bell rings!

And I practised my sprints.

[Miss Tan shrieks]

Kyle!

Miss Tan really needs
to look up when she eats.

I had to make sure I wasn’t
puffed out in the last few metres,

which is where I always
win because Ethan gets tired.

Ethan gets tired?
But it’s such a short race.

But in the one hundred metres,

your fastest is just before
the middle of the race,

so whoever slows down the least at
the end wins. Which is usually Kyle.

It’s usually me.
I count my steps so I know exactly...

-Kyle, what is it?
-I must have counted my steps wrong.

But Kyle it doesn’t matter
why you lost the race,

there’s no excuse
for throwing that flagpole.

I know.

Kyle was so embarrassed.

He really didn’t want to have
to go out in front of everyone

and pick up that flagpole,
but he knew he had to.

Because he is responsible.

Or is he "reponsible"? Because that
says "reponsible". Good spelling.

Well, I know how to spell mean. E-Z-R-A.

That doesn’t spell mean,
that spells Ezra, oh...

Sorry. You’re right, Kyle was responsible.

He came out of the library
and we went to see Mrs Parides.

I can’t believe I threw that flagpole.
My Dad is going to be so mad.

What made you lose
your temper when Ethan won?

I don’t know.
We were fine before the race.

We were mucking around and everything.

[Kyle] Ethan was measuring the track,

and I was pulling out the
mats for the high jump.

[Kyle] Ethan!! Where did you go?
I can’t see you!

Ethan was measuring the track?

Yes and I was setting up the
mats for the high jump... oh no!

I’m going to miss the high jump and the
long jump and the triple jump and the...

Kyle was finally realising that he had
been banned from the rest of the day.

He was gutted.

Do you think Mrs Parides will change her
mind and let me do the other events?

Do you think she would notice
if I went in them anyway?

What if I wore a wig?

There was no getting around the
fact that Kyle had been banned,

and that this was his worst day ever.

Poor Kyle. I know he did a bad
thing but I still feel sorry for him.

We did too.
But not as sorry as Kyle felt for himself.

My life is over!!

[Ava] Get up, Kyle!

You need to put that flag in so
the juniors can race their 100 metres.

-Fine.
-And apologise to Ethan.

[Kyle groans]

We found Mrs Parides and Ethan
and Kyle took a deep breath,

like he was sitting down to the biggest
plate of green vegetables ever and said,

[sighs] Congratulations on your win.

Thanks.

I’m really sorry for
being such a bad sport.

That’s okay.

I’m sorry Mrs Parides. I really am.

I know you are, Kyle.

How about you go and grab that flagpole
so the juniors can get on with their race?

[Ezra] We were so relieved
that Kyle had apologised,

and the athletics carnival could continue.

The flagpole was still lying
where Kyle had thrown it.

so he picked it up and Ava and I waited
next to the divot in the ground,

where it had it been at the
hundred metres finish line.

Bring it over here Kyle!

All he had to do was stick the flag back
in the hole where it was before.

But Maudie, of course,
had to make it more complicated.

Maudie, what are you doing?

The divot is already
here where the flag was!

I know but don’t put it in yet, Kyle.

-You don’t need to measure it again.
-This is a hundred metres.

No, this is a hundred metres.

What do you mean? How could there be
two different one hundred metres?

Was the wheel broken?

The wheel was definitely not broken.

[Mrs Parides] One hundred.

And you’re sure you
went from the start line?

Absolutely.

So if this is a hundred metres,
then that finish line is only...

Ninety-four. Exactly the place where
Kyle usually takes over from Ethan.

Which is interesting,

seeing as this morning it was
Ethan who measured the track.

-[Ava] Oh my goodness!
-[Ezra] I can’t believe it.

You know what this means?

Yes! Actually no. What’s going on?

Ethan cheated.

Ethan cheated?! But how? Oh!
Because when he measured the track

in the morning Kyle didn’t see him because

he was rolled up
inside the high jump mats.

But why? Oh! Because he knew that

Kyle always beat him
in the last few metres.

Yes!

So if the track was shorter,

Kyle couldn’t catch up and
Ethan would definitely win.

Well done, Poppy.

-Can I be an Inbestigator now?
-No.

Ethan admitted to Mrs Parides
that he had cheated.

Ethan is a terrible citizen by the way.

He got disqualified from
the one hundred metres,

and he got banned from the rest of the
event and he had to apologise to Kyle.

I’m really sorry for cheating.

Congratulations on your win.

I didn’t win.

Kyle was the winner now
because Ethan was disqualified.

So what about the District Athletics?

Mrs Parides, Miss Tan and
Mr McGillick all had a big chat,

and decided that Kyle shouldn’t
have been a bad sport,

but being banned from the rest of the
day’s events was enough punishment.

-[Ezra] So...
-Okay Kyle,

you can represent the school at
District in the one hundred metres.

[all] Yes!

Mrs Parides,
is there javelin at District?

Because Kyle did throw that flagpole...

-Go back to your house please Ezra.
-...a very long way.

Yep.

It was hard for Kyle to
watch the rest of the day

and not compete but that
didn’t stop him getting involved.

Give me an M, give me an A,
give me a U, give me a D- -

[Maudie] Kyle!

You’re making it very hard to concentrate.

Sorry.

[whispers] Give me an M,
give me an A, give me a U.

Finished!

I added a box after listening to
your story. I am a good friend.

Oh that’s sweet, Poppy.
Yeah, I was a good friend.

I meant Maudie. But I guess you were too.

[upbeat instrumental rock music playing]