Jessica attends a gala, courtesy of an overeager agent who hopes to win her contract following the retirement of her original agent. However, suspicious circumstances strike again when Jessica first has to deal with a stranger in her room and the next morning, the police discover the murder of publishing magnate Mr. Weingart and the theft of an expensive necklace. While Jessica initially tries to opt out of the investigation, the arrest of a friendly busboy soon forces her again to use her sleuthing savvy to find the truth.
First of nine episodes to feature recurring character Dennis Stanton
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Chekhov's Gun: The police find a slightly bloodied flower petal on the floor and scratches on the victim's hand. Jessica realizes that the flower petal was from the boutonniere of Mr. Weingard's killer and that the victim dislodged the petal and cut his hand on the boutonniere as he struggled.
- Distinction Without a Difference: Zigzagged. Andy says he didn't steal the novel idea that Weingard then stole from him (based on The Brothers Karamazov) but rather adapted it.
- Dramatic Drop: Jessica drops the newspaper when she has her "Eureka!" Moment.
- Embarrassing Cover-Up: After being forced to escape to her balcony, Dennis tells Jessica that he had been seeing a married woman and had to flee the scene to avoid her husband. Actually, he had been in the Weingarts' suite, trying to steal the diamond necklace Mrs. Weingart had been wearing.
- Engineered Public Confession: Jessica goes to dinner with Dennis wearing a bug. When he realizes it, he makes his displeasure clear before running for the balcony and making his escape.
- Faking and Entering: Mr. Hatcher went to Mr. Weingard's suite only to beg for mercy. After losing control and strangling him, he stole the necklace to make the murder look like a burglary gone wrong.
- It Will Never Catch On: Jessica appears dubious when Dennis tells her he's thinking of having a series of books published about a roguish jewelry robber, implicitly based on his criminal career.
- However, in the season seven episode "The Great Twain Robbery", Dennis will accuse her of basing a character on him. Jessica's denial is unconvincing.
- I Would Say If I Could Say: Dennis answers Jessica's questioning by saying that if he were a thief, he wouldn't be a normal one. Then he proceeds to lay out the code of conduct he theoretically would follow, and ultimately confesses to her that, yes, he has stolen a number of things insured by a specific company over the years.
- Motor Mouth: Insurance investigator Shannon McBride talks pretty quickly and animatedly when introducing herself to Jessica.
- No Sympathy: Jessica's publisher Theo, who hated Weingard, and upon discovering he's dead, moves to sell his shares of Weingard's stock before the news gets out.
- Recycled In Space: Andy's book, an "adaptation" of The Brothers Karamazov, with the characters reimagined as Asteroid Miners.
- Saying Too Much: When she has dinner with Dennis, Jessica says that the police report says a red carnation petal was found at the scene of the crime, which she asks him about. It then clicks to Dennis that there's only one reason that Jessica would have any access to that information: trying to get him to confess to Axel's murder.
- Scoundrel Code: Dennis Stanton lays out his for Jessica during their private dinner. First, never steal anything his victims couldn't afford to lose; second, never steal anything of sentimental value to the victim, and finally, only steal items insured by a specific insurance company. The last one is for personal revenge, as the company in question refused to pay for a treatment that could have saved his wife's life.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The fate of Dennis's accomplice and brother-in-law is left unrevealed, as Dennis implicated him on tape. This revelation could have gotten him arrested or forced to resign, although the cops had earlier shown a reluctance to go after the man.
