Marcia has been loaned (trusted) with a pair of one of Carol's favorite earrings.
But when Cindy takes them without Marcia knowing it and then loses them ... she enlists Peter to help save her rear hind in "The Great Earring Caper."
The episode opens with Marcia having been loaned the earrings so she can wear them on a date, and has told her mother that they will be returned in the same condition in which they were found. Cindy watches Marcia pose in front of her mirror and is being a pest, as usual. Cindy asks if she can try them on, and of course Marcia says no. Then Marcia is called ... she's got a phone call, and the voice sounds fairly deep.
So not after Marcia has taken three steps from the room does Cindy immediately take the earrings ... and try them on. She's admiring herself in front of the mirror ... until she hears Marcia coming back. Uh-oh, so she hastily takes them off and hides them in a towel. Cindy goes to try to distract Marcia, who as it turns out is going to the library to study.
It's not long before the earrings wind up missing. Oh no! Now Cindy knows her you-know-what is in deep water.
So she turns to Peter, who has coincidentally invested in a hobby detective kit. Bad puns abound as Peter fancies himself as the next Jack Webb and Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet fame. Cindy explains her predicament and that she can't tell three people: Mom, Dad or Marcia. It isn't long before Peter is questioning everyone about the whereabouts of the earrings and accusing them of taking them, and basically making no progress in determining where the earrings are; he asks the questions in such a roundabout way so as to not make the others suspicious as to what's going on, or tip off Marcia.
Just then, Mike and Carol are making final preparations to go to a costume party they've been invited to. It's come to the last minute and they've yet to decide on a theme for their outfits, but finally settle on Antony and Cleopatra, the Queen of the Nile. And to complement Carol's outfit, she's going to see about Marcia getting those earrings back.
Cindy hears this and now, with time running short before Carol asks Marcia for the earrings, she has no choice but to explain to Marcia ... why she's going to be in big, big, BIG, BIG trouble. In wanting her to take the fall for the missing earrings and, oh say, possibly initiate a huge rift between mother and daughter that can never be repaired and Carol shouting at Marcia something like, "Don't you dare come home tonight ... or ev ... " ...
... "That's YOUR opinion!" says an immediately wise Marcia, grabbing her by the arm and now Cindy's going to take responsibility for her own actions.
Marcia makes Cindy tell exactly what happened. "You loaned them to Marcia ... then I loaned them to me," says Cindy, Carol's eyebrows turning upward, and then sharply downward. Carol's pissed, rightly so, and now wants to know why she took them without permission, particularly since Marcia already told her no.
Before Carol can get her explanation, Mike comes in wanting to leave, as the party is going to start soon and they want to get there on time. Carol explains the situation and Mike, now himself unhappy, wants to know exactly what happened and calls everyone into the room to find out what they know.
So taking over the investigation from Peter, Mike has the steps retraced as to what happened. And so after Cindy took off the earrings, hid them in the towel and returned a few minutes later to find them gone, we find out that basically Jan, then Alice had removed the towel to do laundry.
But how did the towel appear on the sink without the earrings? Well, just after Alice put the towel in the washing machine, she remembered something Carol told her: Don't pick up after the kids; they know to put a towel in the hamper rather than leave it on the sink. So Alice puts it back.
But the earrings ... probably stayed in the washing machine.
And so the action shifts to the service porch, where the earrings are found. One in still fairly good, wearable condition .. the other damaged beyond repair. Well, Carol's just going to have to without the earrings. Just before she leaves, Carol tells Cindy she wants to talk to her tomorrow ... and it won't be good.
And so it was with Peter's first ... and last (as it turns out) detective case.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Amateur Sleuth: For this episode, Peter.
- Fleeting Passionate Hobby: Peter as a detective.
- Minimalist Cast: One of the few Brady episodes to have no guest stars.
- Shout-Out: To Dragnet, with Peter's questioning delivery.
