Homicide detail. A 38 year old housewife disappears, and Joe Friday needs to find out why.

Reading the report from Mr Abbot, Joe learns about the grouchy man who claims his wife ran off. She isn’t with relatives, and when a neighbor boy came round to offer information, Mr Abbot shooed him away. In voiceover, Joe tells how the missing persons department works closely with homicide. He and Ed Jacobs go to interview the grouchy man themselves. The man refuses to talk without a lawyer present.

Can Joe and Ed find out anything from relatives? Who is that boy, and why doesn’t Abbot want him around? Investigation turns up a life insurance policy. The boy has shown up on his own. The 17 year old is small for his age, and the beneficiary on that insurance policy. The boy tells about his step dad’s gardening habits/

Bruce fills in the cops on family life. And arguments between his mom and Chet Abbot. Is there a way for Joe to talk with Abbot without his lawyer around? Arrests don’t work. A stakeout determines that Abbot has his own folks watching his place for unusual activity. Finding their chance, the cops move in with a crime lab crew to explore a recently dug spot in the garden. A body is found, and the race is on to stop Abbot before he can leave the country.