Tribute here to Sheree North, who in the 1950s was promoted as a second Marilyn Monroe, and with good reason as she was also a singer and dancer. She had many film and tv credits, and came off best in cop shows later in her career.
Here, she plays the title character Rose, wife of Charlie (played by popular actor Gerald S. O'Loughlin). The problem with this couple is there's something going on. He's an airport security guard and she disappears ...if you can connect the dots. Mannix also discovers she has an R rated past, best not gone into --or should he? The cost to Joe is a trip to the hospital (he gets whalloped) which is par for the course.
A well written adventure by Lee Loeb. Lee had many talents and is credited for also writing three films for ABBOTT AND COSTELLO, two of their monster films at that. There's no comedy here, except to say that North and O'Loughlin make an interesting team who keep you guessing. It all reminds me of the previous season's two part episode with Beverly Garland and Dana Elcar, and what a team they made. Hmmm?
Look for tall, skinny Lee Bergere, part of tv cult fame, who played Abraham Lincoln in a classic episode of STAR TREK. Actually, that was his next credited tv appearance. Later he played Lincoln in the acclaimed 1976 tv mini series.
True, it looks like Mannix switched guns in the second season (which is not unusual as this p.i. Needed heavy artillery) though the focus was always on muscle cars for all of us teens at heart. And yes, Peggy's role slowly begins to grow.
I think the big mistake in these early episodes is that she should have been formally introduced, being hired by Joe right off the bat and making a story around it. Or perhaps... she came to Joe for help and became his secretary in the end, something like that. All history now.
Try to put the pieces together, and don't forget the late night snacks. SEASON 2 EPISODE 2 remastered CBS dvd box set. Keep an eye on the box sets as the prices vary.