This episode s stars Pamelyn Ferdin. While she's not a famous name today, she has an interesting resume. Apart from her countless TV appearances, she also was the voice of Lucy Van Pelt in some of the Charlie Brown cartoons. So, old fogies like me might just recognize her.
Ferdin plays Dana--a mentally ill child. Because she lives in a dream world, when she overhears a couple guys discussing a robbery, they ignore her and figure it doesn't matter if the girl overhears them. However, many things go wrong--and the first is that the guy is home when they break into his home to steal bonds. In the process, the doctor is killed--and this doctor is the therapist working with Dana. Other problems follow--such as the inside man losing his nerve when he's questioned by Mannix. Finally, the big boss is a real nice guy and decides that MAYBE Dana could help the investigation, so he decides to kill the kid! Can Mannix thwart these evil baddies and can goodness prevail? What do you think?!
This is an entertaining episode though it's not without a few problems. The worst is a stupid cliché. When the inside man wants to leave the gang, he goes to the big boss and tells him--and EVERYONE watching the show knows that the boss is going to then have him killed. How could this crook be THAT stupid?! Duh. Additionally, Mannix seemed a bit awkward at times with the kid...though not terribly so. Overall, it's good but not quite up to the usual quality standards for the show.