Los Angeles, September 1988. For two months, the number of stolen cars in the area has skyrocketed. An estimated 20,000 cars have gone missing–permanently. Amidst all the data, Kate and George do find certain ""preferences"" in what kind of cars are stolen. But can they figure out what has happened to the cars?

Los Angeles, 1988. A shocking development in the rapidly-deteriorating TV scene: The Mike Pliers Show has been canceled. The leader of the Mike Pliers Fan Club wants to know the truth behind its axing. With the Mathnetters at her side, she learns that it all comes down to ratings and Nielsen boxes. But these numbers don't add up to what they say.

Los Angeles, 1988. Kate is out with an injured foot, leaving George Frankly to investigate a strange set of pranks. One by one, a different brand of bank falls prey to a prank, and the hoodlum responsible leaves a poetic note on a bank slip. But there's more to the caper than that, as Kate telephones in to say she has looked through the rear terrace. She has seen someone working on plastique bombs.