Dr. von Shickel - along with Tolliver and Shandar the Magician - is one of three people who was a passenger on every flight on which a CONTROL courier has disappeared in midair and is therefore a suspect in the case. Tolliver is drugged leaving von Shickel and Shandar as the only remaining suspects. When a cork is found which may the stopper from the vial containing the drug, Maxwell Smart and 99 think that the culprit may still have the vial. Using her cover as a stewardess, 99 puts knock-out drops in their coffee; Max searches von Shickel and 99 searches Shandar. Both come up clean.