Mystery Diners Season 9 Episode 4 Barrel of Monkeys

In the fourth episode of Season 9 of Mystery Diners, entitled "Barrel of Monkeys", the host, Charles Stiles, is presented with a unique challenge when he receives a call from Penny, the owner of The Laughing Monkey, a bar in Los Angeles. Penny is suspicious of her bar manager, Jess, who she believes is taking advantage of her absent husband's absence to mismanage the finances of the bar.

To investigate the matter, Charles sends in his team of mystery diners, which includes Jamie, Megan, and Andrew, to undercover as patrons and observe the goings-on at The Laughing Monkey. The mystery diners start their investigation on a busy Saturday night when the bar is packed with customers, and they observe Jess's behavior carefully.

As the undercover operatives observe Jess's actions, they find evidence of dishonest behavior. Jamie notes that Jess is not properly checking IDs, which is against the bar's policy, and there are instances when Jess sells liquor to customers who have already had too much to drink. Andrew also documented instances of free drinks being given out to customers who are not regulars, and most shockingly, he discovers that Jess is skimming money from the cash register and pocketing the cash.

The mystery diners team also discovers that Jess is selling alcohol without asking for proper identification or checking to see if the customers are of legal age. In addition, he is giving away free alcohol to his friends and is generally running the bar in a way that is not in the best interests of the owner.

Charles Stiles calls a meeting with Penny and Jess to discuss his team's findings, and Penny is understandably upset with Jess when she is confronted with the evidence of his dishonesty. Jess, for his part, tries to defend himself, but his excuses are weak and don't hold up under scrutiny.

In the end, Penny decides to fire Jess and asks Charles to help her find a replacement for the bar manager. Charles recommends an experienced and trustworthy individual who he knows will get the job done based on his previous cases with such individuals.

Overall, the "Barrel of Monkeys" episode of Mystery Diners is an interesting investigation that showed how even the most trustworthy employee can succumb to temptation if there are no checks and balances in place. The case was made even more compelling by the fact that the bar's owner was having some personal issues, which made her vulnerable to exploitation. The mystery diners team was able to help Penny identify the problem and rectify the situation, which was very gratifying for both the owner and the team.