108a - Patty Caper

Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob to grab the secret ingredient to the formula from a S.W.A.T. truck driver, but to SpongeBob's horror, the ingredient isn't there. However, the only clue left on it is a small hole. So SpongeBob and Patrick go on a mission to find out who did it.

First, they suspect Plankton, since he is the only one that has ever tried to steal a Krabby Patty, but he asks if it is a joke, then to make him tell the truth, Patrick threatens him with clackers, still no answer. SpongeBob picks up the "Krabby Patty" and shows it to Plankton who then explains that he learned every ingredient but the secret ingredient and tested many ingredients to decipher the formula completely and was currently on raw sewage.

Next, they suspect Sandy (since SpongeBob suspected someone who is a scientist and engineer), who is storing Krabby Patties for the winter, but says she just bought them. SpongeBob's story of Sandy's crime was that she used an invisible potion to make her vanish, so nobody can see her. She then used her time-freezing invention to shoot a laser blast through the briefcase and took off, continuing the timeline again. She suggests that they should go and look at SpongeBob's house, so the boys suspect Gary.

SpongeBob suggests that Gary took a helicopter ride towards the delivery, so when SpongeBob kneels down to fix his socks and while everyone's distracted, Gary parachuted down and used his acid from his tear duct to melt a hole big enough for him to grab (SpongeBob later admits that he would never fix a loose sock during a secret delivery). Gary says he didn't do it, but he says he saw Squidward leaving the Krusty Krab with a black case. They interrogate Squidward, but when they open the case, they find it holds tap dancing shoes from a tap dancing contest, where he got third place.

SpongeBob goes back to the Krusty Krab and tells Mr. Krabs he can't find it. Mr. Krabs then suspects SpongeBob (suggesting that SpongeBob used a decoy to look like he was picking the delivery, then when everyone wasn't looking, SpongeBob swooped in, took the briefcase and then flew it over to the Chum Bucket where he sold it to Plankton for a quick buck) and calls the cops, but SpongeBob sees the secret ingredient in Mr. Krabs' hand. Mr. Krabs explains that the whole scheme was just to avoid paying $1.99 for the delivery. He is arrested and punished by forcibly giving away free patties for a day, while two officers hold on to his eyes to make him watch.