VendettaEpisode 306 (040) - Oct 29 1997
Frustrated because he can't produce evidence for the DA of how he ID'd a
mugger from 3 blocks away, Jim pulls into traffic angrily, right in front of a
speeding driver. Blair tries to placate Jim, telling him to calm down. But in a
classic case of road rage, the driver careens down the street after Jim and
Blair.
When the driver jumps from his vehicle and attacks the truck, Jim also leaps
out to restrain the man, telling him he has assaulted a police officer, all the
time wincing at the man's unpleasant cologne. A call from Simon to attend
another in a series of high-rise jewelry robberies interrupts Jim and he lets
the man off with a warning. As Jim and Blair drive away, the man takes down
Jim's license plate.
Returning home in a rage, the man, Dan Freeman, finds a "Notice to
Vacate" on his door and a message from his psychiatrist on his voice mail
about several missed appointments. His anger builds and he loads a bullet into
his revolver. He fixates his anger on Jim Ellison, expertly hacking into the DMV
records and coming up with an address.
Arriving home later that day to a horrible smell, Jim and Blair discover a
pile of horse manure in the living room. Freeman proceeds to stalk Jim while Jim
and Blair pursue the robbery investigation and Jim becomes further angered.
At the robbery scene, a witness describes the woman who knocked him down and
they suspect her as the female accomplice common to a series of home invasion
robberies. Jim notices a partial print on the safe and while they await an ID
they question a jeweler common to a number of the victims.
When Jim finds his truck being towed away as a reported stolen vehicle and
recognizes Freeman watching them from down the street, he complains about the
escalating incidents to Simon. Simon tells him to cool down and back off and
Blair adds that Jim has been very volatile lately.
In the meantime, the ID on the partial print from the robbery is revealed as
belonging to the jeweler, Robert Crown, an international safe-cracker with
outstanding warrants in Australia. They arrest Crown and Jim bluffs him into
revealing details on the rest of the gang in return for extradition back to
Australia.
With great difficulty Jim and Blair convince Simon to let Jim go in
undercover. The only problem is Jim must impersonate Bill Murdoch, a Texan
safe-cracker.
Jim plans to learn a Texan accent by studying old episodes of Bonanza, even
though Blair points out that The Ponderosa wasn't in Texas and Lorne Greene was
actually Canadian.
Jim again spots Freeman following him and they have another altercation in
the middle of the street, but this time, unbeknown to Jim, Freeman uses a
recorder to tape Jim's threats. He then uses this as the basis to pursue a
restraining order against the detective.
Jim arranges to meet the thieves at their hotel, and is met by the female
accomplice who introduces herself as Melanie. They put him through a number of
tests designed to establish his expertise at safe-cracking.
He passes the test with flying colors, claiming he did time with Crown in
Australia. Back at the station, Jim is greeted by the hoots and cheers of his
workmates, only to discover that Freeman has now run up $23,000 on his credit
cards to purchase watches for everyone at the precinct.
Simon begins to take Jim's concerns seriously as Blair explains that their
investigations revealed that Freeman has a background in banking and computer
hacking and has recently lost his job. A reputation for vindictive litigation
means that no-one will employ him.
Jim is served with a restraining order to keep away from Freeman, yet Freeman
continues to stalk Jim, jeopardizing the ongoing undercover investigation.
Melanie and Jim meet and go to the hotel bar, where she makes an attempt to
seduce him. Jim begs off, claiming a wife at home, and uses a timely phonecall
from Blair to whisper endearments over the phone.
When Melanie leaves, alone and frustrated, Freeman intercepts her and he is
happy to oblige where Jim wasn't. Meanwhile Jim tells Blair to have Simon pick
up Freeman on stalking charges to prevent Freeman from blowing his cover.
Freeman is still unaccounted for as Jim joins the gang the next morning for
their planned jewel heist.
Simon has the building staked out, but during the operation, Freeman calls
Melanie to reveal Jim's real identity. As the gang leaves the building with Jim
as their hostage, Simon's men move in and liberate Jim. Jim follows Freeman, and
with Blair's help, tracks the scent of Freeman's cologne down into the sewers.
After a tense standoff, Jim must overcome his rage to save Freeman from falling
to his death.
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