Neighborhood WatchEpisode 321 (055) - May 6 1998 When Jim and Blair pick up a tail, they lead the suspect to a dead end in a shipping yard and Jim orders him out of his vehicle, surprised to see his old friend Roger Carson emerge. Carson is a US Deputy Marshall who once saved Jim's life. Carson reports that someone in witness protection may have been exposed as one of their deputies is dirty. But when he goes to retrieve evidence from the trunk of his car, it explodes. When Simon and Megan arrive, Jim reports that the FBI waltzed in and took over the investigation and Simon confirms that with a Deputy Marshall murdered, it is a federal case, but Jim points out that it's like the fox guarding the chicken coup. Back at the PD and frustrated that the FBI has seized all the evidence, to everyone's dismay Megan produces a set of keys that she says she found outside the FBI's taped off area. When Jim sniffs the keys he smells evidence of C4 and remarks on it and Blair has to cover quickly in Megan's confusion with a story about Jim being involved in demolitions in the army. Jim says he thinks he can lift a possible address off the faded impression on the key tag and Megan is livid that Jim is taking over because she believes the discovery of the keys makes her a part of the case. Simon quickly hustles them both into his office and warns them about future improper displays in the bullpen. Although he is not keen to withhold evidence from the FBI, Simon gives Jim some room to investigate a possible address on the keys to aid the investigation of the murder of his friend, and assigns Megan a load of paperwork to keep her occupied. Later Megan spots Blair helping Jim to decipher the worn numbers on the key tag with his fingertips and she questions him on all his strange abilities. She asks Jim whether he's some kind of psychic. At Blair's nod, Jim admits that she has figured it out, but he doesn't want to spread it around. Jim and Blair decide it's a perfect cover because it was Megan's idea. They finally make out an address and head out to a residence in a new housing development in Downing Street where Jim hears the hum of surveillance equipment from one of the upstairs rooms. There they find an elaborate set-up where the occupant was obviously trying to determine which of the local residents was the protected witness. When Jim then hears a noise downstairs, he finds Megan snooping around and is just quick enough to pull them both out of the way of sniper fire. When Jim and Blair go to investigate, they are cornered by a local resident with a rifle, but Megan steps in to arrest him. Back at the station they discover the man, Bud Flint, is part of a neighborhood vigilante group. Concerned about home invasions in the area, they are taking the law into their own hands. Simon orders him booked, and also takes the opportunity to discipline Megan for disobeying orders. Reluctant to reveal what they know to possibly crooked Federal officials just yet, Simon decides to let Megan in on the case after all. He plans to send Megan and Jim in undercover as newly weds to watch the four most recent arrivals in the Downing development and try to find the endangered witness. Blair keeps them company as their nephew. Jim is not thrilled with the idea and Simon decides that the way he and Megan go at it, the married couple ruse will be very convincing. The operation swings into action and as Jim, Blair and Megan pull into the cul-de-sac and start unpacking, Flint comes over and introduces another of the vigilante neighbors, the hen-pecked and weedy Tom Coleman. He also points out Susan and Phil Tanner, the neighborhood "swingers". Flint invites Jim to a BBQ that night, excited that their break and enter problems have apparently prompted a full undercover operation. Unbeknownst to Jim, he is also under surveillance from elsewhere in the cul-de-sac. Although Jim initially turns down Flint's offer, the spectacle of the "Neighborhood Watch" committee brandishing their rifles like toys in the street brings Jim and Blair out to speak to them. They also run into Katie Johnson and her daughter Rachel, the last of the new residents on their surveillance list, and she is very distressed by her neighbors' gunplay in front of her daughter. Blair is attracted to the young and fiercely protective mother and hangs back to help her with her groceries. Jim goes over the read "the Wild Bunch" the riot act about interfering with a police investigation and advises them to get some flashlights and register with the Neighborhood Watch instead. At Emery Grove Federal Penitentiary, a US Marshall named Walter Beckman gains entrance to speak to a prisoner, Lonnie Stevens, and as soon as they are alone he tells him to call off the hit. His surveillance photos of Jim Ellison indicate that the Cascade PD know about Carson's operation and will soon figure out who the witness is and that he is the leak. Stevens is coming to the end of a long 8 year prison term for nefarious dealings in the bond market because he says the person he trusted most in the world sold him out. Intent on revenge, he has no intention of pulling the plug on the murder. The next morning Susan and Phil Tanner drop in on the "newlyweds" and their "nephew", seeming to set their sights on a sleep-mussed Blair in the process. Luckily for a starving Megan, they also bring a welcome basket of food, solving her dilemma that Blair and Jim aren't keen to share their breakfast with her. Later that evening Megan finds that the ongoing surveillance on the other married couples stirs her curiosity and this prompts her to ask Jim for his own experiences on the subject. He says simply that he wouldn't change the good times. But when he seems to tune out on her, Megan asks if he's getting another psychic flash. She confesses that her father used to drag her off to regular psychic readings, especially after her mother died, so she doesn't find his "gift" at all strange. Then she notices that Jim has allowed Blair to go over to be with Katie Johnson again, albeit reluctantly, and she feels it's too dangerous. In the meantime Blair is captivated not so much by Katie as a woman, but as a single mother -- drawn to that special bond of mother and child because it reminds him of his mother and himself. Back at the prison, Stevens is finally released and while he puts out a contract on Beckman, takes out a photo of little Rachel Johnson. When Beckman is later found murdered, Simon pulls their surveillance operation when the Feds say they are moving the witness, whose identity remains classified, to a safehouse. Just then Blair, who has been monitoring Katie closely with a parabolic receiver, hears her take a phone call from the Marshals to pull her out and that confirms her as the witness. As they pack to leave, Flint is angered that they are terminating what he believes is the home invasion operation, and the Tanners stop by to reveal themselves as the Federal operatives, giving assurances that they have the situation under control. Back at the station Simon and Jim are confused that the Johnsons are still apparently under surveillance when Washington say they pulled their people out months ago. Then Blair and Megan arrive with the forensics report, as Jim submitted the Tanner's goodie basket for analysis on a hunch. They are revealed to be a couple named Polk, wanted for murder in two states. Blair is terrified on Katie and Rachel's behalf and he, Jim and Megan head back to Downing Street. Stevens is headed there too to collect his daughter and oversee the disposal of his ex-wife. In the meantime, Flint's vigilante group arm themselves ready to take the neighborhood's protection back into their own hands. As Katie and Rachel try to struggle away from Katie's vengeful ex-husband, Rachel doesn't even recognize the father who is trying to spirit her away, believing him dead. But a fierce gun battle ensues between Steven's men and the hapless yet effective forces of the Neighborhood Watch who keep the felons pinned down until Jim, Blair and Megan arrive to clean up the mess and rescue Katie and Rachel. Credits:
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