Touched by an Angel

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Episode 911: “Private Eyes”

Episode 911: “Private Eyes”
Original Air Date: January 11, 2003
Written by: R.J. Colleary & Ken LaZebnik
Directed by: Julia Rask
Produced by:

Martha Williamson
Jon Andersen
R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Guest Cast:
Maury Stacy Keach
Delphina Amanda MacDonald
Lennie Scott Anderson
Jim Kelly Connell
Doug William Stanford Davis
Candy Anita Booher
Timothy Jim Pitt

The sun rises over the grittier end of Chicago, and the light of dawn cuts right through Maury Hoover’s eyelids and into his hangover. He grumbles his annoyance and embarks on another day of deceit, never knowing that there are angels in his future.

Scooping coffee grounds from his potted plants and wondering that they’re still alive, he readies himself for the rigors of the day. But first… a client. The door swings open and in steps a classic Femme Fatale, only this is Monica, so she’s a Femme Angele. She plays the part perfectly, intriguing and mystifying Maury, until he agrees to take on her missing person case. And if he can wrap it up in two days, she’ll double his pay. All he has to do is find Jim Grant. It shouldn’t be hard, after all Monica has supplied him with a description, a last known address and a fingerprint. Before Maury can ask her how she got the print, or what this guy is to her, she has vanished. Dames.

Maury hits the local diner for some breakfast and to beg a favor from a cop friend, then meets up with the runaway street-walker he’s sort of adopted, Delphina. She’s led a troubled life; left without a mother, beaten by her father, muscled by a pimp, and dreaming of the good life as a fashion model. But with Maury’s help, that dream may become a reality. He takes her with him to a local bar, where the two of them hustle rich men who are naïve enough to fall into their trap. Sure it’s dishonest, but it brings the money in.

Only it doesn’t always go as planned. This evening, Delphina is taken outside. Maury hurries out after him, but is blind sided by Lennie, the aforementioned pimp. He’s angry that Delphina has left him for Maury, and even more so that she’s kicked her drug habit. He beats Maury up in retaliation. He might even have done worse if Andrew hadn’t stepped in. He and Delphina get Maury home, where they convince him to hire Andrew onto the case. After all, he needs someone to watch his back. Maury gives Delphina a couple of bucks to get something to eat, while he and Andrew check out a lead on the missing Jim Grant.

They stake out his place, and at last the very man they want comes home. Posing as Gas Company workers, they gain admittance to the residence and look for evidence they can show Monica. What Maury does find does not please him. According to the pictures on the mantle, Jim Grant is Delphina’s father, and her name ain’t Delphina, it’s Violet. Maury questions him carefully, and without giving anything away, discovers that Delphina’s dad never beat her like she said.

The next day Monica appears, and pays Maury for his work. It’s a fat wad of cash and it doesn’t cheer him up. He struggles with what to tell Delphina, but he’s come to like being needed by her. He hands her the cash, telling her it will put her through modeling school. She’s overjoyed, saying that now she can go back home to her dad with her head held high. Maury fumbles, and tells her that he’s found her father, and he’s dead. Delphina is shattered.

When Maury is gone, she falls off of the wagon and back on the vein train, taking up her old drug habit. It is only luck and a little angelic help that keeps her from overdosing. After a couple revelations, Maury sets things right, telling Delpina the truth, reuniting her with her father, and making a deal to get Lennie locked up as well. Days may start bad, and they may get worse, but as long as the angels are on the case, they can get better.

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