Recap: On a dark and stormy night, Murray is watching a horror movie as he works on some kind of science experiment. He's alarmed when the lights suddenly begin to flicker and he hears noises outside the boat. He calls out for Nick and Cody in the hope that the noises mean that they're back from their errand, then nervously peeks out the window. Nick and Cody, meanwhile, are in a nearby convenience store, buying ingredients to supply Murray with his experiment. They happen to glance down at the local newspaper, which features a story on their heroic role in the recent arrest of a drug kingpin - while the useless police just stood by and did fuck all. Cody remarks on how great the story is going to be for the agency, but Nick argues that Lieutenant Quinlan will, no doubt, be extremely pissed off that they made him look like the inept law enforcement flunky he is. Murray is fumbling around in the dark...and when the lights suddenly come back on, he notices that - ack! - a strange man is seated in the chair across the room, staring at him intently. He introduces himself as Albert Trumonde, wanks Murray about what an awesome computer genius he's famous for being, and says he'd like to hire the Riptide Detective Agency to locate a boat called the Mary Aberdeen. He says it was originally owned by Jessup Taylor, then issues an ominous warning: many people associated with this haunted boat have suffered horrible, untimely demises. He hands Murray a business card, along with a stack of bills totalling $1,000...and a dazed looking Murray says it's a sufficient deposit, but that he still needs to get an official OK from his partners to take the case. He tells Albert to stay put for a few minutes, then heads up to the main living area. When Nick and Cody return home from their convenience store errand, Murray tells them he just scored a client who wants their help locating a haunted boat. He describes Albert Trumonde as a very strange character, then ushers them down to his room...and is baffled when it appears as though Albert has vanished. A mystified Murray insists that Albert was sitting in his chair a few minutes earlier, then shows them the $1,000 he received as a deposit to find the haunted Mary Aberdeen. He hands Albert's business card to Cody, who calls the number and is directed to a cemetery called Hillside Acres, aka the final resting place of the deceased Albert Trumonde. Nick leaps to the conclusion that this whole thing is some kind of practical joke that Lieutenant Quinlan is playing on them - but Murray insists that Albert was aboard the boat, and that he's a legitimate client. The next morning, the Riptide trio heads over to Jessup Taylor's mansion to kickstart their investigation. Jessup tells them that Albert Trumonde has been dead for eighteen years, and that he and Jessup's also deceased son (Donald) were business partners. Jessup's two thuggish grandsons grumble about how Albert murdered their pa...so Jessup explains that Albert rigged a magic trick that was performed in Vegas, and it resulted in tragedy. Jessup says he's intrigued that anyone would pose as Albert for the odd purpose of searching for the Mary Aberdeen, then gets a faraway look in his eyes as he remarks on how much he misses the old boat and all the memories it held of his dearly departed Donald. One of the grandsons reveals that Tiny Tommy purchased the boat after the death of their pa...and then Jessup opens his safe, pulls out a wad of cash totalling $5,000, and hires the trio to locate the mystery boat. After they scamper off, Jessup tells his grandsons he's 100% certain Albert Trumonde is dead, given that he personally threw him and the magician off the side of the Mary Aberdeen as vengeance for their role in Donald's death. He scrunches his face concernedly and mutters, "Somebody knows something.." and assumes there's a piece of evidence on the boat he didn't have the opportunity to destroy. He then orders his grandsons to head over to Tiny Tommy's to do whatever's necessary to discourage the Riptide trio from pursuing the investigation further. The trio arrives at Tiny Tommy's Used Boat Sales shop...and when they tell him they're here to inquire about the Mary Aberdeen, he pales and moans, "Oh no! Not again!" and explains, "Seems like all I do is sell that stupid boat - then buy it back when somebody dies on it." Unfazed, the trio asks him if they can take a look at his customer files, and he hands them a file that documents his father's original purchase of the Mary Aberdeen from Jessup Taylor, then goes through the subsequent timeline..
Murray gasps and warns Cody that his boat "will kill again", while Nick remains convinced that this case is a prank being perpetrated on them by Lieutenant Quinlan - but that notion is quickly dispelled when Jessup's psychotic grandsons descend on the boat shop and open fire on them with their machine guns. Lieutenant Quinlan arrives on the scene and rails at the trio for even thinking that he'd be involved in a boat-related prank...and Nick sheepishly admits he now realizes that Jessup Taylor is the dark force behind their attempted murders just now. Murray explains to a disinterested Quinlan that Jessup paid them $5,000 to locate the Mary Aberdeen, then describes the mysterious visit he received from Albert Trumonde, who also commissioned them to find the haunted boat. Quinlan chuckles about the notion about a haunted boat and makes it clear he's going to do fuck all about the fact that Jessup Taylor's grandsons just tried to kill them (+ Tiny Tommy) with a spray of bullets. After he exits the shop [to, I guess, continue not policing the community], Murray wonders aloud if maybe they're dealing with an actual curse, and a wigged out Tiny Tommy says he'd really really like them to leave 'cause he's pretty sure that, yep, they're definitely cursed. Back at the Riptide, Murray uses his computer to look into Jessup Taylor's background and learns that the cretin was found guilty of embezzling, gambling, and real estate fraud. He then links a special camera to his computer that can determine whether or not there's any "leftover energy fields" from the boat's deceased inhabitants. The camera immediately detects a presence just outside the boat, so Nick and Cody covertly sneak outside to see who's lurking around. Cody runs into a ghostly looking black-cloaked stranger, who punches him in the face and runs off...and when Nick races over, Cody cries, "He had no face!" Nick then pursues the ghost before he's nearly run over by a car that squeals off in the night. Nick and Cody head over to Casa Taylor to ask Jessup whaddup with sending a hit squad after them, pointing out that he and his grandsons were the only people who knew they were going to be at Tiny Tommy's boat shop. Jessup gets angry at the accusation and yells at them to get out, and Cody smugly says there's clearly something about the Riptide that's piquing his interest. Nick then hands Jessup his $5,000 back 'cause they no longer want to be on his payroll. Dooley arrives at the Riptide - just as Murray is spritzing a chemical spray he calls ghost repellent. Dooley chuckles about their demon problems, then says he stopped by for some more Boz-Again oil for his car motor. Murray gives him a small bottle, warning him to only use a few drops 'cause it's very powerful stuff. After conducting more research, Murray reports that Donald Taylor was involved in a number of shady dealings during the 1960s. Apparently his father (Jessup) bought him a hotel club for his twenty-first birthday...and shortly after that, he was reportedly killed on stage by a rogue magician. Nick chews on that tidbit for a few seconds, then points out that their original client had to have known that the Riptide is, in fact, the Mary Aberdeen...which leads to the conclusion that only an illusionist could have started this case in all of its mystifying mysteriousness. They suddenly hear a sneeze coming from the closet - no doubt from all the ghost repellent Murray's been spritzing - and Nick and Cody aim their guns while Murray flings open the door and finds a sheepish looking Albert Trumonde huddled on the floor and staring up at them. While dining out, Albert reveals that he's really Martin Stonewell, aka "the world's greatest magician" ... and that he's been hiding aboard the Riptide ever since the episode's opening scene and was getting very hungry. He explains that the Vegas partnership between Albert and Donald wasn't working out so well, so Albert deliberately rigged his equipment so that Donald would perish during a magic trick...and I can't help wondering if it was a gruesome outcome of the 'sawing a person in half' trick. Martin admits that, yeah, he probably should have gone to the police to report the crime - but he was so desperate to get back his friend's diary that Albert, for whatever reason, had in his possession...and dangled the promise of handing it over to him as long as he kept his mouth shut. Later that day, the two met up on the deck of the Mary Aberdeen, beneath which the diary was alleged to have been hidden - but they ran into Jessup, who was so enraged about his son's untimely death that he tied them both up and threw them overboard. Martin chucklingly says that as a master illusionist he had no problem untying the restraints...then adds that before being thrown overboard, Albert told him he had enough evidence to convict the corrupt Taylors. A miffed looking Murray chides Martin for putting him and his friends in danger, and snarks that a $1,000 deposit doesn't justify the grave risk to their lives. Martin rushes out of the restaurant after Murray and earnestly explains that he's been forced to take on the identity of a dead man for years - even though it prolly would have been equally as safe/dangerous for him to have simply retained his own identity. He says he eked out a living making appearances at backstreet carnivals and side shows, then contritely acknowledges that he had no right to involve three nice people in his Quest for the Missing Diary. As he shuffles off dejectedly, Murray asks, "Where beneath the boat?" and Martin beams, gushes about how thrilled he is that they're going to help him, and promises to be honest with them from this moment on. When the question arises of who's going to go diving beneath the Riptide to retrieve the diary, everyone stares expectantly at Cody. Across the pier, Jessup's grandsons are staring over at the Riptide through binoculars, waiting for the right moment to set off the bomb one of them just planted beneath the boat. They spot Martin Stonewell, (somehow) recognize him instantly, and express surprise that he's alive. Cody, meanwhile spots the ticking time bomb attached to the bottom of the Riptide and removes it...and when he swims up to the surface he throws it to Nick (!), who then whips it out to sea - just as the idiot grandsons accidentally set it off while arguing about when they should set it off. When they realize that their attempt to bomb the Riptide has been foiled, they decide to once again open fire on the trio (+ Martin). Nick and Cody dodge every bullet as they grab their firearms and chase after the murderous brothers, who are able to quickly hop into their getaway vehicle and squeal off. Cody says he didn't find the diary beneath the ship - just as Nick happens to notice a framed photo of the ship that Cody says came with the boat when he purchased it, along with a defective compass. Amid Cody's protests, Nick smashes the picture frame and finds a secret map behind the photo, which provides instructions on how to locate Martin's friend's missing diary. After flying (via The Screaming Mimi) to a remote beach, Nick and Cody eventually conclude that they're digging in the wrong place - just as Murray informs them that when he lubricated the defective compass with some Boz-Again, it began working properly...and theorizes that the map in the picture frame must have been altered by 90 degrees in order to match the once defective compass. Sounds perfectly reasonable. He says this all means they need to head over to Bluffside Acres, aka the cemetery that houses the grave for the woman the boat was originally named after: Mary Aberdeen. Dooley radios Mimi and tells the trio they need to return to Pier 56 pronto, 'cause Lieutenant Quinlan is raising a stink about the ticking time bomb explosion. Nick says to tell him they can't 'cause they're on a case, but that he can meet up with them at Bluffside Acres...and after he hangs up, we see that Dooley was being forced at gunpoint by Jessup and his grandsons to learn the whereabouts of the trio (+ Martin). The trio (+ Martin) arrives at Bluffside Acres, and they quickly locate Mary Aberdeen's gravesite and begin to dig. Dooley is able to escape from the back seat of Jessup's car, races over to the nearest vehicle (a hearse!) and motors over to the cemetery to give his friends a heads up about the imminent danger they're in. As that's happening, Nick and Cody dig up the coveted diary: Harry Houdini's Best Illusions. Murray gasps and calls the discovery priceless, and an elated Martin thanks them for giving him back his life...and then he and Murray wander off together to fully absorb the monumental unearthing of this mystical treasure. Dooley arrives at the cemetery while Nick and Cody are looking over a ledger they discovered was buried with the diary, which contains enough documentation to implicate Jessup in all manner of criminal activity. Dooley urgently warns that the Taylors are en route - just as Jessup and his grandsons squeal over in their car. Jessup storms over to the gravesite, snatches the ledger away from Cody, and mutters about how the magician was intent on finding this incriminating proof against him. The grandsons asks him what they should do with Nick, Cody, and Dooley, and he glances around and nonchalantly says, "It's a graveyard. Do what comes natural." From a hiding spot several feet away, Martin uses his illusionist ingenuity and tosses a fireball in Jessup's direction...and the distraction gives Nick and Cody all the time they need to physically subdue the grandsons before jumping into the hearse to race after the fleeing Jessup. They chase his car around the cemetery for what seems like a really looooong time - until Cody finally manages to smash into him. At that moment, Martin stands on the edge of the nearby cliff, clutching the diary, and imperiously announces, "Jessup Taylor, I take back what is due me!" ... and a wigged out Jessup cries, "Nooooo!! I killed you!" He then opens fire on the illusionist and watches as Martin appears to plunge off the cliff, prompting Murray to shriek, "Noooooo!!" and run towards him. He peers over the cliff's edge, but sees no sign of his friend. Back aboard the Riptide, Nick and Cody assure a distressed Murray that disappearing into thin air is what Martin does best, and that they can only assume he's hiding somewhere safe...pointing out that the police weren't able to locate his body [though it's highly doubtful that Lieutenant Quinlan would expend the energy or resources to look very hard]. Cody says that surely Martin is laughing about all of this, then reminds Murray of their most significant accomplishment this episode: getting an old-man criminal off the streets. He then suggests they all go out for drinks...and as they amble above deck, we hear the sound of Martin Stonewell's maniacal sounding laughter. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
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