The 9th episode of High Potential is called “The RAMs,” a title that doesn’t have much to do with the case of the week, but that hold significant meaning to Morgan Gillory. Otherwise, this episode follows Morgan as she helps solve the murder of a beloved L.A. sportscaster. And this week’s episode comes with a very special guest star, Steve Guttenberg.
Episode 9: “The RAMs” – Written by Rob Thomas
Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) is without a car or her ex-husband/nanny when Detective Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) calls her to a crime scene. She shows up with her baby, Chloe, in tow. Famous LA Dodgers sportscaster Marvin Price (Beau Billingslea) was run down around 5:00 am. Daphne (Javicia Leslie) and Oz (Dennis Akdeniz) interviewed a witness (Mike Bridenstine) who says the driver hit him, reversed, and hit him again. Morgan does a little examination before determining that the car must’ve been a James Bond-style Jensen Interceptor, which would match the loud engine the witness heard. Karadec leads them in the direction of the apartment parking garage at the end of the street, the only place it could’ve gone. They soon find it, confirming Morgan’s theory.
At the LAPD, Daphne discovered that Marvin was engaged in a series of lawsuits with a neighbor. She is looking into the stolen Interceptor, but the VIN and plates were removed from the car. Oz rushes over to Karadec to tell him that Marvin’s son, Dexter (Sean Patrick Thomas), wants to talk to someone. He was on the phone with his dad when he was murdered. Morgan asks Oz to watch Chloe while she joins Karadec to talk to Dexter.
Dexter tells Karadec and Morgan that he and his father had a rocky relationship, but he believes Tiana Johnson, his father’s live-in house manager, killed his dad. He made her the sole beneficiary of his will last year. Marvin would get up every morning before dawn, go to the diner for breakfast, and that’s when they would usually talk. On the morning he was murdered, Marvin told his son he was considering changing his will to make him the sole beneficiary again. His father’s dying word after being hit was “Tiddlywinks.” Karadec asks what that means, but Dexter doesn’t know. Asked why he was removed from the will, Dexter isn’t sure if it was because his father objected to his chosen profession in theater or if Tiana influenced the decision. Karadec knows that Dexter filed for bankruptcy.
Morgan bumps into Tom (JD Pardo) in the hallway after Ludo picks up Chloe. Tom just finished nursing school and got a job offer in San Diego. She forgot to call him back after several missed calls. Tom says he can take the hint. Morgan says she didn’t mean to ignore him; she just gets too hyper-focused on work. They hug after Tom says it will be too far to date, but on his way out, he says, “San Diego’s not that far.” They smile at each other as Tom leaves.
Morgan gets a text from Soto: “Meeting Gio later. I’ll let you know what I learn about Roman.”
Daphne and Oz meet with Marvin’s neighbor, Phil Elko (Steve Guttenberg). “You here about Marvin or Ringo?” he asks. Phil has a medical boot on his left foot from a skiing accident. He tells them about the neighborly lawsuits he and Marvin had against each other, Phil gives Daphne and Oz the number of the companion he was with that morning at 5:00 am, the time of Marvin’s death.
Morgan and Karadec arrive at Marvin Price’s home and Karadec tells her how his dad was a big fan of the sportscaster. Tiana Johnson (Melanie Liburd) greets them, leading them past Marvin’s home office, where Karadec notices a framed photo of Dexter in a play among all the sports mementos. Morgan excuses herself to the kitchen for water, noticing prescription medication on the counter and a packed lunch for Marvin in the fridge. Meeting with the detectives, Tiana describes Marvin as being like a father to her. She tells them that Dexter was always coming to his father for money, and they had a big fight when Marvin told his son he had made Tiana his sole beneficiary in his will. She tells them she doesn’t know how to drive and was sleeping at 5:00 am. She had never heard of Marvin wanting to change the will, but she wouldn’t have cared if he did. She doesn’t know what “Tiddlywinks” could mean.
In the car, Karadec presumes that Marvin was sleeping with Tiana, but Morgan says not based on the medications he was taking. She tells him about the sack lunch. Morgan reveals that she stole Tiana’s cellphone from the couch as it gets a call from Hollywood Auto. Karadec makes Morgan take it back in.
Morgan meets Lieutenant Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) at the diner for lunch to join her meeting with Gio (Domenick Lombardozzi), who sems closed off and secretive. He acts like he doesn’t remember Roman at all. Morgan tells him about Roman’s daughter who never knew her dad. Gio tells them about his nephew who ran into a bit of trouble with the law. He wants a quid pro quo. Soto tells him they will need some information before that happens. Gio leaves. Soto promises Morgan she will find out what he knows.
That night at home, Morgan opens Roman’s old box looking for anything that could tell her why he was meeting with a guy like Gio. She noties something is missing and goes to talk to Ava (Amirah J), who was looking at cars. Ava says she just was looking through her dad’s artwork. Morgan tells her she doesn’t need to sneak anything. Ava confesses that she overheard her conversation with Soto that night she came over. It made her think maybe her father didn’t abandon them.
The next morning, Elliot (Matthew Lamb) finds his mom on the couch, having pulled an all nighter watching old Dodger’s game hoping to hear Marvin say “Tiddlywinks.”
Dexter returns to the LAPD to talk to Karadec, who asks about him seeking money from his father. Dexter tells him about his autistic step-daughter and how he and his husband were trying to get her into a better school that they couldn’t afford.
Soto calls Karadec into her office, asking if he’s on good terms with Asia, the District Attorney. She confides in him about helping Morgan and needing help to fulfill Gio’s request.
Daphne has hit a dead end with her search for the owner of the Interceptor. None of the individually-owned cars are stolen, and it’s hard to track down a contact for ones owned by companies, until she has an epiphany. Autophile Holdings… Auto-Phil-E… Phil Elko.
Karadec, Oz, and Daphne show up at Phil’s house to arrest him, saying they found his Interceptor. “You found Ringo!” he says with a smile. He shows them his garage with four others just like it in different colors, each named after a different Beatles member. “The band is back together!” He says it was stolen a week ago. He provided the police with surveillance footage when he discovered it was stolen. But he tells them about a suspicious figure on a motorcycle who was always at Marvin’s when the sportscaster was out of town – Tiana’s boyfriend. Steve told Marvin about him, and Marvin deliberately caught them in the act. Karadec asks to see the surveillance footage.
That night, Morgan watches more baseball. She finally hears Marvin say “Tiddlywinks.” She still isn’t sure what it means.
Karadec goes out for drinks with Asia (Jazmyn Simon) to ask for help with Gio’s nephew.
The next morning, Soto tells Morgan that they fulfilled Gio’s request to help his nephew. Karadec plays Phil’s footage of his car theft to Morgan. Morgan quickly pulls out her phone. “Our killer’s name is Olivier Debois and he works at Hollywood Auto.” She walks them through how she knows. She recalled the call on Tiana’s photo. A mechanic would know how to hotwire a car. The thief wore Gervais shoes, a French shoe fan, and the thief was very tall. On the Hollywood Auto website, they show the crew and the tallest of them, who has a French name, is a match. Soto sends them to Hollywood Auto to meet with him.
Karadec asks the Hollywood Auto Service Manager (Carlos Antonio) for Olivier. When Olivier Debois (Aren Farrington) sees who was asking for him, he bolts in the other direction to an alley behind the garage. Olivier jumps on his bike, but Karadec tackles him off it, arresting him.
Tiana is brought in for questioning. Olivier says he was with her at the time of Marvin’s murder. Olivier’s visa expired so she didn’t bring him up. She says Marvin was calm when he confronted her about Olivier, telling her he was a waste of her time. And then it clicks for Morgan. Marvin said “Tiddlywinks” on the broadcast when he felt like a play was a waste of time. Marvin never knew Olivier’s name, so he used his shorthand for “Waste of time.” Morgan tells Tiana that it was Marvin’s last word.
Soto leads a press conference about catching Marvin Price’s killer. She name drops Morgan for her help. Karadec tells Dexter that Tiana has given up any claim in his dad’s estate. He also tells Dexter about the photo of him on Marvin’s home office desk.
Morgan thanks Karadec for helping her case. She confides in him about her quest for answers about Roman. He warns her to be careful. “Guys like Gio keep guys like me up at night.”
On her way home, Morgan stops at a diner to pick up dinner. Gio is waiting for her at her car, asking for a ride. “I didn’t spend a lot of time wit Roman, but it was enough to know that he was a good guy,” he tells her. She agrees to drive him. Along the way, he tells her that he’s leaving town for a while but will be in touch when he gets back. He doesn’t want the police reaching out to him anymore. Morgan accuses him of taking off after getting what he wanted. “Lady, we’re nowhere close to that,” he says. Morgan tells him she doesn’t believe he ever met Roman. He tells her to stop by a church. “The RAMS,” he says, catching her attention. “Roman, Ava, Morgan. You guys used to call yourselves The RAMs, right? He told me that.” Gio gets out of the car and enters the church. Morgan realizes Gio will be able to tell her something about Roman after all.
Next Episode: “Chutes and Murders” – Airing Tuesday, January 21st, at 9/8c on ABC
A nanny is found bludgeoned to death in the park. Elsewhere, Morgan interferes when Elliot admits to not being invited to his classmate’s party.
Songs Featured in This Episode: