aired on: November 2, 1999

written by: Jane Espenson

directed by: Scott McGinnis

After weeks of flirting, Doyle finally musters the courage to ask Cordelia out, but she's not biting. But back home, Cordelia is faced with the squalor of her apartment, with cockroaches everywhere. Completely grossed out, she calls Doyle after all. Before Doyle can answer, he's greeted by a visitor - Griffin, a snarling demon with a head full of spikes. Doyle owes somebody money. Not having the money, Doyle gives Griffin a dresser drawer to the face instead, and runs off.

Since Doyle never answered the phone, Cordelia shows up at Angel's, luggage in tow, and invites herself in. But she's hardly a gracious houseguest. So Angel makes Doyle a deal - find Cordelia an apartment, and I'll take care of your demon. After a frustrating day of apartment hunting, Cordelia agrees to check out a place recommended by a guy Doyle knows. She loves it, and the price is a steal, so she takes it. There's just one problem: as they turn to leave, an unhappy face bulges from the wall.

As Cordelia lies sound asleep in bed in her new apartment, finally settled in, creepy stuff begins. "What do you think you're doing here?" whispers a voice. The glass of water on her nightstand boils. The bed levitates. The next morning, a very dead-looking lady appears in the bathroom mirror. When Doyle and Angel stop by, the creepiness continues; though Cordelia tries to pretend it's not happening, the guys catch on fast, and they get her out of there to figure out what to do next. Back at the office, the gang researches Cordelia's building to figure out who's haunting it, and why. Maude Pearson, who built the building, died there in 1946. The spell to rid the place of the ghost is complicated, but Doyle knows a guy . . . Later, Cordelia takes a call from Angel, who tells her to meet him at the apartment. Once there, Cordelia doesn't find Angel. She finds the ghost of Maude Pearson instead, who's become quite good at sounding like Angel. Cordelia tries to leave, but the door is locked. "Poor thing," the ghost says. "You just don't fit in around here, do you? Too bad you wouldn't leave my son alone."

At the police station, Kate helps Angel dig up some files on the Pearson death. It had been called it a heart attack, but the investigating officer mentioned problems with her son, Dennis. Maude and Dennis argued a lot about his fiance. Then Dennis skipped town with her - the same day Maude dropped dead. The cops never caught him. Looking further into the database, they see that no murders have taken place in the apartment, but there have been three suicides there since Maude's death. Back at Cordelia's, the ghost of Maude has a little conversation with the new tenant. Maude wants Cordelia dead, and fashions an electrical-cord noose for her. As Cordelia hangs from the ceiling, close to becoming another apparent suicide, Doyle and Angel bust in to save her. As they try to get rid of the ghost with a spell, things get a bit dodgy, with debris flying everywhere, and Maude still spooking Cordelia. Angel decides they need to leave, but at the door, they're greeted by Griffin and two thugs. All three have guns.

Then it really gets crazy. With things swirling everywhere, Angel and Doyle fight the thugs, and Maude gets in on the act, launching knives through the air. The knives fell one of the demons, and scare off a human-looking thug, but Maude grabs Cordelia and takes her back into the bedroom. There, Cordelia bargains for her life, while Doyle and Angel duke it out with Griffin in the living room. Then Maude pushes the wrong button, calling Cordelia a "stupid little bitch."

"I'm the nastiest girl in Sunnydale history," Cordelia says. "I take crap from no one." Cordelia's new-found venom seems to have scared off Maude, but there's something strange in her eyes as she returns to the living room, where Angel and Doyle have finally disposed of Griffin. Cordelia starts bashing at the wall with a lamp, and Maude reappears. But Cordelia doesn't stop until she's broken through the brick - and exposed a skeleton.

A flashback shows that Maude's son Dennis never ran off - Maude buried him alive in the wall, because she didn't want him marrying his fiance and leaving her. When she finally had him all sealed up, though, she keeled over dead. Dennis' ghost, now finally set free, finishes Maude off for good.

In the all's well that ends well department, Cordelia's finally happy with her place, which she's cleaned up nicely. And she's got a roommate now, but she never sees him. It's the ghost of Dennis, and they get along famously.