The elevator doors morph back into a wall. Ron adjusts his lapels and approaches Tom. "I don't have to go over all this with you, too?" Ron asks. Tom assures Ron that his failure to dust Chang is "a temporary setback." Ron exposits that just as Tom has a contract with him, Ron himself has a contract with The Source. Ron has to graduate five full-fledged demons by the following evening, or he is toast. Tom fills him in on Prue's intervention the previous night, but says he's certain that Prue has no idea where he is.

Ron decides there is no immediate danger to himself or Tom, as Prue is apparently tracking the innocents rather than the demons. So, of course, he grabs that morning's Metro section and sends Tom after the woman who appears in the photo above the fold. Tom sets off as Ron tells him to "hurry, or there'll be hell to pay." Ha ha not. It is never explained why the victims are chosen from the paper; nor is it explained why Ron continues to use this method of selection now that Prue is onto them. Tom could just slaughter the first person he comes across, but then I suppose we wouldn't have anywhere to go with this episode, so I guess I'll shut up. I'm just glad Contrivance is stuck in New York. The gas bills for the water heater have been bad enough this winter without Contrivance spending all of his downtime in my shower. ["Don't count your chickens yet, my friend. Contrivance spent most of last night hogging my computer to check Priceline." -- Sars]

Manor kitchen. Phoebe and The Dolt argue about Phoebe's need to tell Piper and Prue about Cole. Phoebe tells The Dolt that the matter is not an easy one to drop into casual conversation. The Dolt tells her that "confession is good for the soul." Whatever, Brother Pius Dumbass of the Order of the Irritating Heart of Morons. Phoebe wants to "skip the confession and go straight to the penance." She reminds The Dolt she has "a demon to vanquish" and he has "a ring to find." Phoebe leaves The Dolt alone in the kitchen and heads off to join Piper on the sun porch. Piper waters another damn plant as Phoebe riffles through the pages of the BoS. Phoebe mentions that her research turned up spells for finding witches and "lost loves," but the book has nothing on determining the whereabouts of demons. I suppose they can't rewrite the "magic calling magic" spell Prue reworked to summon Kwell in "Sleuthing with the Enemy" because Tom isn't a full demon yet.