Title: Mr. Monk Meets Gil Grissom
Author: Amara (TofuDog)
Shows: Monk crossover with CSI Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I own what is in my house, not a show on TV.
Summary: Investigating a chain of serial murders in Las Vegas, Monk works with the graveyard shift of Las Vegas's crime lab. Rating: PG-13 Note To Reader: This is my longest Monk piece so far. And, to my knowledge, it is the only Monk/CSI crossover. PLEASE, leave feedback!!!!! I want to know what I have to change. Also, I will try to get some more story posted every week, because I'm a busy person. I hope you love this story as much as I do!!!! Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Chapter 1: Boarding the plane
"Oh, planes are soooo dirty. Please, Captain. I will not go to Las Vegas." Monk begged over the phone. Stottlemeyer's voice came over the other line, "The Las Vegas crime lab has a difficult case that has to be solved. Adrian, I will not accept no as an answer. The mayor's daughter, Laura, was killed and he is pressuring them to solve it; they need an outside eye on this. This will look good for your getting back on the police force." The whimpering on the other line stopped. Stottlemeyer could almost see Monk thinking. His eyes darting back and forth. Stottlemeyer heard Monk swallow. "Well, since." Monk said timidly before he was cut off. "Okay, pack your bags. Sharona will pick you up tomorrow at eleven in the morning. She is going with you. I think it would be in your best interest."
***
Sharona pulled up to Monk's house in her brown clunker with Benjy in the back. She stared blankly at Monk. "What do you think you are doing?" She yelled out her window. She eyed Monk's five large bags. She hurriedly opened her car door and yelled at Monk for having so many bags. "You can have two. Pick the two or I will." She pointed at the bags as Monk looked uncertainly at them. He picked up two and then set them down. Because he looked perplexed, Sharona picked up two of the smallest bags and started to load them in the car. Monk reached out and grabbed the bags and set them back down on the ground. It was a silent struggle between Sharona and Monk. Sharona glared coldly at Monk. Ten minutes later Monk and Sharona had come to an agreement. Sharona left two of her bags at Monk's and Monk got to take all his bags. As a steaming Sharona drove away from Monk's house towards the airport, Monk rearranged the glove box. Finally Sharona pulled up to the long-term parking area and took her ticket. Monk straightened the floor mat as he got out of the old car. "Now, I don't want to hear a whiny Adrian on the plane. We are going to go in to the airport with out any whines of protest. Right, Adrian?" Sharona said. She pulled the eight bags out of the trunk. Monk slowly nodded. Benjy sat in the back seat playing a video game. "Benjy, honey, get out of the car." "Okay, mother." Benjy said compliantly. He smirked a quiet smile. Sharona patted him on the back. She pulled the game from his hands and slid it in her pocket. "Later." She said. "Get a couple bags, Benjy." Benjy grabbed three bags, trying to be helpful, and waddled along towards the shuttle to airport. Sharona took three bags and Monk picked up the two remaining pieces of luggage. Monk shuffled silently to the shuttle. He couldn't decide what to do first on the airplane. Maybe read the new book he had picked up. Or eat his granola bar. Or. "Adrian, get on the bus." Sharona said. She had already set her bags in the cubbyhole. As they rode on the shuttle to the airport, Monk continued thinking about what he was going to do when he first got on the plane.
***
As usual when Monk had to fly, the security guards looked at him funny when he emptied his pockets. He set his bags in the dog dish and cautiously walked through the metal detector. He still couldn't get used to idea of it. He walked to the plane and paused at the place where the hallway connected the plane. "Madam, uh.how do you know this is safe?" He asked. He pointed at the large crack. "Sir, I assure that it is perfectly safe." The flight attendant said. "Now, if you would just step forward. There are other passengers waiting to board the plane." She reached out her arm to help Monk in. Sharona stopped the approaching arm. Monk shot an uncertain look at the big crack in the floor. Grudgingly, he stepped over it. When he accomplished the task, a great wave of relief wiped over him. Making a point as to step on the crack, Sharona calmly followed her boss. The pretty flight attendant eyed Monk strangely. Monk slammed his fist into the unresponsive bag. "Sharona," He sighed, "it won't go in. I." He pushed on the bag. "Here, lemme help." Sharona said. She gently pushed on the bag and it promptly slid into place. "Do you want the aisle?" Monk asked. "Sure." Sharona said to avoid a hassle. She started to sit down. "Wait. Are you sure? I mean." "I don't care. I mean, it doesn't bother me." "I'll take the aisle. I don't want to be cramped. You know.in small spaces." Monk said. He wiped the airplane seat with a Lever 2000 wipe before he sat down. He, then, snuggled in the aisle seat, trying to get comfortable. The plane took off and Sharona handed Benjy his game. He fell back in his window seat and was immediately consumed in the game. Monk was engrossed in his new book. Sharona woke up to a light tapping on her shoulder. "Uh-uh. Not now, Dan. I'm sleeping." Sharona said half-asleep. Monk and Benjy gave Sharona a quizzical face. "Who's Dan?" Monk whispered across Sharona to Benjy. Benjy scrunched up his face and giggled. Sharona, still asleep, flopped her hand in Monk's face. Monk gently replaced it on Sharona's lap. "Sharona, wake up." Monk said. He tapped Sharona. Sharona opened one eye to see Monk's face in hers. "Ahhhg! Now, what? I'm sleeping. Don't you see that?" Sharona said angrily. Monk's innocent face stared at her. Sharona couldn't be upset for long at Monk. She smiled and laughed. She stretched out her arms to help fully wake her. "What, Adrian?" "I don't know where the bathroom is. This plane is different than the other one we were on. It's smaller. I don't.I don't see the sign." Monk said. Sharona could tell that he was ashamed. She gently grasped his arm and spoke, "It's in the back." She nudged Monk's arm. "Go on." Monk got up from his seat and Sharona smiled. Oh, what fun Monk will have in a dirty place like that. She thought. She couldn't bear to see him go crazy in the bathroom. She pulled him back in his seat. "Wait." She said. She reached down and pulled out a couple extra Lever 2000 wipes. "Here." She placed them in Monk's hand. Monk jumped up from his seat and walked to the back. With a wipe-shrouded hand, he opened the bathroom door. He wiped every thing that was visible.
After satisfying his needs, Monk rejoined Sharona. Sharona munched on her in-flight sandwich and sipped her soda. "I'll be back." Monk said as he got up. He walked to the front and tapped the stewardess. "Do you have any Sierra Springs?" He asked.
"No, but we have Aquafina. Would you like for me to get you an Aquafina?" the stewardess said.
"No." Monk said. Monk hated it when that happened. He sat back down in his seat and picked up his book with a wipe and read until the overhead speakers beeped.
"We are making our descent into the Las Vegas area. We should land in about ten minutes." BEEP. The pilot stopped talking and the stewardess picked up the microphone.
"Please, remain buckled in your seats until we light the overhead unbuckle sign. Thank you for flying with Southwest airlines."
Monk tucked his book away into his bag and buckled his seatbelt. Sharona plucked the game away from Benjy's hands. Benjy slumped in his seat depressed from the lack of amusement surrounding him. Monk gripped the seat as the plane touched its wheels to the ground.
Monk slowly stood up after the plane had stopped. Everybody crowded the aisles. Monk sat down in his seat and mumbled something under his breath. The people pushed themselves out of the plane. "Sharona, this isn't right. Look at those people. Is that what you call civilization?" Monk asked. Sharona just shook her head.
Chapter 2: Meeting Gil Grissom
At eleven at night, Monk and Sharona went to the Las Vegas crime lab, leaving Benjy at the hotel to play his game. In the waiting area, a person handed Monk and Sharona temporary passes to get in to the Criminalistics department. They headed back and flashed the passes. Detective Brass was waiting for them. He put out his had expecting a handshake. Sharona graciously accepted the hand. Monk grudgingly shook his hand. Sharona gave Monk a wipe. Brass shot Monk a funny look.
"Hello, I'm Detective Jim Brass. You must be Adrian Monk." Jim said. He looked at Sharona. "You are?"
"I'm his assistant, Sharona." Sharona said.
"Nurse." Monk corrected.
"Assistant slash nurse."
"Nurse slash assistant."
"Whatever. Let me go introduce you to Grissom. You will be working with him." Brass said. They walked to Gil's office. Sharona put her hand up to her mouth. She looked at all the jarred bugs.
"That's really nasty." She whispered to Monk. Monk looked at a bottled centipede.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Monk and his assistant Sharona. Right?" Grissom said. Sharona and Monk turned around to become face to face with the much talked about Grissom.
"Oh.yes." Sharona said. She looked at Grissom and smiled. Grissom pulled off his glasses and polished them with his shirt. "Would you like to have the dime tour?" Grissom asked. He put his glasses on his boyishly handsome face. He shrugged his lab coat on and walked ahead, grabbing a thin folder as he walked ahead. Monk and Sharona followed close behind. "We'll go to the DNA lab first. I have to get some results." As they arrived at the lab, they peeked in through the windows. Greg was drumming on the table with his fingers. Music was blaring from behind the glass. He bounced his head to the music. Sharona smiled at his antics. Grissom pushed open the door to the lab and shut off the music. Greg looked up with a smile on his face. "About the DNA you wanted me to run, I got the results back, and I ran it through CODIS." He said. "And, just tell us Greg." Grissom said sternly. Greg was always leading them on. "No match. I'll need a donor to compare it to." He handed Grissom the DNA results. Grissom looked over it briskly, knowing nothing would come out of it without a comparison sample, and slipped it in to the folder. "Greg, this is Adrian Monk and his assistant Sharona Fleming. They will be working with us on the Ryan case." Grissom said. Greg stuck out his hand to shake. Sharona shook Greg's hand warmly. Monk looked at Greg like he was expecting too much from him. Sharona poked Monk in the side. Monk's hand shot out, avoiding another painful jab in the side. Sharona pulled a wipe from her purse and gave it to Monk. Monk briskly rubbed it on his hand. "I'm not diseased." Greg said with a smile on his face. "Don't take it personal, Greg." Sharona said. "Monk, Sharona, we have to be in the break room to discuss this case." Grissom said and they all went to the break room. All the CSIs were crowded in the break room sipping coffee. Warrick was bent down with his head in the mini-fridge. He pulled his head out. "Ewww, Grissom, this is for our food, not your experiments. It is nasty." Warrick said shutting the fridge door waving his hand to displace the smell. "The other fridge was full." Grissom said. "Okay, this is Adrian Monk and Sharona Fleming. They will be helping us with the Ryan's case." Everybody waved or mumbled an unenthusiastic hello. They case had really taken a toll on everybody. They were putting everything they had into this case. They mayor of Las Vegas was pushing them to finish. Grissom slipped into a chair and motioned for Monk and Sharona to do the same. "What do we know about this case? What have we overlooked?" He threw the measly folder out on to the table. Armed with a wipe, Monk pulled the folder close to him and opened it. He looked at the pictures and read the report. "Laura Ryan was killed by hanging. After she was killed, the murderer disemboweled her and took her kidney. She was found hanging off her balcony. Some joyriding kids found her at one in the morning. We found some boot tracks outside her front door. He took molds of them. They were size nine men's. There were semen stains in her bed. Not fresh. Probably not relevant to this case. We lifted some fingerprints most were hers. Some unidentified fingerprints. We ran them through AFIS. No hits. We are really making progress. Not." Sara Sidle said. Monk listened. He put his hand on his forehead and sighed. He stared at the photos and laid them all out on the table. He looked at them and then closed his eyes. He put out his hand and waved it. Sara bent over to Sharona. "What is he doing?" She whispered.
"He's doing what he does best: he's trying to solve the crime." Sharona said. Monk covered his face with his hand and peeked through it. He looked at the photos and arranged the photos in a line. His eyes darted back and forth. He put up two fingers and moved them in a circle. He opened his mouth and spoke, "I need to see the crime scene." He said after an eternity of his Zen Sherlock Holmes routine. Except for Grissom, all the CSIs looked at each other. Nobody wanted to take this freak anywhere. They turned and looked at Catherine. Catherine swallowed. "Hey I'm Catherine Willows. I guess I can you to the scene." Catherine said as she stood up. She pulled off her lab coat.
Chapter 3: The Scene of the Crime
Monk hesitated at the Tahoe. "Is it clean inside?" He asked. He opened the car with a wipe in hand. He wiped the seat. Catherine revved the engine and Monk climbed in grudgingly. Catherine pulled out of the parking lot. Sharona, in the back seat, looked in her purse. She gasped. "What Sharona?" Monk said. Catherine slammed on the brakes.
"You only have one wipes left, Monk." Sharona said. "We need to stop to get some wipes." Catherine pulled the car over to a twenty-four hour convenience store. Monk and Sharona hopped out of the car. Sharona opened the store's door to keep from having to use the last remaining wipe. Monk walked through the aisles looking for his Lever 2000 wipes.
"Sharona, there are no Lever 2000 wipes. What do I do? What do I do?" Monk whined.
"Monk, please. You can do without them." Sharona said. She grasped Monk's arm.
"No. Please, no." Monk said.
"Okay.um.how about some Kleenex tissues?" Sharona offered. Monk made a growling type noise.
"No.no." Monk said as he shook his head 'yes.'
"I see we came to an agreement." Sharona said. She picked up a box of Kleenexes and paid for them. They walked back out to the Tahoe.
"Are we okay, now?" Catherine said as they were on the way to the crime scene. She cocked her head to the left, her blonde hair swinging as she did so. Monk shook his head slowly. Catherine pulled away from the mini- mart. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She finally drove up next to the curb and stopped the dark Tahoe. While she opened the door and got out of the SUV, Monk and Sharona followed her lead and did the same. Catherine slipped out her flashlight and held it in the classic law enforcement style. Monk patted his pockets looking for a flashlight and looked at Sharona as if to give her a clue.
"Yes, I get it, Monk. No, I don't have a flashlight. If I did then you would have it at your becking call." Sharona said. Monk froze up. There were no streetlights anywhere near their destination. "Catherine, do you have another flashlight?" Sharona called after the ex-stripper turned Criminalist.
"Yeah. Sure. Let me get it out of my crime kit." Catherine said. She opened the back door and stuck her flashlight under arm to secure it. She opened her kit and grabbed a mini maglite, the preferred brand of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. She tossed it to Monk, and shut the door. Monk looked at the object flying through the air. He lifted his arm in an attempt to catch the flashlight. Amazingly, the flashlight landed smoothly in Monk's quivering hand. He looked at the flashlight in his hand and then dropped it.
"What's wrong?" Sharona asked. She ran over to the flashlight and picked it up. She looked at it. "There is nothing wrong with it."
"Wi.um.Kleenex." Monk said. Catherine rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long shift. Sharona pulled a Kleenex out of her purse with out hesitation. She handed it to Monk along with the flashlight. Monk clicked on the flashlight.
"Are we ready?" Catherine asked. Monk simply nodded his head. "Okay, the vic was found hanging from her second story balcony. Up there." Catherine nodded her head up and pointed her light at the balcony. Monk turned his head to look. The trio made their way inside. Monk looked around the two-story townhouse. He looked at the framed pictures of Laura. A photo frame's glass was cracked like it had been dropped. Monk ran his finger over the crack.
"Where's the dog?" Monk asked. He pointed at some photos.
"Mmm? What dog? We didn't find a dog?" Catherine said. She walked over to the photos. "How did we miss that? There are the bowls and a doggie door." She walked to the bowls. "The water is growing algae. It has been here for a while. It is relatively empty. Umm.evaporation? Or has the dog been drinking it?"
"No.no. The dog is gone." Monk said.
"How can you tell?" Sharona asked. She looked around, trying to see what Monk saw.
"Look at the calcium ring where the water sat in the bowl. And, if the dog was here, wouldn't he come barking at us? He would at least come to see who we are, right?" Monk stated. He walked over to the doggie door. It was open. "An average sized man could have fit through this. This could be how the killer got in. There are no signs of a break in." Monk sighed. He looked around the room, and handed the flashlight to Sharona. "No signs of a struggle. Killer did not ransack the house. I don't think burglary was a motive. What." Monk sighed exhaustedly, "What was the motive? I.can't get a.feel for it." Monk held his hands up and the flopped them down. He squinted his eyes and tightened his lips. He opened his mouth then closed it. He exhaled heavily. He tapped his fingers together and then held his right hand up to his mouth.
"He might have been an acquaintance. Angry at her for.who knows? Getting revenge maybe. It's hard to tell this early in the investigation." Catherine said.
"Can we go upstairs?" Monk asked. The three went up the stairs and headed to the balcony. Monk studied his surroundings as they traversed toward the place where Laura's lifeless body was found. Monk stepped out on to the balcony. He peeked over the railing and jumped back. "Okay, that's enough." Monk said. He covered his eyes with his hand and backed off the balcony. He turned and looked at Laura's bedroom. Nothing seemed to be out of place. Her bed was made and a lamp was on. Catherine saw the lamp and the scene started to flash before her eyes.
A man with dark clothes on climbed through the doggie door. He looked tenderly at the photos of Laura. He took off a glove and caressed a photograph. Quickly realizing what he had done wrong by taking off a glove, he started to wipe the fingerprints off with his shirt. The photo frame fell from his grasp as he was wiping wildly cracking the glass. He picked up the photo frame with a gloved hand and set it back where it belonged. In his hurry, he had forgot to wipe off a fingerprint on the back of the frame, also leaving crucial fiber evidence. Meanwhile, Laura, upstairs, woke up from the noise and turned on her lamp. She put her feet on the ground with a thud to go inspect the noise. The man downstairs heard the feet hit the ground and rushed up the stairs to catch Laura before she came down. Laura screamed at the sight of the intruder with a knife in his hand. The man clasped his hand over Laura's mouth.
Monk saw Catherine's eyes light up with the realization and knew what she knew. "Sharona, I know what happened to the dog." Monk said. He looked at Sharona giving her the knowing look. "The dog is gone. It's been gone. The murderer staked out the house, killed the dog, and anticipated on coming back. Laura left the food and water out hoping the dog would come back. She thought he ran away. The dog is dead."
Catherine gave Monk a doubtful look. "And you came to this conclusion, how?"
"Don't question Monk. When he says he knows, he knows." Sharona said. Catherine could feel a 'battle of the blondes' coming on. She smiled at the thought of it. Sharona snorted at Catherine's smirk.
"Look Sharona. We CSIs follow evidence. It's our job. What we don't do is follow our gut. Like Grissom says 'Concentrate on what cannot lie: the evidence." Catherine said.
To break the tension between the two blondes, Monk flipped on the light switch. Nothing happened. He looked up at the lights. They were not burned out. Monk flipped the light switch a couple more times. Catherine and Monk looked each other in the eye. Monk had found something to back his dog theory. "The lights aren't working." He said. He smiled. He had just found something to prove himself correct.
Chapter 4: Another Murder
Back at the Lab, Catherine explained what Monk had discovered. "So, when he turned on the lights, it was realized that since they were not turning on, and light bulbs were not blown or broken, someone had been in her room, disconnection the light switch from the light bulbs. The killer had been at her house before the murder to kill the dog and tamper with the lights, so he would not be seen or heard. He wasn't counting on the lamp to be there or for him to drop the picture frame. The lamp had obviously been moved to Laura's room by Laura until she could hire an electrician to look at her light because it did not match the rest of her decor."
Grissom chewed on this theory. He pulled off his glasses and polished them with his shirt. Sharona soaked in every movement. "Well, it's a workable theory. Very possible." He finally said after giving it some thought. He put his glasses on the break room table and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, we have put in enough O.T. for a month. Go home." Grissom said. Everybody got up from their seats. Sara dumped a cold glass of coffee and went over to Monk and Sharona.
"You did a good job. Monk, Sharona." She said. She patted Monk on the back. Monk froze up. "Oh, sorry." Sara said. She left the break room.
"Let me show you out." Grissom said. Monk and Sharona followed Grissom. Sharona said her goodbyes. Monk saw the admiration in Sharona's eyes for Grissom. He felt hurt.
Monk and Sharona walked silently out to the rental car. "I'm sorry, Adrian." Sharona said after she and Monk were in the car. She put her hand on his leg. You have no idea. Monk thought. Sharona started the car and drove to the hotel. They went inside. Sharona put the key card in the slot, and they went into their room. Benjy was sprawled across one of the two beds, asleep. The TV was blaring, and Benjy's game had dropped on the floor. Sharona turned off the TV and picked up Benjy's game. Monk made a beeline to the shower. Sharona scooted Benjy over and unlaced her boots. She kicked them off and flopped down. She fell asleep. Later, Monk came out of the bathroom in his pajamas. He looked at Sharona. Gently, so as not to wake her, Monk pushed a curl out of Sharona's mouth. He, then, went silently to bed.
Disorderly, (just what Monk hated) Sharona and Monk got ready
Author: Amara (TofuDog)
Shows: Monk crossover with CSI Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I own what is in my house, not a show on TV.
Summary: Investigating a chain of serial murders in Las Vegas, Monk works with the graveyard shift of Las Vegas's crime lab. Rating: PG-13 Note To Reader: This is my longest Monk piece so far. And, to my knowledge, it is the only Monk/CSI crossover. PLEASE, leave feedback!!!!! I want to know what I have to change. Also, I will try to get some more story posted every week, because I'm a busy person. I hope you love this story as much as I do!!!! Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Chapter 1: Boarding the plane
"Oh, planes are soooo dirty. Please, Captain. I will not go to Las Vegas." Monk begged over the phone. Stottlemeyer's voice came over the other line, "The Las Vegas crime lab has a difficult case that has to be solved. Adrian, I will not accept no as an answer. The mayor's daughter, Laura, was killed and he is pressuring them to solve it; they need an outside eye on this. This will look good for your getting back on the police force." The whimpering on the other line stopped. Stottlemeyer could almost see Monk thinking. His eyes darting back and forth. Stottlemeyer heard Monk swallow. "Well, since." Monk said timidly before he was cut off. "Okay, pack your bags. Sharona will pick you up tomorrow at eleven in the morning. She is going with you. I think it would be in your best interest."
***
Sharona pulled up to Monk's house in her brown clunker with Benjy in the back. She stared blankly at Monk. "What do you think you are doing?" She yelled out her window. She eyed Monk's five large bags. She hurriedly opened her car door and yelled at Monk for having so many bags. "You can have two. Pick the two or I will." She pointed at the bags as Monk looked uncertainly at them. He picked up two and then set them down. Because he looked perplexed, Sharona picked up two of the smallest bags and started to load them in the car. Monk reached out and grabbed the bags and set them back down on the ground. It was a silent struggle between Sharona and Monk. Sharona glared coldly at Monk. Ten minutes later Monk and Sharona had come to an agreement. Sharona left two of her bags at Monk's and Monk got to take all his bags. As a steaming Sharona drove away from Monk's house towards the airport, Monk rearranged the glove box. Finally Sharona pulled up to the long-term parking area and took her ticket. Monk straightened the floor mat as he got out of the old car. "Now, I don't want to hear a whiny Adrian on the plane. We are going to go in to the airport with out any whines of protest. Right, Adrian?" Sharona said. She pulled the eight bags out of the trunk. Monk slowly nodded. Benjy sat in the back seat playing a video game. "Benjy, honey, get out of the car." "Okay, mother." Benjy said compliantly. He smirked a quiet smile. Sharona patted him on the back. She pulled the game from his hands and slid it in her pocket. "Later." She said. "Get a couple bags, Benjy." Benjy grabbed three bags, trying to be helpful, and waddled along towards the shuttle to airport. Sharona took three bags and Monk picked up the two remaining pieces of luggage. Monk shuffled silently to the shuttle. He couldn't decide what to do first on the airplane. Maybe read the new book he had picked up. Or eat his granola bar. Or. "Adrian, get on the bus." Sharona said. She had already set her bags in the cubbyhole. As they rode on the shuttle to the airport, Monk continued thinking about what he was going to do when he first got on the plane.
***
As usual when Monk had to fly, the security guards looked at him funny when he emptied his pockets. He set his bags in the dog dish and cautiously walked through the metal detector. He still couldn't get used to idea of it. He walked to the plane and paused at the place where the hallway connected the plane. "Madam, uh.how do you know this is safe?" He asked. He pointed at the large crack. "Sir, I assure that it is perfectly safe." The flight attendant said. "Now, if you would just step forward. There are other passengers waiting to board the plane." She reached out her arm to help Monk in. Sharona stopped the approaching arm. Monk shot an uncertain look at the big crack in the floor. Grudgingly, he stepped over it. When he accomplished the task, a great wave of relief wiped over him. Making a point as to step on the crack, Sharona calmly followed her boss. The pretty flight attendant eyed Monk strangely. Monk slammed his fist into the unresponsive bag. "Sharona," He sighed, "it won't go in. I." He pushed on the bag. "Here, lemme help." Sharona said. She gently pushed on the bag and it promptly slid into place. "Do you want the aisle?" Monk asked. "Sure." Sharona said to avoid a hassle. She started to sit down. "Wait. Are you sure? I mean." "I don't care. I mean, it doesn't bother me." "I'll take the aisle. I don't want to be cramped. You know.in small spaces." Monk said. He wiped the airplane seat with a Lever 2000 wipe before he sat down. He, then, snuggled in the aisle seat, trying to get comfortable. The plane took off and Sharona handed Benjy his game. He fell back in his window seat and was immediately consumed in the game. Monk was engrossed in his new book. Sharona woke up to a light tapping on her shoulder. "Uh-uh. Not now, Dan. I'm sleeping." Sharona said half-asleep. Monk and Benjy gave Sharona a quizzical face. "Who's Dan?" Monk whispered across Sharona to Benjy. Benjy scrunched up his face and giggled. Sharona, still asleep, flopped her hand in Monk's face. Monk gently replaced it on Sharona's lap. "Sharona, wake up." Monk said. He tapped Sharona. Sharona opened one eye to see Monk's face in hers. "Ahhhg! Now, what? I'm sleeping. Don't you see that?" Sharona said angrily. Monk's innocent face stared at her. Sharona couldn't be upset for long at Monk. She smiled and laughed. She stretched out her arms to help fully wake her. "What, Adrian?" "I don't know where the bathroom is. This plane is different than the other one we were on. It's smaller. I don't.I don't see the sign." Monk said. Sharona could tell that he was ashamed. She gently grasped his arm and spoke, "It's in the back." She nudged Monk's arm. "Go on." Monk got up from his seat and Sharona smiled. Oh, what fun Monk will have in a dirty place like that. She thought. She couldn't bear to see him go crazy in the bathroom. She pulled him back in his seat. "Wait." She said. She reached down and pulled out a couple extra Lever 2000 wipes. "Here." She placed them in Monk's hand. Monk jumped up from his seat and walked to the back. With a wipe-shrouded hand, he opened the bathroom door. He wiped every thing that was visible.
After satisfying his needs, Monk rejoined Sharona. Sharona munched on her in-flight sandwich and sipped her soda. "I'll be back." Monk said as he got up. He walked to the front and tapped the stewardess. "Do you have any Sierra Springs?" He asked.
"No, but we have Aquafina. Would you like for me to get you an Aquafina?" the stewardess said.
"No." Monk said. Monk hated it when that happened. He sat back down in his seat and picked up his book with a wipe and read until the overhead speakers beeped.
"We are making our descent into the Las Vegas area. We should land in about ten minutes." BEEP. The pilot stopped talking and the stewardess picked up the microphone.
"Please, remain buckled in your seats until we light the overhead unbuckle sign. Thank you for flying with Southwest airlines."
Monk tucked his book away into his bag and buckled his seatbelt. Sharona plucked the game away from Benjy's hands. Benjy slumped in his seat depressed from the lack of amusement surrounding him. Monk gripped the seat as the plane touched its wheels to the ground.
Monk slowly stood up after the plane had stopped. Everybody crowded the aisles. Monk sat down in his seat and mumbled something under his breath. The people pushed themselves out of the plane. "Sharona, this isn't right. Look at those people. Is that what you call civilization?" Monk asked. Sharona just shook her head.
Chapter 2: Meeting Gil Grissom
At eleven at night, Monk and Sharona went to the Las Vegas crime lab, leaving Benjy at the hotel to play his game. In the waiting area, a person handed Monk and Sharona temporary passes to get in to the Criminalistics department. They headed back and flashed the passes. Detective Brass was waiting for them. He put out his had expecting a handshake. Sharona graciously accepted the hand. Monk grudgingly shook his hand. Sharona gave Monk a wipe. Brass shot Monk a funny look.
"Hello, I'm Detective Jim Brass. You must be Adrian Monk." Jim said. He looked at Sharona. "You are?"
"I'm his assistant, Sharona." Sharona said.
"Nurse." Monk corrected.
"Assistant slash nurse."
"Nurse slash assistant."
"Whatever. Let me go introduce you to Grissom. You will be working with him." Brass said. They walked to Gil's office. Sharona put her hand up to her mouth. She looked at all the jarred bugs.
"That's really nasty." She whispered to Monk. Monk looked at a bottled centipede.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Monk and his assistant Sharona. Right?" Grissom said. Sharona and Monk turned around to become face to face with the much talked about Grissom.
"Oh.yes." Sharona said. She looked at Grissom and smiled. Grissom pulled off his glasses and polished them with his shirt. "Would you like to have the dime tour?" Grissom asked. He put his glasses on his boyishly handsome face. He shrugged his lab coat on and walked ahead, grabbing a thin folder as he walked ahead. Monk and Sharona followed close behind. "We'll go to the DNA lab first. I have to get some results." As they arrived at the lab, they peeked in through the windows. Greg was drumming on the table with his fingers. Music was blaring from behind the glass. He bounced his head to the music. Sharona smiled at his antics. Grissom pushed open the door to the lab and shut off the music. Greg looked up with a smile on his face. "About the DNA you wanted me to run, I got the results back, and I ran it through CODIS." He said. "And, just tell us Greg." Grissom said sternly. Greg was always leading them on. "No match. I'll need a donor to compare it to." He handed Grissom the DNA results. Grissom looked over it briskly, knowing nothing would come out of it without a comparison sample, and slipped it in to the folder. "Greg, this is Adrian Monk and his assistant Sharona Fleming. They will be working with us on the Ryan case." Grissom said. Greg stuck out his hand to shake. Sharona shook Greg's hand warmly. Monk looked at Greg like he was expecting too much from him. Sharona poked Monk in the side. Monk's hand shot out, avoiding another painful jab in the side. Sharona pulled a wipe from her purse and gave it to Monk. Monk briskly rubbed it on his hand. "I'm not diseased." Greg said with a smile on his face. "Don't take it personal, Greg." Sharona said. "Monk, Sharona, we have to be in the break room to discuss this case." Grissom said and they all went to the break room. All the CSIs were crowded in the break room sipping coffee. Warrick was bent down with his head in the mini-fridge. He pulled his head out. "Ewww, Grissom, this is for our food, not your experiments. It is nasty." Warrick said shutting the fridge door waving his hand to displace the smell. "The other fridge was full." Grissom said. "Okay, this is Adrian Monk and Sharona Fleming. They will be helping us with the Ryan's case." Everybody waved or mumbled an unenthusiastic hello. They case had really taken a toll on everybody. They were putting everything they had into this case. They mayor of Las Vegas was pushing them to finish. Grissom slipped into a chair and motioned for Monk and Sharona to do the same. "What do we know about this case? What have we overlooked?" He threw the measly folder out on to the table. Armed with a wipe, Monk pulled the folder close to him and opened it. He looked at the pictures and read the report. "Laura Ryan was killed by hanging. After she was killed, the murderer disemboweled her and took her kidney. She was found hanging off her balcony. Some joyriding kids found her at one in the morning. We found some boot tracks outside her front door. He took molds of them. They were size nine men's. There were semen stains in her bed. Not fresh. Probably not relevant to this case. We lifted some fingerprints most were hers. Some unidentified fingerprints. We ran them through AFIS. No hits. We are really making progress. Not." Sara Sidle said. Monk listened. He put his hand on his forehead and sighed. He stared at the photos and laid them all out on the table. He looked at them and then closed his eyes. He put out his hand and waved it. Sara bent over to Sharona. "What is he doing?" She whispered.
"He's doing what he does best: he's trying to solve the crime." Sharona said. Monk covered his face with his hand and peeked through it. He looked at the photos and arranged the photos in a line. His eyes darted back and forth. He put up two fingers and moved them in a circle. He opened his mouth and spoke, "I need to see the crime scene." He said after an eternity of his Zen Sherlock Holmes routine. Except for Grissom, all the CSIs looked at each other. Nobody wanted to take this freak anywhere. They turned and looked at Catherine. Catherine swallowed. "Hey I'm Catherine Willows. I guess I can you to the scene." Catherine said as she stood up. She pulled off her lab coat.
Chapter 3: The Scene of the Crime
Monk hesitated at the Tahoe. "Is it clean inside?" He asked. He opened the car with a wipe in hand. He wiped the seat. Catherine revved the engine and Monk climbed in grudgingly. Catherine pulled out of the parking lot. Sharona, in the back seat, looked in her purse. She gasped. "What Sharona?" Monk said. Catherine slammed on the brakes.
"You only have one wipes left, Monk." Sharona said. "We need to stop to get some wipes." Catherine pulled the car over to a twenty-four hour convenience store. Monk and Sharona hopped out of the car. Sharona opened the store's door to keep from having to use the last remaining wipe. Monk walked through the aisles looking for his Lever 2000 wipes.
"Sharona, there are no Lever 2000 wipes. What do I do? What do I do?" Monk whined.
"Monk, please. You can do without them." Sharona said. She grasped Monk's arm.
"No. Please, no." Monk said.
"Okay.um.how about some Kleenex tissues?" Sharona offered. Monk made a growling type noise.
"No.no." Monk said as he shook his head 'yes.'
"I see we came to an agreement." Sharona said. She picked up a box of Kleenexes and paid for them. They walked back out to the Tahoe.
"Are we okay, now?" Catherine said as they were on the way to the crime scene. She cocked her head to the left, her blonde hair swinging as she did so. Monk shook his head slowly. Catherine pulled away from the mini- mart. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She finally drove up next to the curb and stopped the dark Tahoe. While she opened the door and got out of the SUV, Monk and Sharona followed her lead and did the same. Catherine slipped out her flashlight and held it in the classic law enforcement style. Monk patted his pockets looking for a flashlight and looked at Sharona as if to give her a clue.
"Yes, I get it, Monk. No, I don't have a flashlight. If I did then you would have it at your becking call." Sharona said. Monk froze up. There were no streetlights anywhere near their destination. "Catherine, do you have another flashlight?" Sharona called after the ex-stripper turned Criminalist.
"Yeah. Sure. Let me get it out of my crime kit." Catherine said. She opened the back door and stuck her flashlight under arm to secure it. She opened her kit and grabbed a mini maglite, the preferred brand of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. She tossed it to Monk, and shut the door. Monk looked at the object flying through the air. He lifted his arm in an attempt to catch the flashlight. Amazingly, the flashlight landed smoothly in Monk's quivering hand. He looked at the flashlight in his hand and then dropped it.
"What's wrong?" Sharona asked. She ran over to the flashlight and picked it up. She looked at it. "There is nothing wrong with it."
"Wi.um.Kleenex." Monk said. Catherine rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long shift. Sharona pulled a Kleenex out of her purse with out hesitation. She handed it to Monk along with the flashlight. Monk clicked on the flashlight.
"Are we ready?" Catherine asked. Monk simply nodded his head. "Okay, the vic was found hanging from her second story balcony. Up there." Catherine nodded her head up and pointed her light at the balcony. Monk turned his head to look. The trio made their way inside. Monk looked around the two-story townhouse. He looked at the framed pictures of Laura. A photo frame's glass was cracked like it had been dropped. Monk ran his finger over the crack.
"Where's the dog?" Monk asked. He pointed at some photos.
"Mmm? What dog? We didn't find a dog?" Catherine said. She walked over to the photos. "How did we miss that? There are the bowls and a doggie door." She walked to the bowls. "The water is growing algae. It has been here for a while. It is relatively empty. Umm.evaporation? Or has the dog been drinking it?"
"No.no. The dog is gone." Monk said.
"How can you tell?" Sharona asked. She looked around, trying to see what Monk saw.
"Look at the calcium ring where the water sat in the bowl. And, if the dog was here, wouldn't he come barking at us? He would at least come to see who we are, right?" Monk stated. He walked over to the doggie door. It was open. "An average sized man could have fit through this. This could be how the killer got in. There are no signs of a break in." Monk sighed. He looked around the room, and handed the flashlight to Sharona. "No signs of a struggle. Killer did not ransack the house. I don't think burglary was a motive. What." Monk sighed exhaustedly, "What was the motive? I.can't get a.feel for it." Monk held his hands up and the flopped them down. He squinted his eyes and tightened his lips. He opened his mouth then closed it. He exhaled heavily. He tapped his fingers together and then held his right hand up to his mouth.
"He might have been an acquaintance. Angry at her for.who knows? Getting revenge maybe. It's hard to tell this early in the investigation." Catherine said.
"Can we go upstairs?" Monk asked. The three went up the stairs and headed to the balcony. Monk studied his surroundings as they traversed toward the place where Laura's lifeless body was found. Monk stepped out on to the balcony. He peeked over the railing and jumped back. "Okay, that's enough." Monk said. He covered his eyes with his hand and backed off the balcony. He turned and looked at Laura's bedroom. Nothing seemed to be out of place. Her bed was made and a lamp was on. Catherine saw the lamp and the scene started to flash before her eyes.
A man with dark clothes on climbed through the doggie door. He looked tenderly at the photos of Laura. He took off a glove and caressed a photograph. Quickly realizing what he had done wrong by taking off a glove, he started to wipe the fingerprints off with his shirt. The photo frame fell from his grasp as he was wiping wildly cracking the glass. He picked up the photo frame with a gloved hand and set it back where it belonged. In his hurry, he had forgot to wipe off a fingerprint on the back of the frame, also leaving crucial fiber evidence. Meanwhile, Laura, upstairs, woke up from the noise and turned on her lamp. She put her feet on the ground with a thud to go inspect the noise. The man downstairs heard the feet hit the ground and rushed up the stairs to catch Laura before she came down. Laura screamed at the sight of the intruder with a knife in his hand. The man clasped his hand over Laura's mouth.
Monk saw Catherine's eyes light up with the realization and knew what she knew. "Sharona, I know what happened to the dog." Monk said. He looked at Sharona giving her the knowing look. "The dog is gone. It's been gone. The murderer staked out the house, killed the dog, and anticipated on coming back. Laura left the food and water out hoping the dog would come back. She thought he ran away. The dog is dead."
Catherine gave Monk a doubtful look. "And you came to this conclusion, how?"
"Don't question Monk. When he says he knows, he knows." Sharona said. Catherine could feel a 'battle of the blondes' coming on. She smiled at the thought of it. Sharona snorted at Catherine's smirk.
"Look Sharona. We CSIs follow evidence. It's our job. What we don't do is follow our gut. Like Grissom says 'Concentrate on what cannot lie: the evidence." Catherine said.
To break the tension between the two blondes, Monk flipped on the light switch. Nothing happened. He looked up at the lights. They were not burned out. Monk flipped the light switch a couple more times. Catherine and Monk looked each other in the eye. Monk had found something to back his dog theory. "The lights aren't working." He said. He smiled. He had just found something to prove himself correct.
Chapter 4: Another Murder
Back at the Lab, Catherine explained what Monk had discovered. "So, when he turned on the lights, it was realized that since they were not turning on, and light bulbs were not blown or broken, someone had been in her room, disconnection the light switch from the light bulbs. The killer had been at her house before the murder to kill the dog and tamper with the lights, so he would not be seen or heard. He wasn't counting on the lamp to be there or for him to drop the picture frame. The lamp had obviously been moved to Laura's room by Laura until she could hire an electrician to look at her light because it did not match the rest of her decor."
Grissom chewed on this theory. He pulled off his glasses and polished them with his shirt. Sharona soaked in every movement. "Well, it's a workable theory. Very possible." He finally said after giving it some thought. He put his glasses on the break room table and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, we have put in enough O.T. for a month. Go home." Grissom said. Everybody got up from their seats. Sara dumped a cold glass of coffee and went over to Monk and Sharona.
"You did a good job. Monk, Sharona." She said. She patted Monk on the back. Monk froze up. "Oh, sorry." Sara said. She left the break room.
"Let me show you out." Grissom said. Monk and Sharona followed Grissom. Sharona said her goodbyes. Monk saw the admiration in Sharona's eyes for Grissom. He felt hurt.
Monk and Sharona walked silently out to the rental car. "I'm sorry, Adrian." Sharona said after she and Monk were in the car. She put her hand on his leg. You have no idea. Monk thought. Sharona started the car and drove to the hotel. They went inside. Sharona put the key card in the slot, and they went into their room. Benjy was sprawled across one of the two beds, asleep. The TV was blaring, and Benjy's game had dropped on the floor. Sharona turned off the TV and picked up Benjy's game. Monk made a beeline to the shower. Sharona scooted Benjy over and unlaced her boots. She kicked them off and flopped down. She fell asleep. Later, Monk came out of the bathroom in his pajamas. He looked at Sharona. Gently, so as not to wake her, Monk pushed a curl out of Sharona's mouth. He, then, went silently to bed.
Disorderly, (just what Monk hated) Sharona and Monk got ready