Chapter 7: Uncovering Clues

Monk continued to sift through the ashes - literally - of the pit, hoping to find something that would lead to the cause of the bombing. Finally, he found just what he was looking for.

"Sharona, look at this," he said, walking over to her with something charred in his hand.

"What the hell is that?" she asked, barely touching it with one of her perfectly manicured nails.

"It's just the piece of evidence I needed," he said, not completely answering her question.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that. I was just wondering what it's supposed to be."

"Well, I think it's the bell from a trumpet," he explained, "and this residue inside it seems to suggest that this is where the bomb was placed."

Sharona looked confused. "Why would someone put a bomb in a trumpet?"

Monk shrugged. "Maybe someone wanted that player dead."

"Or," Sharona broke in, having a theory of her own, "the person in front of them." He gave her a skeptical look. "It makes sense. If a bomb goes off, wouldn't the person directly in front of it be harmed the most?"

"But there would've been a music stand in the way," Monk rationalized.

"So? If the bomb was strong enough, it would blow the stand to pieces." Monk pondered her theory for a moment, then spoke.

"The only question now is, how would one activate a bomb inside a trumpet? Surely the player would realize the bomb was in there."

"Not if they were playing something that required a mute." It was Captain Stottlemeyer, joining Monk and Sharona in their investigation. Monk gave him a questioning look. "It's possible that if there was a mute in the trumpet, they wouldn't notice something else in there. I just finished talking to some guys from the bomb squad, and they say it would be possible to activate a bomb by sliding something against it."

"So the mute..." Monk started.

"Would set off the bomb," Stottlemeyer finished.

"Ka-boom," Sharona stated softly. Monk looked over at her again, realizing that she just might be a very good detective on this particular case. After all, she had realized a few possibilities that he hadn't even thought of.

"Sharona," he began, catching her attention, "what was it you said about who the bomber wanted to hurt?"

"The person sitting in front of the trumpet player," she supplied. "But if there was something in the trumpet when the bomb went off..."

"Then that would've muffled the explosion," Monk realized. "Maybe the goal wasn't to hurt anybody at all."

"Then what was the goal?" Sharona asked.

"To draw attention away from something in this pit," Stottlemeyer answered. "There's gotta be something in this pit, something that the bomber didn't want us to see."

"I guess we're going to have to do some digging around," Sharona said, looking over at a very anxious Monk.

"Can - can you do the digging? I don't want to get all dirty," Monk volunteered Sharona for the job.

"Good thing I'm not wearing my dress," she muttered, handing him her purse. "I'll let you know if I turn up anything interesting."

Monk took her purse gingerly, and watched as she manuevered her way around the remains of the horn section and began sifting through the debris littering the pit.

"Monk!" Stottlemeyer yelled to him, causing Monk to turn and walk towards him reluctantly, looking back at Sharona every few seconds.

"What is it, Captain?" Monk asked, lightly setting Sharona's purse on a nearby table.

"This is Pierre," Stottlemeyer responded, pulling forward a jet-haired young man in a waiter's uniform. "He claims he saw the bomber."

Back in the orchestra pit, Sharona unsheathed something shiny and held it up to the light. After reading the inscription, she realized what was going on and quickly turned around, stumbling.

"Oh my God, Adrian," she muttered, holding it up. "I think I found it!" She lifted her head and looked straight into the face of...the bomber himself.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else," Sharona apologized, laughing nervously. "He's over there. I'll just go..."

The bomber grabbed her arm before she could make her way to Monk. "You're not going anywhere, lady. Give it to me and no one gets hurt."

"Okay," Sharona squeaked, timidly handing it to him. As soon as their hands touched, she screamed, "Adrian! It's him!"

Monk, Stottlemeyer, Randy, and Karen all turned around to see Sharona being dragged off by the bomber.

"Oh my God, Sharona!" Monk cried, and the group ran towards the pair.

"I should've known you were with the cops," the bomber relayed to Sharona as he tightened his hold on her, a hand over her mouth. "I was just going to let you go, but I guess you leave me no choice now. I have to kill you."

Sharona's eyes grew wide and one thought raced through her mind: Please, Adrian, save me.