Thanks to all who reviewed so far! Jesus Freak 17 1/2, monkaholic, Taelia, camerabugs, and lady rosebit! Good idea as well, lady rosebit, I've been trying to think of other storylines! Please continue with the feedback! Hint hint to others as well!
"Now, why do you say that?" Captain Stottlemeyer asks, obviously puzzled. I just stare at Monk, as if he was telling an unfunny joke.
"The key…" he explains, "the lock on the fireproof box only fits the key a certain way, with the teeth up. The corpse is holding the key with teeth down. He…he wouldn't have been able to open the lock with the key at that angle. It unlocks with a left turn."
Stottlemeyer is obviously stunned by this, but he doesn't show it to Monk. "Very good, Monk, but why don't we find out what's in the box first?"
He swipes the key from the skeleton's hand, and proceeds to shove it into the keyhole. He had forgotten about the teeth thing, and does it the wrong way the first time. Monk sighs with relief, knowing he is correct, at least in that assumption.
The captain opens the box to find… a suicide note. He stands up abruptly, with Monk following behind him closely as he paces about the room reading it.
"Well, you were right about the murder, Monk; it was a self-inflicted murder. Just like the firefighters said, a suicide. Must've burnt the house down and stayed put." I can see the detective's shoulders droop at the comment. He hands the note to Monk with an air of superiority.
Monk reads it carefully, obviously in disbelief about his theory. He looks up at the captain after he finishes reading it. "B-but the key…" he cries. Stottlemeyer has beat him, at least for now, and he's heartbroken.
"Well, let's head on out and tell them to remove what's left of this body," the captain happily quips. Monk is still not comfortable, and he scans the room, looking for some shred of dignity. He attempts to find it at the door.
"Captain, look at this door. It's locked." He motions towards the intact frame of the door itself, and we can plainly see that it was locked… from the inside.
"What does that have to do with anything? I think your observation further proves my theory, knowing that the person was locked in when he or she died. Maybe once the victim started the fire, he or she regretted it but knew it was too late."
"It's a he," Monk mumbles. "The pelvis…." His words are lost on the captain, who is now rereading the suicide note. He comes up beside Stottlemeyer, adding a few more comments. "But… it was initially an explosion, wasn't it? How would the… guy have time to come back upstairs and lock himself in?"
"Maybe it was timed. Are we done here now?" He looks perturbed. I can tell Monk is getting to him with his theories.
Trudging along, the disheartened detective leads the way to the stairs with Stottlemeyer and me emerging from the suicide room, and as I grimace of thinking how much the captain's ego will grow at this discovery, Monk disappears from view, and a loud thump echoes in the gutted building.
I begin to panic immediately, fearing the worst: Monk falling through the floor, down the stairs…. When I come upon him though, I realize that he has indeed tripped over the gas mask, and is now holding his face a couple of centimeters above the floor, staring down at the wood of the top stair.
"Mr. Monk, are you okay? Do you need an ambulance?" I get down on both knees, attempting to see his face.
Stottlemeyer soon appears, and grumbles. "Get up, Monk, you're fine," he barks, maybe thinking that Monk wants some attention now.
As I lower my face to the sooty floorboards, I can see that he is staring right at them. Quickly I fan my hand in front of his eyes, which are unblinking, and he jerks up, seemingly annoyed at the interruption. I stand back up and lock my arm under his armpit preparing to help him get on his feet, but he shakes it away.
"How… strange," he mumbles.
"What is it? Have you gone nuts?"
"No." He's angry now, and he pulls himself to a kneeling position on the floor. "These boards… were soaked with water… doused completely…. to keep them from burning."
"How can you tell that?"
Monk points at a rounded whitish stain. "You can see the marks the water left when it dried on the wood." He signals for me to look closer at them, and I am able to make out the lines of white. "Now you see why I use coasters," he attempts to joke.
The captain is no longer interested, which is as plain as the moustache on his face. Monk speaks up from his spot on the floor, knowing that it's now or never to explain this occurrence. "Captain, someone soaked these stairs. Someone wanted the police to come upstairs, and so had to prevent them from burning away."
"And your point is…." He looks agitated by this attempt to trump him.
"Now, why would the suicidal man care if the police found his body? Since the box is fireproof, it'll stay intact and be found sooner or later… whether or not the body is there too. Someone wanted the police to think this man committed suicide."
With a scoff and a shake of the head, Stottlemeyer steps over Monk and walks down the stairs, not even taking note of the little white designs on the steps. I help the detective to his feet, and as he brushes off, I pick up the gas mask and drape it over my arm. We slowly walk down the stairs together, and he continually rubs his hands together to rid them of the soot and ash.
As we walk out of the building, we notice a man in long underwear, covered in soot and ashes, walking drunkenly out of the house. Monk stops to gape, but I pull him along.
"You don't know what drunken people are capable of," I say, attempting to explain. "He might… attack you." I then smile at him, and hear myself say, "I believe you," as we travel along the sidewalk to the Cherokee.
