Andy Breckman is the genius behind Monk, not me.

Mr. Monk Meets His Match
Chapter 2
by Zzilly14

The following day, Adrian Monk found Rachel Bradley sitting on a bench in a small park, staring sadly at the very dirty sidewalk. They were not far from where her brother Fred was murdered.

"We can go somewhere else," Monk said with concern.

Rachel looked up and gave him a small smile, her brown hair blowing lightly in the breeze. "It's okay, Mr. Monk. I think I need to see where it happened. For closure, you know?"

He nodded as she stood up. He didn't want to admit how much he liked her beige satin blouse. It reminded him of Trudy...

"You've lost someone too," Rachel realized as she stared into his eyes.

"My wife was murdered eight years ago," he sighed.

She paused while her eyes found his left hand. "And you still wear your wedding ring?"

Monk stared at it. "I haven't found closure yet. Her case is still unsolved."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Monk," she replied as they headed towards the crime scene.

...

Rachel stared hard at the tree for a few moments, where her brother's body had hung from. It was hard to believe Freddy had died right there, just a few feet away from her.

"Miss Bradley?" Monk said from behind.

"Mr. Monk, can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

She turned around, revealing that her usually-warm-and-friendly nature had become cold and almost vicious. "Find the asshole who did this to Freddy and make sure he pays for what he did."

Monk looked into her deep blue eyes and nodded. "I promise you, Miss Bradley, that I will solve this case," he assured.

Rachel nodded in return and started to walk away angrily, but Monk grabbed her arm.

"What?" she snapped.

"Wait here," he said. The detective started surveying the scene, lifting his hands toward the tree branch. He then looked at the base of the tree where the note had been, and suddenly pulled out a wipe from his pocket. He then bent down to pick something nestled deep in the grass.

"What is it?"

He went back over to Rachel and displayed the object he was holding.

"Oh my gosh," she said, her eyes widening. "That was Kate's!"

"Are you sure?"

Rachel nodded confidently. "When I was seven, I gave her that locket for her high school graduation, and she wore it ever since," she replied. "It was custom-made, Mr. Monk. There's an engraving on the back."

"To Katey Bear, 1982. 'Katey Bear'?"

"It was my nickname for her when I was a kid. Oh my gosh, what if Freddy found her?"

Monk stared at the golden locket. "Maybe he almost found her," he stated.

"What do you mean?" Rachel wondered.

The detective paused before saying, "I think your sister was kidnapped."

...

"Kidnapped?" the Captain asked as he examined the locket. "What makes you say that?"

Monk and Rachel were at the police station to share their findings with Stottlemeyer and Disher.

"Miss Bradley told me that her older sister Kate Jenkins has been missing since the middle of May, and I believe that the victim, her brother, was trying to get her back. Maybe he didn't pay the ransom, or maybe he found her and was trying to rescue her... whatever the case, the kidnappers weren't happy and murdered him."

"But I don't understand why someone would want to kidnap Kate. She doesn't have a lot of money."

"Maybe she knew something... what was her occupation?"

"She worked at a school library," she shrugged.

"Hmm..." Monk pondered. "She was married, right? Where's her husband?"

"He got lung cancer and passed away... about three years ago."

Stottlemeyer added, "If she was kidnapped, wouldn't the kidnappers have bragged about it, asking for ransom months ago?"

"Maybe they only told Fred about it," Disher thought.

"But it doesn't make sense," Rachel stated angrily. "If Kate was kidnapped, why wouldn't Freddy tell me about it? And there's no reason that anyone would want to kidnap her. I'm sorry Mr. Monk, but I don't think your theory works."

"Then how did Fred Bradley get in possession of your sister's locket?"

The room became silent as everyone considered different theories.

...

"Autopsy came back," Randy Disher said a few hours later, with file in hand. "It's been confirmed that Mr. Bradley was already dead before being hung."

"How did he die?" Rachel demanded.

"Rat poison," Disher stated.

"How about the suicide note, whose handwriting was it?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"Fred Bradley's."

"Were there any fingerprints on the note?" Monk questioned.

"Nope, it's clean, except for the victim's prints."

"Damn!" the captain yelled. "Everything points to suicide, except for the fact that he was dead before he hung on that tree. We got a locket of the missing sister at the crime scene, and no suspects whatsoever. We've got no leads. Monk, do you have anything? Anything at all?"

The detective looked like he was about to speak, but then stopped. He shook his head. "Not at the present moment, Captain," he answered sadly.