Author's Note: Continued thanks to AlexHoodle, LJD, IdaBlue & KittyKat (and all my silent readers whom I would love to hear from) for sticking with me and for your reviews! Our detective has been through much in this story and has come through it a changed man. Only a few chapters left, so we'll see what happens as he refocuses on the mystery. Also, in case I don't post again before then, Sunday 3/21/21 is World Down Syndrome Day. The story was not planned for that, but I think it is fitting to recognize that day. Back to the story.

"Adrian, will you stop?!"

"Mmhmm…"

"Honey, I wanted to sleep in!"

"Mmmm…"

A few seconds passed by.

"Adrian! Stop it! Your beard tickles."

"You're the one that wanted me to grow it back…"

"I know. But I didn't think you'd be…kissssing...oh, gosh…my belly first thing in the morning!"

"Hmmm…"

"Adrian Monk! If you don't stop, I swear, I'm going to pee the bed!"

Monk climbed out from under the sheets, dimples in his cheeks fully on display daring her to say something.

Natalie mock glared at him, crossing her arms in front of her.

"You are so bad!" she said.

Monk pursed his lips to go in for a kiss. "Your fault."

Natalie cracked a smile and joined her lips to his for an early morning kiss. "Don't let anyone tell me that you can't get anything you want..." *kiss* "You bad..." *kiss" "...bad boy." *long kiss." "But seriously, we really do need to stop for a second. I really do have to go."

He grinned and rolled to the side to let her get up out of bed. "Need any help?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "No thank you. I've successfully been going pee by myself for the last forty-six years. I think I can manage."

"You were potty trained when you were born? Amazing!"

"Cute!" She said, throwing him a look. He laughed, raising his hands behind his head and looking contentedly towards the ceiling while she waddled to the restroom.

A few minutes later, Natalie returned and he scooted back to his side of the bed.

"I kept the covers warm for you." he said, softly.

She smiled and snuggled up next to him. "You are in rare form today. Still feeling happy?"

He hugged her close, caressing her arm with his thumb while she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Very. I know a lot of challenges still lie ahead and depending upon how severely affected he is, he's going to need as much support as he can get for a long, long time. But I feel like we've really turned a corner. This diagnosis is not, as I had perceived, the end of the world. It's the beginning of a journey."

Natalie misted up. "Mr. Monk, I couldn't have said it better myself."

"You're rubbing off on me." he replied.

"I should be after five years of marriage and three children." she responded.

"Indeed. Which brings me to another subject...I was thinking. I think it's time."

"Time? For what?"

"It's time for us to give our son a name – and to tell the family."

Natalie rolled over, propping herself up on her elbow. "You think you're ready for that?"

Monk shook his head. "Yeah. They will find out soon anyway. And, I was thinking, it's only right that Julie, Lee and Abby know what is happening with their baby brother."

"And my parents?" she asked.

Monk paused. "Well, I wasn't really thinking about them. I was thinking more about Leland and T.K, Randy, Sharona… but yeah, your parents, my dad, Ambrose and Heather, John Michael. Everyone really. It's time for us to let them know."

"If you're ready, I'm all for it. When do you want to do it?"

"Today seems as good a day as any. It's Sunday and everyone's pretty much stuck at home due to COVID. We could call Julie over later this morning and since the weather is good, a nice socially-distanced back yard barbeque with the rest of the family would be nice early evening. I can call Leland and Randy and see if they can make it."

"And, I can call Julie."

"Okay, we have a plan. Now about the second thing."

"Our son's name?"

"Yeah."

"I can tell you have something in mind." she said, recalling his earlier rejections of the names Charles (after Charles Kroger), Jack (after Monk's father), Ambrose (because his brother, like him, did not like being born with that name), Randy (because - well, there was only one Randy and while he loved him like a little brother, he did not wish to replicate him) and Jedediah (after their friend Preacher from D.C.).

"Yes. I remembered a name from page eight of your baby name book."

"You remember the page number?" she asked through raised brows.

Monk shrugged. "Of course."

"Okay, what is it?" she asked.

"I think you're really going to like it."

Leland Stottlemeyer had just sat down on the couch in his man-cave to watch a repeat of the prior season's Stanley Cup finals since the NHL had postponed the original tournament from April to August, due to COVID. T.K. and he had just eaten breakfast and she was busy upstairs looking at real estate sites near the beach in Swampscott when the phone rang. A few seconds later, Leland heard his wife's sweet voice calling to him from upstairs. "Leland. Telephone."

Leland set down the remote and walked to the bookshelves to pick up the cordless phone. "Who is it?" he asked, looking up at Trudy who was still standing at the top of the stairs. She smiled gently. "It's Adrian. He says he needs to talk."

Leland took a deep breath then nodded at her, walked over to the couch and put the television on mute then answered the phone.

"Hey, Buddy. How are you?"

"Am I calling at a bad time?"

"Oh, no. No, not at all. I was just watching the Coyotes versus the Ducks."

Monk furrowed his brow. "Coyotes versus ducks? Doesn't sound like much of a contest."

"Actually, the Ducks are up."

"Really!" Monk mused, heading for the remote. "Is this documentary on National Geographic or Animal Planet?"

Leland made a face. "Is it what?"

Monk turned on the television. "Is it on National Geographic or Animal Planet? Natalie programmed both channels into my favorites."

Leland raised an eyebrow. "Neither one, buddy. It's on ESPN."

Monk stopped. "Oh. That's not programmed into my favorites. What does it stand for? Earth Science Programming Network?" he guessed.

Leland smirked, knowing that Monk was deadly serious. "Uh, no. That would be the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network."

"At least I got Programming Network right." Monk frowned. "But are you saying they are televising animal fighting now? Someone should complain."

"Monk, it's hockey."

"Hockey?"

"Yeah, you know. Throw a puck, hit it with a stick, try to get it in the net before the other guy slams you into a wall?"

Monk exhaled in relief. "Ah. Ice Hockey! Why didn't you say so? So, I'm not interrupting?"

"Not a bit." Leland smiled. "What's on your mind."

Monk was quiet for a second to the degree that Leland thought perhaps the call had been dropped. Meanwhile, Adrian pulled out a piece of paper upon which he had written what he wanted to say. He didn't want to say too much on the call and yet he wanted to tell Leland most of all. So, he used the paper as a device to keep himself on track.

"Hello?" Stottlemeyer asked. "You still there."

Monk rolled his neck. "Yeah. I'm here. Um…" he picked up the paper. "Leland, you and I have known each other for a very long time, and aside from Natalie, I consider you my very best friend." Setting the paper down, he said sincerely, "And, I really do mean that."

Stottlemeyer responded. "Well, you're my best friend too Monk."

Monk swallowed hard. "I would like to cordially invite you and T.K. to have dinner with me, Natalie and the rest of the family because we consider you to be family. There are some things we want to talk about to the family and I would very much like it if you could come. Can we count on you to be here?" He folded up the paper. Waiting for Leland's answer.

Stottlemeyer thought for a second, of course he would be there, but he felt like whether Adrian knew it or not, if whatever he had to say was as important as it sounded, he would need Leland's support as he broke the news. Finally, he responded.

"Adrian, you are like a brother to me and of course I will be there if you need me. But, I have a question for you."

Monk shook his head. "Sh-sure. What do you want to know?"

"I don't mean to pry and if you don't want to talk right now, by all means, I will wait. But, does this have something to do with the baby? I mean I've felt like we've been tiptoeing around the subject ever since you and Natalie went to the doctor's office for the sonogram a couple of weeks ago. And, I mean, if it's something about the baby – I think maybe I've been in your shoes, remember Nicky?"

Monk stopped and a pained look appeared in his eyes. "Of course, I remember him. He was the baby that you and Karen lost."

"That's right. And that was a really painful time for both of us. Karen cried constantly and I just threw myself into work. She wanted me to talk, but I wouldn't and eventually our relationship chilled to the point that we never mentioned him or talked much about serious things at all. I think that was the beginning of the end of my marriage, even though we stayed married for ten more years. It was never the same.

But, you were there. You were with us when she went into labor at twenty-six weeks and you actually got in the driver's seat and drove us to the hospital yourself. Do you remember that?"

Monk smiled softly. "Yes. I'll never forget it. He was so small – and red. I think he didn't even weigh two pounds."

"One pound eight ounces." Leland recalled. "And he was a fighter."

"I remember." Monk replied. "And I remember you and Karen fighting for him too." He chuckled. "You know, it's dumb, but I never told you, I had wanted you to name him Michael."

Leland looked confused. "Michael and not Nick? Why?"

"Well, because then your family would have been in alphabetical order. Jared, Karen, Leland, and Michael. With Nick, you skipped a letter."

Leland put his hand over his forehead. "Well, we did name our next child Max."

"Yes. I was glad you did that." He said. "But, of course, you didn't name him Max for my sake."

"We could have."

"Really?" Monk asked, innocently.

Leland shook his head at the gullibility of his friend. "No. That wasn't the reason, and really that's not my point."

"I know. I'm sorry that I diverted us. You were talking about when Nicky died and how much of a toll that took on you and Karen."

"Yes. And how you were here for me during that time and…well, I just want you to know that I'm here for you too. Whatever you need. Day or night. I'm here."

Monk bowed his head and spoke with emotion. "I know you are, Leland. Because you always are. And, I truly appreciate it. What Natalie and I are facing right now isn't nearly as serious as what you and Karen faced though, so please don't worry about that."

Leland sighed. "I am very happy to hear that. Because, I was worried."

"Don't worry. It's going to be okay." Adrian replied. "But, he will need uncle Leland and aunt T.K.'s support so if you wouldn't mind coming tonight around six. I planned on firing up the grill outside for a cookout. I know you like to grill, and I promise to stay away from the hamburgers. We can save on the meat bill if I don't know how symmetrical they are."

"We'll be there, Monk. You want us to bring anything?"

"Just yourselves. And, thank you my friend."

"Always."

The rest of the morning was very busy for the Monks as, in between watching the kids, they informed Julie, Travis, Ambrose, Heather and Natalie's parents, Bobby & Peggy and her brother Jonathan.

As one would expect, Julie handled the news extremely well. She shed a few light tears after hearing about his heart ailment and overall condition, but then reiterated that she was looking forward to meeting her little brother and eagerly offered to help her parents with anything they might need in preparing for his birth and once he was there.

Jonathan, as the doting uncle, offered to use some of his connections in the business world to acquire any aids for kids with special needs that the couple might need – free of charge.

Ambrose was very quiet, having the same memories as Adrian about the boy across the street and many of the same worries. Monk explained to him how much things had changed since they were kids and how that things really were going to be fine and from that point on, Ambrose seemed to be okay. In fact, he offered child-care services and homeschooling as well since he was getting a lot of practice with John Michael being home. Heather hugged them and said that she would watch him too if they needed to bring him to the office on a regular basis. He was a Monk and he would always be taken care of.

Then there was Bobby and Peggy. Having them come over to the house wasn't possible because Bobby had scheduled a Zoom call with some investors late that afternoon, so Adrian and Natalie went to them. That meeting went about as well as they could expect. Peggy poured herself a drink and mused "Well, it's not what we expected but we'll make the best of it." She took a drink then remarked. "Into every life a little rain must fall."

Bobby, on the other hand, was more supportive – in his own way. He told Natalie that he and her mother would be there and love his grandson just like they loved Lee and Abby and Julie. He then pulled a mortified Adrian to the side and handed him a business card of a doctor whom could "shut off Adrian's plumbing" - explaining how he'd reached that point with Peggy after Jonathan was born. Putting a supportive hand on Monk's back he nodded toward him, "It's time." Natalie didn't know what her father had said to Adrian in private until later, but she knew it must have been a doozy by the way her teetotaling husband was eying Peggy's drink.

Finally, there was Lee and Abby. As their father, Adrian made the executive decision that they would go together as a family and explain the situation to them since he did not want to exclude them. He also wished to take the lead.

Calling them away from their play, he, Natalie, Julie and Travis all gathered in the living room and sat them down on the couch. Julie sat beside them and Travis had the rare honor of sitting in Adrian's chair. Natalie stood in the doorway.

Monk sat on the edge of the coffee table so he could get down to their level.

Lee looked up at Natalie with big eyes. "Are we in twubble?"

"No, honey. You're not in trouble. Daddy just wants to tell you about something."

Monk leaned forward.

"Lee and Abby, you're probably wondering why we're all here right now as it might seem a bit…confusing. I know we don't do these family gatherings very often, though I think we need to make a point of doing it more. But, you two are just as much a part of this family as anyone else and we… I felt you needed to know what's going on."

The kids studied him with curiosity but did not seem anxious, mainly because Natalie and Julie seemed to be fine.

"A couple of weeks ago, Mommy had an examine at the doctor's office for the baby and the doctor found a couple of abnormalities. First, he found was that the baby's heart has a defect in it."

"A de-fect?" Abby asked.

"Yes. A defect is when something doesn't work the way it normally should. In your brother's case, he has a hole in his heart which will cause issues with how the blood flows from chamber to chamber. The hole may close up or he may require surgery."

Lee and Abby turned to look at Natalie who whispered reassuringly that it would be okay. Both children then turned wide eyes back towards their father and continued to listen.

Monk cleared his throat. "The other issue is that he has been diagnosed with a condition called Down Syndrome. Now, I know you won't know what that is because you're only three, but I will try to explain it.

Your body is made up of cells, and inside the cells there is a nucleus which contains your chromosomes. The chromosomes are made up of your DNA and stabilizing proteins and you get 46 chromosomes per cell, 23 from your mommy and 23 from me."

Natalie covered her mouth and Julie bit her lip as they knew that for as hard as he was trying, Adrian had trouble speaking 'kid' and this would have to be explained again in much simpler terms, but neither had the heart to interrupt what he was doing as he was so serious about it and the children were so attentive.

"Now, when your brother was formed, something happened to where for some unknown reason, he got an extra chromosome number 21 in some of his cells. Nobody knows why it happens sometimes but it does. We're not sure right now what percentage there are, but that extra chromosome will probably affect his ability to do things like you do – not that he won't be able to do things, but it may take him a little longer."

Abby raised her hand. "Will he be able to play?"

Monk looked at Natalie and smiled "Yes, darling. I think he will like playing very much."

"And go get ice cweam wiff us when it gets warmer?" Lee asked.

"Yes. He will be able to do all of those things. He may take a few more months than usual learning to walk and his ability to talk may be delayed a bit…we really won't know until he gets here." Monk said.

"Will he be able to love us?" Abby asked in her sweet little girl voice.

Natalie stepped out of the room to hide her tears. If the world were only so pure.

Monk choked back his own emotion and spoke quietly and tenderly. "Yes, he will be able to love us. Just like we will and do love him. He will just be a little different. Unique."

"Like I have mommy's hair and Lee Lee has daddy's hair and he's good at maff while I like to sing?" she asked.

Monk looked up at Julie who was shaking her head with amazement.

Monk took his little girl in his arms and held her on the opposite knee from Lee. "Yes, darling. Very much like that. Each of you is unique in your own way and special. And we love you for you are, exactly how you are."

Lee turned to his father, waxing as philosophical as a three-year-old going on thirty could. "Then we not worry about it. If him takes a little longer, we just wait for him to catch up. No big deal."

And with that, the two children jumped off their father's lap and asked if they could go and play. Adrian nodded his head and Natalie told them to be safe, and soon Julie and Travis left for home. Julie agreed to come back at six to watch her siblings and Ophelia so that the adults could talk. Then, Natalie went back to the bedroom to take a nap and rest her back and Monk prepared for "round two."

Later that evening, the first ones to arrive at the Monk home were unsurprisingly, the Dishers. Since they lived within blocks of the Monks , they often came to visit in the days prior to COVID and their children would enjoy playing in the back yard or going with the Disher's daughter Ophelia and at least one of the adults down to the beach. But, since all of the drama that had come into their lives since December and since the pandemic had arrived, things had changed. The return to some form of normalcy, therefore, made the evening something that they were all looking forward to.

Randy carried two containers full of salads in his hand, one made of broccoli, raisins, onions, sunflower seeds and a sweet mayonnaise dressing that their family really loved. The other a simple salad with lettuce on the side, tomatoes on the side and cucumbers cut into perfect one-inch cubes – also to the side, all prepared for just one person. Normally, a husband would have taken exception with so much attention being paid to another man, but Monk was like her brother and Randy didn't mind at all.

A few minutes after the Dishers arrived, the Stottlemeyers showed up and Monk and Leland exchanged a look as they entered the home.

"You okay?" Leland said.

"You worry too much. I'm fine." Monk said, patting his friend on the shoulder as they walked towards the back yard. Leland had a flash of thought. My little boy is growing up. He smirked.

The couples sat at a long picnic table, segregated by families and then got together after dinner around a cozy firepit. It was an idealistic scene as the Monk's back yard had a wonderful view of Nahant Bay and the fresh air and good company put everyone in a very good mood. At a certain point in time, Julie looked over at Natalie who looked at Adrian who nodded. Dutifully, she gathered the children together and took them inside.

Once she was out of sight, Monk sat next to Natalie who looped her arm through his. He looked down and fumbled with his hands for a moment, having rehearsed what he would say a thousand times but somehow feeling a flowery speech wasn't really appropriate now that they were altogether and he could see their faces. Finally, he decided to just speak from his heart.

"Um, Natalie and I want to thank you all for making time in your schedules to come be with us today. We've been so close through the years and I know that you have probably sensed that something has been going on and you've each respected us enough and given us space to sorta figure things out on our own, knowing that when we felt ready to talk that we would reach out to you."

T.K. looked at Leland and winked.

Monk continued. "I want to thank you for that and tell you that, I guess, we have both gotten to the point where we feel it's okay to talk and to let our family know – and since you all are family, we just wanted to invite you out tonight to tell you about what's been happening with our baby boy."

Sharona took Randy's hand as she felt emotional watching her friend and former boss navigating through what she knew instinctively was a challenging situation – and yet doing it without even a hint of panic. Randy had been watching his behavior for a couple of weeks and when he heard it was over the baby, as a dad himself he immediately understood Monk's initial distance. If there was something going on with Ophelia, he would probably not want to talk about it right away and wouldn't have acted entirely differently than Monk had been.

Adrian looked over at Natalie and took her hand, squeezing it lightly and smiling.

"First of all, we wanted to let you know that he now has a name - Asher Jonathan Monk. Asher means 'happy' or 'blessed' and Jonathan, which is Natalie's brother's name, means "gift of God." We named him that because that's what we feel when we think of him and that name embodies who he is and is going to be."

"That's beautiful." T.K. said, taking Leland's hand.

"Adrian picked it out." Natalie said. "I thought it was beautiful as well."

Monk smiled humbly and took a deep breath. "Now, on to the second thing. We felt that we needed to tell you all that Asher has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect which is secondary to Mosaicism, a form of Down Syndrome."

The ladies took in a deep breath and simultaneously gave the couple a loving look, while Leland and Randy quickly glanced at each other and Leland then looking at Monk with a look of understanding.

"Mosaicism – that's when the extra-chromosome is only in some of the cells, right?" Sharona asked.

"Yes." Natalie replied. "They speak of it in percentages, which we won't know until he's born. And, even then we may not know how it will manifest until he's older because they are never sure which cells are affected and which aren't. We do know about the heart condition. Atrial Septal Defect."

"Oh, yeah. That's common in kids with Down's. Who is his pediatric cardiologist?" Sharona asked.

Natalie and Monk both looked at one another and frowned.

"They sent us to Dr. Rubin. But we won't be going back."

"Why's that?" Randy asked.

"Let me guess." Sharona said. "They advised termination."

Natalie nodded.

"Yeah, that's unfortunate. They usually do that." Sharona responded. "But, don't you all worry about a thing. Asher's going to have the best life ever. His aunt Sharona and Uncle Randy are going to see to that, isn't that right, Randy!"

Randy furrowed his brow. "Heck yeah! The last couple of years I was in San Francisco, one of the kids that was part of our Buddies in Blue group, Tyler Milbourne, he had Down Syndrome."

"Oh, really?" Monk asked.

"Yeah. Great kid. He kept us motivated. The other kids would be grumbling about being tired or not wanting to do something I had planned out and he'd be the first there, revving them up and telling them that it was going to be fun and they'd miss out on it if they just quit. Eventually, they elected him Buddy of the Year. I still hear from him around Christmas time. He runs a ski-shop in Durango, Colorado."

"Really!" Monk replied, amazed.

"Absolutely. His family loved to go skiing on vacation and he'd go with them. Skis better than me." Randy said.

"That's not a very high bar." Sharona said.

"Hey!"

T.K. looked to Natalie. "Is there anything you need? You know Leland and I are right here with you."

"Really, just your being here and being the people you are is all we look for." Natalie said. "We know there will be challenges, perhaps imminent with his health - but we also know that he's going to be surrounded by the best uncles and aunts that a little boy ever had."

Leland grinned, "I can guarantee he's going to be the most spoiled little boy in the state."

"Oh, no. No spoiling." Monk replied. "Just treat him like you would one of your own kids. Love him. Treat him tenderly when he needs it and correct him when he needs it."

"Yes." Natalie said. "And include him with the other kids. Because that's what he is. He's not a Down's kid. Or a Special Needs kid. He's just a kid – who just happed to come with a little something extra that the other kids don't have."

"And we're very happy to have him." Monk added.

For the rest of the evening there were smiles and tears and the real comradery that they had grown to have as a 'family'. And when the evening was over Natalie saw the Dishers off and helped T.K. get some dishes packed away with food while Monk and Leland shared a moment in the hall.

"Remember, I told you, night or day." Leland said.

Monk nodded. "I may take you up on that when he wakes up at two in the morning needing a diaper changed."

Leland laughed. "Would you ever imagine this being your life ten years ago?"

Adrian shook his head. "I had forgotten what living was ten years ago. THIS life would have scared me to death. But you know, it doesn't. I struggled when I first heard the diagnosis, but that was just out of ignorance. Somehow, this feels right – and not just for him, for me as well. This is a story that ends well."

"And I'm glad to be with you in it." Leland replied, patting Monk's shoulder then saying goodbye.

Early the next morning, Adrian showered and got dressed to go meet Joseph at the pier by eight. Natalie was not happy that the feds were involved in this at all, but when Adrian told her about Joseph she agreed to let him go – on the condition that he only go to the hospital and that Keita would be watching him. Arriving on deck, they discussed their planned sting and how Adrian was going to use the CRISPR/Down Syndrome connection in order to keep his doctor occupied at the lab. That would allow the government team time to search Ianovsky's office and hopefully find his notes.

Monk walked down the hospital corridor to the hematology lab in order to find the doctor. As luck would have it, he and Neal were both working in the lab on their latest CRISPR attempt at myeloma cells. He knocked on the glass and Neal whispered to a lab assistant to get him suited up in some scrubs and send him on in. A few minutes later, he was ushered through the doors where he patiently waited for Ianovsky to finish.

"There. Let's run this sequence." The doctor said. "Hopefully, this time we get no surprises." He looked up at Monk. "Mr. Monk. A pleasure to see you this morning."

"Thank you, Dr. I." Adrian said, with a folder in his hand. "I am glad I caught you. Actually, I am happy you're both here. It's about the topic we were discussing the other night."

"Down Syndrome?" Ianovsky asked.

"Yes. And what they are doing with CRISPR to fix it. I…I read through some of the medical papers you passed to me and I just had a few questions. Both of you may actually be able to help."

"Sure." Neal replied. "We'll answer as best as we can."

While Adrian kept the doctors busy, Joseph's team and the feds came with warrants to search Ianovsky's office. The secretary tried to leave but they blocked her and forbade her to go, given she could be a material witness. They weren't leaving without what they came for.

Entering the room, they walked to precisely where Monk had said he had seen the documents. Unfortunately, they were no longer there so they had to go rifling through Zola's cabinets and drawers. Joseph kept watch on how long Monk had been downstairs alone and told the others to keep searching. He wouldn't let him be there for more than a few minutes as his safety was of paramount importance.

"Stay with us. I may have something." One of the federal officers said, pulling Joseph to his side.

In the lab, Monk did a convincing job of playing as if he was still interested in a CRISPR fix for Down's. In your view, can CRISPR fix anything?"

Neal shrugged. "In theory, if it's genetic, we may someday be able to fix it. Currently, no."

"Well, what sorts of things can you do? For instance, if you wanted to breed a better human what would you do?" he asked.

"Wear a swastika?" Neal joked. Ianovsky didn't laugh.

"Mr. Monk, we neither members of the Third Reich nor are we Dr. Frankenstein. We are scientists. Our experiments with CRISPR while sometimes risky are for the sole benefit of easing the pain and suffering of humanity. They are for the advancement of medical science, which, if I may remind you – you would not be standing here without. "

"Oh, I'm not arguing that. Medical science is used to perform miracles every day. I have the utmost respect for what doctor's do. I just worry about this use of CRISPR – a technology that is so new being used on a genome we barely understand. I mean, you said it yourself when I came in – you hoped you would get no surprises in whatever experiment you were working on. What did you mean by that."

Ianovsky frowned. "By surprise, I meant genetic mutation. We've know that there are changes in the protein-coding gene MYC that occur early when plasma cell tumors begin and we've been targeting that. Unfortunately, our last attempt did damage in another gene nearby which would have been cataclysmic if allowed to continue."

"So, what did you do?" Monk asked.

"We destroyed the sample. What we would have done anyway." Neal replied.

"What if you hadn't caught it and didn't know it happened?" Monk asked. "I mean, isn't there the possibility that one edit to get rid of something undesirable, or perhaps, insert something desirable, will have unpleasant 'surprises' involving other things?"

"Genes do serve multiple functions." Neal replied. "For example, Down Syndrome is seen as not desirable and yet those who have it are less likely to have certain solid tumors. We think we know why that is, but it is an educated guess at this point. There is so much we do not know."

"And yet, where there is innovation, there is also risk." Ianovsky said.

"Exactly. Which makes me wonder, how far do you go? How far would you go to attain a noble goal?" Monk asked.

"To save humanity? I'd risk it all." Zola replied. "I look around and I see so much suffering, disease, mental illness, ignorance, hunger, poverty. And I look and I wonder where are the Einsteins? Where are the Leonardos? Where are the Isaac Newtons of our day? If we could somehow bring back someone of their intelligence to take a look at some of these problems. What could they possibly do?"

"Probably not much." Neal replied. "They didn't do much to stop it while they were here."

"Opportunity! Sebastian. They weren't presented with the challenge. What they did do was outstanding, don't get me wrong – but if only…"

"…the dead could live again." Monk said. "If that is your aim, I have to ask. Are you Dr. Frankenstein, after all?"

Ianovsky looked directly at Monk and his face twitched.

"Look, Mr. Monk. I understand you're a bit uncomfortable with some of what you heard at the conference." Neal said. "But, you have to understand that it is the way of science to color outside the lines. That's why people hardly ever get in trouble when an experiment fails. They might lose a license, but you're not like to see them in jail. Because people know that while what we do can sometimes be ethically questionable, in the end it brings great benefit to the world. Zola and I are at the forefront of this science. Don't let an old codger like Nicholas Cecil influence you into throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

"You've hit the nail on the head, Dr. Neal." Monk replied. "The baby being thrown out with the bathwater is my concern. Where does it stop? We cure cancer, deafness, muscular dystrophy, sickle cell anemia – great. But what's next? Use CRISPR to improve longevity? For how long? Past 100 years? 200? Some scientists are speculating people could live to be a thousand. What about good old military might? Rumor has it they are already trying to use gene editing to improve soldiers to physically withstand the conditions of war overseas? Would that be a good thing if your enemy had that technology and you did not? You can call for a ban on anyone trying to do these things, but we all know that someone will ignore the ban. They already have.

So, where does it stop? Can you engineer perfection – perfect looks, intelligence, physical attributes such as sight, smell, sound – why stop there? Make people superhuman. Why not? It's for science. All is fair game isn't it? When do people stop being human in this world? And how many have to die to achieve that goal?"

"Mr. Monk, nobody is dying as a result of what we are doing here." Neal replied.

"That's not true." Joseph Keita's voice said from the doorway. The men turned toward him and watched as he walked in with Zola Ianovsky's papers. Ianovsky's face became ashen.

"Mr. Ianovsky, we've just paid a visit to your office where we found some papers that we'd like you to explain." Keita said.

Ianovsky's face turned red. "What are you doing with that? Nobody gave you the right to go through my things."

"Oh, you're wrong there, sir. Judge Kenneth Lester signed off on a warrant Saturday night." A man said, stepping forward. "Carter Samuels, FBI." Samuels showed Ianovsky the warrant.

"Wait. I don't understand." Neil said. "What's going on here?"

"You ever hear of George Church and the Wooly Mammoth?" Monk asked.

"Yes. He's the geneticist who is trying to bring the creature back using CRISPR."

"Well, it appears that your partner has been CRISPRing more than cancer cells." Adrian continued. "He's obtained a sample of 150 year old human DNA and is taking Church's work a step further, attempting to bring back the dead."

"What?!" Neal gasped.

"You're insane." Ianovsky replied.

Monk smiled slightly. "Am I? You obtained DNA samples from a hair sample retained by the family of a factory worker named Archie Long from Lower Roxbury. I remembered reading his story in the paper and thought it was strange that they would retain that particular item as a memento of their dead relative – particularly when I knew how it had come about. You see, Archie was servicing a piece of machinery and his hair became caught in a conveyor belt. He was killed in a most gruesome way. His grieving widow, for whatever reason, saved the lock of his hair – which had some of his blood and the follicle still attached. Recently, that lock went on auction. Didn't fetch much money because Long is an unknown. But, it was a cheap source of DNA for the good doctor Ianovsky to draw from."

"Mr. Monk told me the story when we were working at my house on Saturday." Keita said. "I sent my colleagues from the FBI looking for the auction this weekend and they found it."

"The buyer was most intriguing." Samuels replied.

Ianovsky lowered his gaze to the floor.

"And so, with DNA in hand, Dr. Ianovsky attempted his experiment – first with animal subjects and then with a human subject." Monk said.

"The human died. Do you recall a patient of his named Eldridge Fanning?" Keita asked.

Neal furrowed his brow. "Yes. Homeless man. War veteran, I believe. You…you called his death a stroke." He said, disbelieving.

Ianovsky looked at Monk. "Fanning was dying already. He had stage four pancreatic cancer. I only wanted to see if the cells would take. If I could actually cause Long's cells to replace some of Fanning's cells making sort of a genetic chimera using CRISPR. We do it all the time with bone marrow and stem cells. It's not like I was messing with the germline."

"Yet." Monk said. "But in your notes, you write something about the perpetuation of changes. The only ways you can do that is by applying CRISPR to numerous individuals, which is bound to get pricey, or apply your edit to germline cells and let it automatically propagate through the species."

"But, why?" Neal asked. "What were you trying to accomplish? Resurrecting a dead factory worker? You know that's impossible."

Ianovsky nodded. "No, not the worker. Some of his traits. You see, first I wanted to see if it was possible to merge the cells. Then, I would apply certain traits to a human subject, much like Church is applying Wooly Mammoth cells to Asian Elephants to revive an extinct species. If I could accomplish something like that, then I was thinking perhaps we could swap out other genes in other areas…"

"Such as Einstein's brain cells to create a smarter human?" Monk asked.

Ianovsky smiled. "You pick up a lot, Mr. Monk. I will admit something like that was a long-range goal. But not something I was prepared to do right away. Like I said, I was just seeing if the cells would take. If they would, then we could try to determine possible applications such as better intelligence, better health, better strength."

"If that's all you were doing, why did you kill Kelsey Gifford?" Monk asked.

Ianovsky frowned. "I didn't kill Kelsey Gifford. I don't know what you are talking about."

"Miss Gifford called the FDA headquarters to report illegal experiments using CRISPR here at this facility." Joseph said. "We traced it to this lab."

"Which means that Gifford probably found out about your little side experiments." Samuels said. "Perhaps she even heard it from Fanning as he lay dying."

"No! That part's not true." Zola replied. "I had nothing to do with that girl's murder. Mr. Monk. You were there that day. I was back visiting a patient. You saw me. You and Mrs. Monk talked to me."

"All that means is you hired an assassin." Samuels said. "Regardless, I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Eldridge Fanning. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law."

"Mr. Monk! You know this isn't right! I saved your life once. Believe me. I wouldn't have killed that girl!" he said as he was being carried away.

Monk stood silently, thinking through what had just happened while a remaining federal agent talked with Neal who agreed to cooperate fully with their investigation. What if he was wrong and Ianovsky was telling the truth?

"Are you ready to go my friend? Another mystery solved?" Joseph asked, placing his hand on Adrian's shoulder. Monk slowly walked toward the lab door sickened by the thought that he may have identified the wrong man.

"Excuse me," Neal said to one of the agents as he ran after Monk. "Mr. Monk. I wanted to tell you thank you. I…I have to say I'm a bit shaken by what just went on. I've known Zola for thirty years. I never would have imagined him doing something like this in a million years, much less killing the poor Gifford girl over it."

Adrian looked up at him nodded. "Neither could I, until I saw his papers with my own eyes."

"Well please. Keep me posted. Anything that I can do. We share an office area and I pretty much know where he stores everything. You need access, give me a call." Neal replied.

"Okay. Thanks." Monk said, placing his hand on his forehead as he and Keita walked away.