"Mr. Monk? Mr. Monnnnkkkk?" Natalie's familiar voice came ringing through the hallway of Adrian Monk's Russian Hill apartment as it had nearly every weekday morning for the past eleven years. Monk was normally already out in the kitchen by the time that she arrived but had taken a little extra time to get ready that morning. He felt he needed to, as he was gathering up the nerve to woo her away from her boyfriend.

How he planned to do this was the same way that he had wooed Trudy. Trudy was dating a Berkeley Medical student named Drew Alba when he met her. Alba later went on to become a famous heart surgeon, but in college he was handsome and confident and polite, at least to those whom he wanted to impress – not entirely unlike Steven Albright; and, he had everything that most girls wanted -except for Trudy, and Monk knew it. He knew that unlike many girls who would latch on to a guy whose future looked so bright, Trudy's needs were different. She wanted a soul mate. And Adrian stepped in to be that soul mate and quickly won her heart.

Natalie was a bit different from Trudy in terms of her overall personality and demeanor; but she was similar in terms of the quality of woman she was. Men of prestige did little to impress her and while Steven and she had a connection through her husband Mitch, she wasn't attracted to him because of his position. In fact, Monk didn't sense that their relationship was that of soul mates at all. Comfortable, yes. But not like the kind of relationship that he knew she wished for. This was where he would step in. After eleven years of constant togetherness, Monk knew Natalie; and, he knew that he had within him the ability to be the kind of man that she wanted and needed in her life. He already had those qualities inherent within himself. He just had to stop fighting it, which he was determined to do. To say that he didn't have a romantic bone in his body would be inaccurate. He was the ultimate romantic; but, just reserved that part of himself for the woman he loved. And, he was ready to unleash that side of himself for his Natalie, hoping desperately that she would reciprocate his love.

"Be right there." He yelled from the bedroom while sitting down on his bed and using an extra-long shoe horn in order to slip a new pair black leather shoes onto his feet without touching them with his hands. As he set the shoe horn down, he noted his palms felt sweaty and began to panic.

"Talcum. Talcum." he repeated to himself in desperation. Rushing to the cabinet, he pulled out a container of powder to draw the moisture away from his hands, being very careful to not get it on his grey dress slacks. Placing the powder back in the cabinet, he noted that he was far too nervous for this encounter and he tried to shake it off. While it was true that it had been over two decades since he had been in such a spot (trying to woo a woman); he was excited for the first time in a long time about what the future held and needed to enjoy the moment – for once in his life. This was Natalie. He trusted her with everything. He could trust her with his heart.

Grabbing his jacket and putting it on, he checked himself in the mirror one more time, smoothing down his hair with his hand and then his eyebrows with his pinky finger. He stood back, made sure that his dress shirt was tucked in properly to his trousers and that his collar was straight, then smiled and winked, pointing at himself in the mirror before turning toward the door. He was ready to go.

As he walked out of his bedroom and moved towards the kitchen, he saw that Natalie was looking into his refrigerator. "Oh. Hi Mr. Monk. I was just getting a bottle of water. Hope you don't mind."

Adrian walked into the kitchen with a little swagger in his step. "Why would I mind, Natalie? Take whatever you want. And, didn't I tell you to call me…"

"Steven…" she said immediately, placing her hands on Adrian's arms.

Monk shook his head in confusion. "Steven? I didn't tell you to call me Steven…why would I do that?"

She gently moved him out of the way and looked into his dining room. "Not you, Mr. Monk. Steven is sitting over here. Sweetie, did you want some ice in that?" she asked.

Monk tilted his head then turned around slowly. There, in the next room, Steven Albright sat eagerly waiting for a bottle of water at Monk's dining room table.

Albright smiled and waved. "Hey, Mr. Monk. Hope you don't mind. Nat got a call from the Captain this morning about some case and I thought it sounded interesting, so thought maybe I could tag along with you guys today. See how you all work."

Natalie brought him a bottle of water with ice in a glass, reaching out her hands to give them to him. Albright took the glass from her, staying seated then wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him, keeping his hand on her upper hip. "Besides, I haven't seen her in several weeks, so thought it would be good to get caught up again." He tickled her side and she giggled then moved nervously away.

Monk looked steelily at Albright and then to Natalie who cringed. This was not his happy look.

"You don't mind, do you, boss?" she asked, raising her brows anxiously.

Monk could feel his blood pressure immediately rise but worked hard to not let it show "Of course not, Natalie." He said, steadily. "…as long as he doesn't get in the middle of a crime scene. We do still have work to do."

"Excellent!" Steven said, clasping his hands together and taking a sip from the water bottle. "I think I'll just take this with me." He stated, jumping up from his chair and walking with the glass to Monk's sink, dumping the ice therein. From there, he went to put the glass directly in the dishwasher.

"No! No! No!…." Monk said, scrambling over to Steven's side and snatching the glass from his hand.

"What? What did I do wrong?" Albright asked, confused, looking between Monk and Natalie. Adrian reached under the sink for the dish soap as Natalie explained.

"Um…Mr. Monk never puts anything directly into the water without first hand washing it." She replied.

"But…it was just ice." Albright reasoned.

"Doesn't matter." She said as Adrian washed the glass. "It still has to be washed. Right, boss?"

Monk looked over at her and nodded. "Every dish in this house has been washed and sterilized."

"But, it's just ice." Steven said again.

"Your hands touched the glass." Monk scowled. "Washed and sterilized."

Albright looked at Adrian incredulously as Monk put the glass in the dishwasher. "But…"

Natalie reached up making a 'cut off' motion with her hands and shaking her head, mouthing don't argue.

Monk shut the door to the dishwasher then began walking towards the door.

"Well, we'd better be going if we're going" he stated, sternly. "The Captain wanted us at the station first thing and we're already running late."

Natalie grabbed her purse and nodded to Steven to follow Adrian, but Steven quickly moved in front of her in order to get the door.

"I'll… get the door." Adrian said, briskly, looking at Albright with an uncompromising gaze.

A surprised Steven chuckled nervously and stepped back. "Sure, man. Whatever you say."

"After you, Natalie." Monk said softly, motioning with his hand for her to walk out the door. She shrugged and smiled an uncomfortable smile then passed Adrian who then turned and walked out the door before motioning with his head to Albright that he could then exit the apartment. While Steven caught up with Natalie, Monk locked his apartment door and quietly told himself to keep it together.

Once downstairs, the three walked out of the apartment building and Steven took out the keys to Natalie's car in order to drive. Monk stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Wait. What is this?" he said.

"What? What's wrong?" Steven asked.

"Natalie drives." Adrian said forthrightly.

"Huh?" Steven asked. "It's really no problem."

"Yes, it is, Steven. Natalie, did you not tell him that you always drive?" Monk replied, curtly. "Natalie always drives and I sit in the passenger seat. That's the way it is. If you must travel with us, you can sit in back, and please stay out of the way. We have a big case we're working on today and don't need distractions."

Steven looked around uncomfortably. "Of course. But hey man, it doesn't really feel like you want me tagging along, which is okay. So, if you like, I can catch a cab..." he said, standing on the sidewalk.

Natalie was beginning to become irritated. "You're fine, Steven. Just hop in the back and…" she said, but before she could finish, his cellphone rang. Albright pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it, then answered. "Sorry, baby. I've got to take this. Will be just a minute." he said as he walked off to the side where he could talk privately.

Monk sighed audibly and slid into the passenger's seat as Natalie climbed into her usual place on the driver's side. While he reached for his safety belt, Natalie looked at him in exasperation "And, exactly what was that?"

"What do you mean? What was what?"

"That! How you're treating Steven."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." he replied throwing his chin up in the air.

"Oh, yes you do, Adrian Monk. Why are you being so rude?"

"Rude? Ha! I'm not being rude."

"Yes, you are! You're not acting nice at all."

"Well, excuse me if I didn't know you were going to bring your boyfriend to work today. Which reminds me, exactly why did you see fit to bring Mr. Halfbright to the office today? This isn't exactly career day. We don't do show and tell. This is a professional setting."

"He's not Mr. Halfbright. He's a medical doctor and very smart and …well I couldn't just leave him at the house all day." She replied.

"You mean he stayed there last night?!" Monk replied.

"Yes." She said, but the noting the disappointed look on Monk's face, she added, "On the couch, of course."

Monk straightened up, glaring at her with one eyebrow raised. "He couldn't find a hotel?"

"I really don't think this is any of your...? Oh, forget it. We aren't discussing this right now." She took a deep breath. "Listen, I wouldn't have brought him if I thought it was going to be a problem. I should have known you would have a hard time with it."

Monk looked over at her. "Why would I have a hard time?" Then he looked straight ahead. "It's fine."

"It's fine? It doesn't seem fine."

"I can't help how it seems. It's fine." He said, again clinching his jaw. "Just keep him out of the way."

"He won't be in the way." She replied.

"See to it!" he stressed.

"Alright. He'll just stand back and observe. Okay?" she asked.

"Fine." He responded.

"Fine." she said quietly, wishing she that she had possessed the will to tell Steven no that morning. Things were going so well. The last thing she wanted was conflict.

Another minute passed and Monk began looking impatiently in his rear-view mirror to see when Albright was coming back. He then looked at his watch.

"We have plenty of time." She noted, observing his impatience.

"Not that much." Monk replied. "How much longer is he going to be?"

"We're good. Trust me." She said.

Monk sighed and began tapping his left hand on the console. This gave Natalie the perfect opening.

"Where's your ring at?" she asked.

Monk stopped tapping. "Huh?"

"Your ring. Your wedding ring. It's gone." She replied. "Are you getting it repaired?"

Monk looked down at his bare hand and softened, the question itself bringing his intentions back into focus. "I took it off." he said softly, his pointer finger on his right hand tracing where the ring once sat and its outline still remained from years of wear. "It was time."

Natalie looked at him and marveled. "It was time? Now there's some news. That's a huge step. How did you know?"

"It was just one of those things." he said, looking at his hand and then deeply into her eyes. "You know, when it's right...it's right. Right?"

Natalie took a deep breath inward then looked down and blushed as Monk turned his head forward with a slight smile on his face. Score one for Team Monk.

A few seconds more passed as she sat there pondering the moment. After a few seconds she furrowed her brow and then sniffed. She sniffed again. Leaning over towards him she looked him up and down.

"Are you…wearing cologne?" she asked.

Monk did a slight adjustment of his neck. He hadn't wanted to appear obvious. "What?" he asked.

She leaned in closer to where she was close enough that he felt her breath on his neck. "You're wearing cologne! In eleven years time, I've never known you to wear cologne. Not that you need it. You are the cleanest guy I know."

He looked slightly agitated. "I…well…I…"

"It smells nice." She smiled, bringing a slight grin to his face.

The smile was what Natalie wanted to see and it emboldened her to say more "And you're all spiffed up today too." She said, reaching out and pinching his arm. He moved a little in protest but not too much. "You look…well...very nice today. Quite handsome."

Score two. This time, Monk was the one to drop his head and smile a different kind of smile, one that intentionally revealed those dimples that had made Trudy go weak in the knees. He glanced over at her, and it appeared to be having the same effect on his assistant. Reaching out his hand, she gasped when he used it to hold on to hers.

"Just something I decided to do this morning. You know, switch things up a little." He said. "Show a little spontaneity…"

Natalie swallowed hard as his thumb traced a path back and forth over the top of her hand. The romantic tension in the car at that moment being palpable. Her lips parted and she was about to say something to him when suddenly the back door opened and she withdrew her hand quickly, placing it on the steering wheel.

Inning over.

"Sorry about that!" Albright said. "That was Colonel Caldwell. He was just letting me know about the board meeting and what all they decided."

Natalie looked over at Monk, whose hand now fidgeted with the fabric of his pants. "Steven's up for a promotion." she said.

Monk looked in the rear view at Alright's eyes. "Oh?"

"Yes." Steven said. "Lieutenant Commander. It might entail being re-stationed, but it's a big opportunity. The board was meeting today and have taken the initial steps and submitted paperwork. It's looking good so far. I should know in a few weeks."

"Isn't that wonderful?" Natalie said, smiling. "That's just great! You've worked so hard. I'm proud of you!" she replied, smiling towards the back. "Don't you think that's great, Mr. Monk?"

Adrian smiled a smile that didn't go to his eyes. "Yeah. Great. Congratulations."

Arriving at the station, the three walked into the squad room. Stottlemeyer was surprised by Albright's presence and looked over at Monk who merely rolled his eyes and walked away from the couple, towards the investigation board. While Natalie gave Steven a tour, Stottlemeyer moved next to Adrian to see how his friend was doing. Monk folded his hands in front of him and the two were silent for several seconds while Leland waited for Adrian to speak. Furrowing his brow, Stottlemeyer gave up waiting as he sniffed the air several times, leaning over towards Monk.

"You wearing cologne?" he asked.

"Eh…" Monk said, with a shrug, continuing to look at the board.

Leland smirked and decided to let it go. "Well, are you going to tell me what wonder boy's doing here?"

Monk frowned. "Natalie brought him. We're apparently having bring your hunk to work day."

"I see. That's not exactly protocol." Leland replied.

"I know." he responded. "Apparently, he had nothing better to do today and Natalie agreed to it. How could I say no to Natalie?"

"You've said no plenty of times." Leland replied. "You just say no."

"Can't." Monk lamented. "Not now. Not any more."

Leland shook his head and patted his friend on the back. "Well, hang in there, and remember…all's fair in...well, you know..."

Monk nodded but said nothing more.

Turning towards the squad room, Stottlemeyer announced "Okay, boys and girls. Gather 'round." He picked up a pointer and tapped the board. "Our victim is a former professional gymnast. Pretty famous - Svetlana Yaroslav, age forty-five. Yaroslav moved here from the former Yugoslavia in 2000 while she was part of the Olympic games. Since then she has lived in San Francisco where she taught gymnastics and dance. Her landlord, a man named Sergei Gregori found her stabbed to death in her training studio early this morning. Our first responders, Sergeant Bentley and Detective Shaw, have preserved the crime scene so that we can take a look but they indicate that there was no sign of forced entry or struggle, and the window to the fire escape was left open. Forensics should be there about eleven to dust the place for prints so be careful when you visit to maintain the scene as is."

"Preliminary interviews have indicated Ms. Yaroslav was not necessarily well liked among the tenants" Bentley said stepping up with a notepad. "Some say she was often in other people's business."

"Yes, and the landlord mentioned several potential suspects that she didn't get along with." Shaw added.

"Which is why we need everyone to take a packet of what we have so far including those potential suspects." Stottlemeyer said, stepping up. "Need you to look through it and see what we can determine about the whereabouts of those names mentioned. Monk, you and Natalie are coming with me to the crime scene. Albright, you can come too but you need to stay back so that we can work."

"Sure thing, Captain." Steven replied. "You won't even know I'm there."

Arriving at the studio ten minutes later, Monk quickly got out of the car and rushed to Natalie's side, ushering her into the building in front of him as Steven walked behind. The landlord let them into the apartment which had been kept exactly how it was found.

"Are you here to examine Miss Yaroslav?" he asked, looking at Steven.

Steven put his hands behind his back and shied away. "Uh...I'm just here as an observer. These guys are the professionals. You need to talk to them."

The man looked to Monk.

"That's right." Monk stated. "Lieutenant Albright is here to observe...way over there...out of the way." he said, pointing to an area by far wall. "Natalie, you stand by me."

Steven did as he was told and Natalie stood at Monk's side, quietly watching him and waiting for any additional instructions that he might have. The victim lay undisturbed a few feet away from a stainless-steel stretch bar along the wall. A knife protruded from her abdomen, making the cause of death seem elementary. But, as Monk got a closer look, he grimaced and shook his head.

"Everything okay?" Leland asked, a toothpick perched on his lip.

Monk paused, raising one hand to his forehead. "No. Something's not right."

Natalie stood next to him as she and Stottlemeyer waited for him to explain his observance. But nothing was forthcoming. He framed the visual between his fingers but couldn't help but get distracted by Albright who was leaning against the wall, watching from afar.

"Is it the victim?" Natalie asked. "The way her body's laying here in the middle of nowhere? No struggle?"

"No. It's not that." Monk replied. Why is he here? He asked himself. Doesn't she know how inappropriate this is?

Bending down to get closer to the body, he stopped and asked Stottlemeyer and Natalie to move to his other side, blocking his view of Albright, as well as blocking Steven's view of himself. Steven leaned to his left to see if he could see around them but could not. Monk's mind immediately cleared.

"Do you live here?" he asked the landlord.

Gregori replied, "Yes. I live upstairs."

"Did you hear or see anything unusual, say, last night, say….around four o'clock in the morning?" Monk asked.

"No." he answered. "All was quiet. Are you thinking that's the time she was stabbed?"

"No. She was stabbed this morning." he replied. "But she died sometime earlier than that, and not by stabbing."

"What makes you say that?" asked Stottlemeyer curiously.

"Well, first, there's not enough blood." He stated. "She was stabbed in the abdomen. But because she died earlier, the blood had already pooled inside her body next to the floor. The reddish purple hue in her coloring at this point also makes it seem that perhaps she's been dead maybe seven, eight hours?"

"That's consistent, Captain. Rigor mortis had already set in when we got here." stated Shaw.

Stottlemeyer made a note. "So, maybe about three or four this morning? What was she doing here at this time?"

"Next door neighbor said she practiced every morning around five, warmed up." Shaw responded. "So, maybe someone surprised her."

"But there was no forced entry." Natalie added. "So, she had to know the person. Right?"

Monk nodded towards his assistant with a smile.

Stottlemeyer nodded. "But, how? How did she die? Poison? There are no signs of strangulation, no gunshot wounds."

"Hit in the head?" Steven asked from the other side of the room. "I could take a look."

"The coroner will determine that." Monk sneered. "You stay right there."

Natalie looked over at Steven and simply raised her eyebrows, tilting her head and shrugging.

Albright stayed quiet.

Adrian stayed silent for a moment longer, his mind processing the scene. Natalie recognized the look.

"She's on the second floor." he said to himself. "It's four in the morning. People know she gets here early..." He raised his hand to head again.

"You okay?" she asked, quietly, stepping in to his view and touching his arm. He looked over at her eyes, clearly deep in thought. What happened was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't draw it out. He couldn't connect that dot.

The conclusion is right here...I can almost taste it. He thought. Why can't I think? Why can't I make that connection? Why can't I..." Suddenly, he became very agitated as he glanced to his side and realized that Albright had moved from his spot and was now leaning against the window.

"WHAT! Are you doing?!" he barked, jumping up so quickly he almost knocked Natalie over as he walked towards Steven.

"What?" Albright asked, cluelessly.

Monk motioned for him to stand. "Up! Up! Up! Get up! Get your rear end off of the windowsill!"

"Was just trying to get a better view." Steven replied, defensively, as he stood and moved quickly away.

"You were told to stand over there!" Monk reprimanded.

"Mr. Monk!" Natalie interjected, trying to defuse the situation. She reached out her hand to grab his arm.

"This is a crime scene! You were supposed to stay out of the way! And now, look…"

"Mr. Monk." She responded. "Will you please calm down. He was trying to…"

"He was sitting on the windowsill, Natalie! The perpetrator may have touched that windowsill and since forensics isn't going to be here until eleven..."

"Monk, I'm sure he didn't disturb anything." Leland replied, but Adrian would have none of it.

"Albright. You may have just compromised evidence. Are you aware of what you have done?"

"Mr. Monk!" she said again. "Calm down! I'm sure everything is okay."

"I'm sorry." Albright replied waving his hands and stepping towards Natalie.

"Get! Just move out of the way!" Adrian barked.

"Adrian!" Natalie gasped, as Steven walked behind her.

"I didn't mean to do anything. I swear." He replied. "Again, I'm very sorry."

Adrian ignored his comment and began looking around the windowsill in order to find some disturbed bit of evidence to blame on him.

"Monk, calm down." Leland replied, knowing that his overreaction was from more than just the windowsill. "It doesn't look like anything has been disturbed."

Steven put his arms around Natalie's waist and whispered something in her ear.

"Touch-ing!" Monk bellowed.

"What?" Natalie asked.

"Touch-ing. He's touching you now. This is a crime scene, Ms. Teeger…not date night!"

Natalie grew angry. "Adrian Monk!" she said, grabbing him by his arm. "Over here! Right now!"

"Ow!" Monk protested as she pulled him near the window.

Stottlemeyer took Steven to the side and asked him to wait out by the car while Natalie dealt with Monk.

"Why the heck are you doing this?" she asked.

"Huh?" Monk said, bewildered.

"Why are you being such a jerk?" she asked.

"What?! He was sitting on the sill!" he said, defensively.

"So? You sent him over there!"

"Not to the windowsill. I told him to stand against the wall. He moved." Monk replied.

Natalie folded her arms in front of her and sighed. "That doesn't give you an excuse to be mean."

"I wasn't…mean…." He said, as she turned her head. After several seconds of awkward silence, he leaned in, trying to get her attention, his own frustration at a peak. "Natalie, what were you thinking bringing your…bringing your…boyfriend to work!" he complained.

"Oh, so now it's my fault?" she said, in anger.

"I didn't say that…but yes…it is…your fault." He replied. "This is against protocol and you know it. You didn't even ask."

Natalie exhaled, knowing he was right. "I already told you, he was at the house this morning…I didn't know what else to do with him." She said.

"Well you don't bring him to work! Send him away. He's a grown man. He can find something to occupy his time." He paused, softening as he could see she was now upset. "Beside, you and I.. We are…we're...I mean…we're…"

"We're what? Mr. Monk. What are we?" she said, her eyes angry with him. Monk stiffened.

"We're professionals!" he replied, defensively. "And, it's highly unprofessional to bring a date to a crime scene…and then to top it off - he's over there touching you…"

Natalie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, I think I get it."

"What?" he asked.

"This isn't about the crime scene." She stated.

"It isn't?"

"No. This is about someone else having my attention other than you."

Monk grimaced. "What? Don't be ridiculous."

"No." she said. "I think that's it. In fact…I think that you might just be…" she stopped, realizing the implications of what she was about to say.

"What?"

Looking up at him, she said nothing for a minute as she thought back on the past day, their dinner and the shift in their overall relationship. "Um…nevermind." She said, walking back towards the window and looking outside. Steven was now leaning against the car looking up and down the street.

"What? You can't just say something like that then drop it? I'm what?" he pleaded.

Natalie thought about the two men and could come up with no other conclusion. She knew her next words might open Pandora's box, but she needed to know, so she spoke.

"Jealous?" she replied.

Monk stared at her for a moment with his mouth slightly ajar, saying nothing. Finally, he tried to speak but it all came out as one long protracted stutter.

"I…wh…I…uh…whah…whah…wha…wha…why…would…." He said.

"Are you jealous of Steven?" she asked, tilting her head. He stood still again, mouth agape and twisting his head as he tried to come up with some justification for his actions. Finally, he blinked. "Uh…um….nuh-no. Whuh- why would I b-be jealous of Steven?"

"Exactly. Why would you?" she asked. "That's what I'm asking. Why would you?"

"I…I…um. I'm not j-j-jealous! I mean, you're my employee, not my gir….Why would I…b-be jealous? That's ridi…uh…no. He was…he was contaminating the crime scene. That's all."

Natalie seemed unconvinced and folded her arms.

"Okay. Maybe I overacted." He stated. "I'm sorry. Okay, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. It's Steven you owe the apology to." She stated.

Monk twisted his neck then stiffened, raising his chin defiantly. "I wouldn't go that far." He stated.

She didn't respond and the two remained silent for a good minute and a half. Stottlemeyer walked over to them and saw that things were still tense.

"Are we still arguing?" he asked. The two turned away, slightly. "Well, kiss and make up…"

Monk's eyes shot over towards Leland as did Natalie's, but Stottlemeyer continued. "Because the coroner is here ready to retrieve the body, so we've got to finish up."

Natalie and Adrian looked each other in the eye but said nothing. Finally, Monk looked away, raising his hand and getting back to business. With Steven out of the room, things became exponentially easier.

"Her hand." He stated, walking back towards the body. Gregori walked with him and leaned down to look at her palm.

"What about it?" Leland asked.

"It's red." Monk said, bending down. "Like it's been burned."

Standing back up, he walked a few feet over against the wall towards the metal stretch bar.

"This end cap. It's been disturbed." He pointed out. Then, walking in a straight line from the stretch bar to the window, he looked down at the sill and then leaned out the window, going weak in the knees as he did. Natalie immediately came to his rescue and pulled him inside. Just her touch around his waist re-centered his focus. He raised his hand to his forehead briefly, then looked at Natalie who retained her position and smiled. Then, he looked at Leland.

"Here's what happened." He stated. "Miss Yaroslav did not die by stabbing. She was electrocuted."

"Electrocuted?" Leland asked.

"Yes." Monk continued. "You can see the markings of a wire running along the dirt in the windowsill. Albright almost disturbed it, but it was maintained."

He looked over at Natalie who dropped her eyes, then he continued. "The sill on the floor below has the exact same mark. Whoever it was, ran an electrical cord from the stretch bar to the window. Had to be high voltage. Because it was so early, the residents wouldn't have likely recognized any flickering of light or surge in electricity - unless of course their clocks were disturbed, which they probably weren't since the jolt would have happened quickly. This person knew that Miss Yaroslav had a class later in the morning and knew that she would always stretch and work out before she did. They electrified her equipment and the minute she touched it…"

"She was electrocuted." Natalie said.

"Precisely." Monk said. "Find out who had access to that room below and you'll find your perp."

"What's down there?" Leland asked.

"Directly below? It's a storage room where our maintenance man keeps his things." Gregori stated.

"Is he around?" Leland asked.

"No. He flew to New York for his sister's funeral. Won't be back for another week." the landlord stated.

"Okay. Well, if you don't mind, we'd like to look around a bit more?" he stated.

"Of course." Gregori replied, nervously. "A murderer with access to these apartments. Anything I can do to help?"

Leland turned to call from the on-duty sergeant and then to Gregori. "Shaw, can you take Mr. Gregori down to the room below and see if there is any more evidence? Forensics should be here soon and while they are here dusting for prints, I'm going to go get them to make sure that they get pictures of where the wire was on the windowsill as well on the floor below." Looking at Monk, he replied. "Great job as usual, Monk. I knew you could make quick work of things."

"Thank you, Leland." Monk replied, bowing his head as Stottlemeyer left the room. Natalie began to leave, but he reached out and gently grabbed her wrist.

"Don't go." he said, quietly. "Not yet."

Natalie remained silent but put her arm on his back so he continued.

"I, I'm sorry…I don't know what's gotten into me. I'm sorry I acted...well, like an...like an...well, like a mule. Albright wasn't doing anything but standing there and maybe I did let it get to me a bit. We're a team of two, and I guess I just, well I didn't like it being three. And, I didn't mean to treat you with disrespect either." He said.

Natalie reached over and hugged him. "It's okay. Everyone has bad days. Don't worry about it."

"And you're much more than my employee." He stated, looking her squarely in the eyes with both sincerity and intensity.

Her eyes met his and she studied him, again recognizing a certain look that she had never seen before – a look that invoked old feelings in her. Things were getting very complicated and this wasn't the place to figure all of it out, so she simply swallowed and took him by the arm and began to walk him towards the door.

"You mean a lot to me too, Mr. Monk." She said.

"I told you to call me Adrian." He replied.

She smiled. "And, I will. Just…not right now. I need some room to think."

Monk nodded as they walked out the door. That was the best he could ask for right now and probably all that she could give. He would wait for her answer, knowing she was worth the wait.