The alarm sounded way too early in Adrian Monk's bedroom at the Willard. Despite the immaculate conditions in the hotel room, he stumbled over the pillows and blankets he had placed in the floor in favor of his own bedding which he had brought along. Adrian didn't do hotel rooms well. He had seen too many horror stories about the cleanliness of other establishments to not let his phobias kick in. But, if truth be told, he felt less apprehensive at the Willard because he could not find so much as a smudge on the mirror or a water stain on the glasses in his room. Nevertheless, Adrian was always going to be Adrian.
He switched off the alarm clock and stepped into the marble shower making the water as hot as he could stand. He did use the hotel towels and unwrapped a hotel robe that was one of the amenities for the room. After a shave, he unwrapped a fresh toothbrush, brushed his teeth, flossed and gargled in his own minty mouthwash that he brought from home. The toiletries that he brought with him on the trip had to take up half of his smaller suitcase, but they saved him a lot in questioning about what substances he was putting in or on his body.
Adrian was still quite fit for a man in his 50s, and his dark brown hair showed very little grey. In spite of the heartache he had experienced in his life, he was aging well. He had good genes, he believed, from his mother's side.
For years, he had basically one signature look that he wore every day. It was a brown blazer with an understated button up shirt underneath which he buttoned to the last button. Recently, he was making a concerted effort to relax a little and had begun unbuttoning the top button. Today, however, he knew was going to be a free day with Natalie, so he went all out, wearing a black collarless shirt, brown blazer and blue jeans.
After about two hours of primping, he left the bedroom and went into the main living quarters of the suite where Natalie was already sitting at the dining room table reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. "She's so beautiful." Adrian thought to himself as he walked over to her from behind and gave her a hug and kiss on top of the head.
Natalie was slightly startled, but turned and took notice of the effort he had made in getting ready. "Looking pretty sexy there today, Mr. Monk." She said giving him the once over. Adrian blushed and said, "well you look awfully beautiful there yourself, Ms. Albright."
Natalie was about 14 years his junior, but age was never a problem for them. Through the years, they had become easy company with her putting up with his quirks and his depending on her stability to help him navigate life. There had recently been somewhat of a role reversal after the death of her second husband Steven Albright sent Natalie into a deep depression; and while she had made tremendous progress, there were moments where she still struggled with dark feelings within. The experience had somewhat equalized her relationship with Adrian Monk with whom now, instead of having a caretaker role, she simply had an easy camaraderie with romantic undertones that were nearly always the elephant in the room.
"Anything interesting?" Adrian said, as he walked to the butler's pantry and made himself a glass of orange juice with buttered toast.
"I was just checking to see what the press had to say on the murder yesterday. There's not much, though they have a good profile on the Victim. Victim was a 24-year-old, Presidential aid named Haley Bernard. She came from Connecticut, was a political science major at Georgetown, and had only been working at the White House for about three weeks. "she replied.
"Three weeks? Married?" Adrian asked.
"Nope. Single and an only child. Parents are deceased. She was pretty. Here's her picture." Natalie answered.
Adrian took the newspaper from Natalie and looked at the article "FIRST LADY SUSPECTED OF MURDER" was the headline, under which there was a photo of Bernard smiling. She had dark hair and eyes and delicate features. "Another life, just snuffed out." He mused. "The longer I live, the more I realize you need to live life to the fullest because you never know when it's going to end."
Natalie smiled "Well look at you, being all optimistic today, Adrian! I was afraid you were going to be all grumpy about going out and seeing the sights today, but I think today is going to be good."
Just then a knock came on the hotel room door. Adrian set down his napkin and answered the door and two men in black suits stood waiting outside.
"Adrian Monk?" said the taller of the two.
"Yes?" Adrian responded.
"Agent Schaeffer and Agent Brown from the U.S. Secret Service. The President of the United States requests your immediate presence at Oval Office this morning. Come, follow us."
"The President? Can I change clothes?" Adrian asked.
"Sir, he has a very tight schedule and wanted to see you immediately, so we need to leave now." Schaeffer replied.
"Okay. Natalie, let's take off." Adrian said to Natalie who was already standing up.
"Sir, no spouses…" said agent Brown.
" we're not married" said Adrian. "She's my partner…my business partner…she comes with me wherever I go."
"Fine. We'll meet you in the lobby in five minutes." Replied Schaeffer.