Jack Hauser drove Monk and Natalie along with Fernandez and Grier to the morgue to examine the body. The coroner told them that the preliminary cause of death was loss of blood due to a dagger through the heart.
"What was the condition of the body when it was found?" Monk asked.
"Body was warm and face down on the carpet in the first lady's cabin." answered Grier.
"Were there any other injuries?" Monk asked?
"Yes." The coroner responded. "blunt force trauma to the head and some bruising on her arms. She probably bruised her head when she fell."
Monk used gloves and pulled back the woman's bangs which revealed a circular shaped bruise flanked by two ridges. The bruises on the arms looked as if they could have been made by human hands. There were no other marks.
Leaving the morgue, Hauser drove the team to Reagan International where the First Lady's C-52 was parked. Aside from removing the body and passengers, nothing had been touched. The contingent was met at the plane by two FBI agents, Agent Price and Agent Johnson as well as DC Police Detective, Lieutenant Jedediah "Preacher" Armstrong.
Armstrong was a 15 year veteran of the force and was considered the best in their ranks. He was 45 years old with a robust frame and a disarming smile. The President had personally requested him for the investigation as well, knowing he would be an asset to the team.
Monk and Natalie boarded the plane and were led to the Executive Suite. The scene was cleaner than Adrian had expected. Most of the room was pristine. Only near the closet area was there blood, and lots of it. Adrian held his hands up and surveyed the scene.
After several moments of silence, Monk asked "So, the body was found over here?"
"Yes, sir. Right in front of the closet." said Agent Price.
"And the first lady immediately went from here in front of the closet to the door?" said Monk.
"That is correct" Price replied.
"Well, this isn't where the victim was killed." Said Monk, looking around.
"How's that?" said Price.
"It may be where she died, where she bled out. But the main attack that ended her life happened elsewhere. Notice. The blood stains are only in this one area and everything else is left untouched. If there had been some sort of struggle or fight, you would expect a wider field of conflict. Also, there is pooling of blood inside the closet and a smear on the inside of the closet door. Since there is almost no spatter, it seems that the victim was killed someplace else, or at least rendered unconscious, and her body was placed in the closet. Any fingerprints on the weapon?"
"Only Mrs. Stoddard's." replied Agent Johnson.
Monk walked around the room framing each square inch with his hands. He next walked into the adjoining office and looked around that room as well. His eyes stopped when he reached the bar area at which point he took out a handkerchief and picked up a near empty cut-glass decanter of Scotch and held it up to the light. Taking his tweezers out of his pocket, he removed a single dark hair encrusted with a drop of blood from the bottle.
"Ladies and Gentleman. We have our weapon." Monk announced. He pointed out the pattern on the side of the bottle which matched the bruising on the victim's forehead. "Would you please bag this?"
Lieutenant Armstrong pulled out an evidence bag and obliged his request.
"So, Mrs. Stoddard killed the woman in here?" asked Agent Price.
"No. She's not the guy. The woman was killed in this room, or severely injured, with that object. Since the Secret Service does a thorough sweep of the plane before anyone gets on it, it had to happen after the flight began. My guess is it happened somewhere within the 10 minutes or so that the First Lady left her cabin and came to greet us. The murderer hit Miss Bernard with this decanter and drug her by the arms into the First Lady's cabin. See, you can see scuff marks where the carpet is disturbed. He or she picked the woman up and placed her body in the closet. Next, they took the knife and stabbed her with it to, for some reason, make it appear that this was the primary cause of death. The murderer then shut the closet door. Mrs. Stoddard went into her room and at some point opened the closet at which point the body fell out upon her. Mrs. Stoddard is about 5'5". Bernard was about 5'2" The blood pattern on Mrs. Stoddard's suit shows someone came down from a higher height upon her. The closet is just the right elevation."
"What about the knife?" asked Grier.
"Reflexes. When the body fell out of the closet, Mrs. Stoddard instinctively braced her hands to keep from being hit." Adrian demonstrated the maneuver. As the body fell, the First Lady raised her arms like this. Her hands would have made contact with the body at the victim's shoulder, upper-chest area. As the body fell onto Mrs. Stoddard, she clasped the knife and became covered in the victim's blood."
"So someone framed Mrs. Stoddard?" asked Armstrong.
"It would appear so." Adrian responded. "But why? I would like to get a list of everyone who was on the plane and what their role was in this flight."
"Sure thing." Said Agent Price. "I will get the info for you this afternoon."
The team left the hanger and Hauser drove Adrian and Natalie back to their hotel.
"It never fails." Said Natalie. "Just when you think you're going to have a nice vacation and catch up on rest, something like this happens."
Adrian placed his arm around Natalie and was walking her into the ornate hotel lobby when they heard a familiar voice.
"Adrian! Natalie! Over here!" said Sherona Disher from the lobby seating area. Next to her was Randy and the baby who was in a stroller. Seated across from them was Leland Stottlemeyer and his wife T. K.
"Monk!" Leland said standing. "When you go on a vacation you sure go all out! This place is amazing!"
Adrian and Natalie walked over to their friends and Adrian responded "Yeah. It's beautiful. Governor Greenway footed the bill for all of us on the Zenith flight and our significant others to go."
"We're staying in the Lincoln suite." Natalie volunteered , raising a few eyebrows.
"In separate rooms" Adrian quickly interjected. "She has her own room and I have mine. Separate. As in not together."
"Hey" said Randy. "you two are consenting adults, so what business is it of ours?" He laughed at Monk's nervousness.
"Well, It's separate." Adrian responded evoking an eye roll from Natalie.
"Well, hey, are you guys staying here? I'm assuming you came in for the Ceremony." Natalie said switching the subject.
"Yes we did. And no, we're not staying here. Too rich of blood for us" Leland replied. "We are at the Marriott, about three blocks over."
"Cool, Have you all eaten lunch?" Natalie replied. "My 'business partner, with whom I am not sharing a room' and I were going to drop some things off at the suite and grab a bite to eat."
"Sounds great" said Leland," want to meet us here in 10 minutes?"
"Sounds good." said Adrian as he and Natalie made their way to the elevator.
Natalie stood silently watching the numbers ascend until they reached their floor.
"What's wrong?" asked Adrian.
"Nothing." Said Natalie
"No, something is wrong. Tell me." He replied.
"Do you love me?" Natalie asked.
"More than you could imagine" he responded.
"Then why are you ashamed to say you and I are together?" she replied with a tear in her eye.
"Ashamed?" Adrian replied, genuinely astonished. "Natalie. Sweetheart. I'm still pinching myself that you'd even want to be with me."
"Then help me to understand." she said. "Why the big deal about the room?"
Adrian paused before he spoke, then placing his hand on her cheek said tenderly, "Natalie I love and respect you too much to turn this into a casual thing. We've come through so much just to get where we are. And, well... I'm playing for keeps."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around him laying her head against his chest.
"Adrian Monk." She said looking up. "You are one in a million."
"One in a million? World population is about 7 billion right now. Does that mean there are 7,000 more Adrian Monks out there?" he asked with a grin.
Natalie opened up the door to the suite. "Heaven help us if there are!" She said as they entered, shutting the door behind them.
Five minutes later. Adrian and Natalie exited the room and went to meet up with their friends. Seconds after they left, someone walked up to their door and, with a gloved hand and a key card, let themselves in.