Chapter 6 Brother Leland

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Monk.

Notes: Okay, so it's still Sunday- time for the gang to visit the suspect. – Please bear with me as I dig a little bit into Monk's thoughts and emotions - thankfully his journey is taking him out of the darkness. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

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"Mrs. Martin? I'm Captain Stottlemeyer. This is Lieutenant Disher, Adrian Monk and Natalie Teeger. Could we come in and talk with you, please?" Leland stepped aside and let his group, along with two uniformed officers, follow Mrs. Martin through the house to a very stuffy living room. While passing through the foyer, Monk paused to survey the items left strewn upon a table; a pile of mail, a designer purse and today's newspaper. Leland noticed Adrian's head tilt and knew they had positively found the murderer. Leland also noticed Adrian's bare ring finger and managed to suppress the smirk that appeared beneath his untamed mustache.

"I'm so glad you're here. My husband didn't come home last night and I've been worried sick!" On cue, tears welled up in Mrs. Martin's eyes and her voice turned frantic. Leland calmly regarded her and proceeded to tell her of her husband's untimely death. He then asked where she had been at the time of the murder and why she hadn't reported his disappearance. Between choking sobs, she confidently answered his questions. "I was here all night and didn't report his disappearance because everyone knows you have to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person's report."

Walking behind the suspect, Adrian looked out onto the back yard; there was a huge in-ground swimming pool surrounded by a brightly painted concrete patio. He unlocked the sliding glass doors and proceeded to pull the door open. The unmistakable scent of paint flooded the living room. Monk squatted down to inspect the patio and noticed fresh scuff marks just outside the doorway. "Mrs. Martin, when did you have the patio painted?"

"Yesterday morning, so please don't go out there, I think it still maybe tacky." Her eyes darted towards the Captain; he had joined Monk at the doorway and had also squatted down and had touched the faint scuff marks in the now dry paint.

"Unfortunately, your husband surprised you last night by coming in this door, didn't he? You and he got into an argument that quickly turned violent and you killed him." Adrian stood and faced her, folding his hands together.

"I said he never came home last night! I accidentally made those marks in the paint last night! You can't prove he came home!"

"True, you did remove his paint-stained shoes when you disposed of your husband's body. But you should have also disposed of the murder weapon." Monk removed his pen from his pocket as he crossed back into the foyer. Looping the pen through its chain-link strap, he carried the purse toward Leland when he returned to the living room. "How long is the strap on this bag? Looks like almost 30 inches, easily enough length to loop over a man's head and strangle him. I'm sure we will find that the pattern caused by this chain matches the marks around Mr. Martin's neck. I'm sure we'll also find his DNA on the chain." Randy pulled an evidence bag from his pocket and held it open under the purse, sealing it after Monk dropped the purse inside the bag.

"Ma'am, you'll need to come down to the precinct." Leland cuffed her and motioned to the uniformed officers, "Read Mrs. Martin her rights and take her downtown. Thanks fellas."

As the group left the house, Leland told Randy to join Natalie at her car and asked Monk to follow him to his Crown Victoria. Randy and Monk exchanged puzzled looks but complied with the Captain's wishes.

"What's going on, Nat? You and Monk okay?" Randy joined Natalie in leaning against the front fender of Natalie's car, a note of glee in his voice.

A blush rose in Natalie's cheeks and she looked away. Returning her eyes to Randy, she couldn't help but laugh, "No comment, Randy."

Randy pushed off the fender and paced back and forth in front of Natalie. Crossing his arms, he shook his head and muttered "Natalie, Natalie." He knew it was only a matter of time before she cracked and confirmed his suspicions.

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"Get in the car for a minute, Monk; I need to ask you something." The two got into the Crown Victoria and Leland turned and expectantly looked at Adrian. "I need your thoughts here; my best friend has been acting a little peculiar and I need to know what's happening."

"What would I know? Maybe you should just talk to him." Monk naively answered.

"I'm talking about you, you dork! You're distracted and wearing jeans, which isn't such a big deal. But the biggie is-" Leland grabbed Monk's left hand, "- you've taken off your wedding ring. What happened?"

Adrian gently pulled his hand away and settled back into his seat. He proceeded to straighten and level the air vents in the dashboard, a calm expression on his face. Hearing the Captain sigh, Monk stopped fussing with the vents and brought his hands together. "Did I ever tell you about what happened that time I went to see Trudy's parents in L.A.?"

Leland shook his head, "No, tell me what happened."

"You remember that I went to see them, a little over six years ago. I went down there to help Dwight solve a problem he had with his game show, right? Anyway, one afternoon I had a heart-to-heart talk with Marcia. I noticed she seemed genuinely happy and so I asked her how she found peace since Trudy's death. She told me that one day she just woke up and it was a beautiful day; children were going past the house, birds were singing and she decided to give the world another chance. At the time I couldn't understand why or how she stopped mourning the loss of Trudy, but now I understand." Adrian paused and looked at Leland with a look of complete contentment.

"And now I hope you're going to tell me this secret?" The Captain shifted towards Monk, placed his right arm over the seat's back rest and impatiently motioned for Monk to continue.

"Sorry, of course." Monk chuckled and took a deep breath "Leland, I finally realized that, for the longest time, I was selfish in my love of Trudy – thinking she was the only important thing on this entire planet. My heart belonged solely to Trudy and she was my only way to happiness. But Trudy loved and saw beauty in everything; she had believed everything in life is connected and important. I now realize that when I withdrew from life, I denied myself the joy of seeing Trudy in everything around me.

"She's in the blue sky and in the sound of children's laughter. She's a part of everything. I was not honoring her when I closed my heart off from happiness and life. Love is not all or nothing. I know my heart is big enough to cherish Trudy and to live again."

Adrian blinked back his gathering tears as he smiled at his friend. Words were inadequate to describe this miraculous change in his heart, but he hoped Leland understood. "Leland, I've finally noticed it's a beautiful day."

"I'm glad you finally noticed. It truly is a beautiful day." Patting Monk on the shoulder, the Captain marveled at how much his friend had truly changed. Grateful to see Adrian's new-found contentment, Leland's mind briefly wandered back to when he himself felt such overwhelming joy. It hadn't been that long ago when he himself had almost pitched everything in his life to go to Spain and become a monk. Even though it had ended badly, Leland had gained wisdom from that experience. He had been reminded of the beauty found in life and it helped him appreciate his new life with TK. Leland returned his thoughts to his happy friend and he playfully asked "So I guess this means you've finally noticed other important things in your life?"

A thoughtful look passed over Adrian's face as he tried in vain to decipher Leland's innuendo. "I've noticed lots of important things. What?"

Leland rolled his eyes and sighed. How could someone so smart be so dense? "I mean, I assume you've noticed Natalie?"

Adrian immediately turned scarlet as he averted his eyes. Searching for just the right words. He resumed eye contact and shyly grinned "I've noticed."

Leland looked to the sky and laughed "Thank heavens! That only took what, four or five years?"

Adrian joined in laughing "I can sometimes be a real slow learner."

Regaining his composure, Leland squeezed Monk's shoulder. "I'm really happy you never quit trying, my friend. Now that you solved this murder, forget about this case. We'll question the wife and find her accomplice. Why don't you and Natalie take the rest of the day off and do something nice."

"What should we do? What's a nice thing to do?" A hint of panic crept into Monk's voice. With all the excitement of the murder and then the talk with Leland, Adrian's mind had gone blank. He had completely forgotten all the ideas that were on the list he had left sitting at home on his desk.

"I don't know, Monk. Just play it by ear." As the words left his mouth, it immediately dawned on Leland that Adrian wasn't suited for improvisation and hadn't been on a date in a long time. He had to give Monk a concrete idea. "Listen, just ask Natalie what she wants to do. If she asks for your idea, go see a movie. And I'll get back to you with a list of 'nice things' to do. Okay?"

Adrian nodded and started to open the car door only to pause, "Leland, I want to thank you. You've supported me all these years and I want you to know I appreciate all you've done." He then reached across the seat and firmly took Leland's hand.

"That's what friends are for, buddy. Now get out of here and go show your lady a good time!"

Adrian laughed and got out of the car, rapping a 'goodbye' on the top of the car with his hand. He turned and walked toward Natalie's car, a smile on his face. Randy and Natalie noticed his approach and peppered him with questions. "What was that about?" "What did he want?"

Before Adrian had a chance to answer, the Captain honked the car horn, getting Randy's attention. "See you guys later!" Randy called as he trotted towards the Crown Victoria.

Natalie watched in wonder as Adrian boldly approached her, his eyes brightly shining. When he reached out and touched her arm, she could help but ask "Why are you so happy?"

"The Captain says we need to take the rest of the day off. Is there anything special you want to do?"

"Could we go back to my house? Maybe pick up a movie or two on the way home? Julie's not going back to school until tomorrow morning and I'd love if we could-"

"Spend the rest of the day with her?" Adrian couldn't resist finishing Natalie's thought. "That sounds perfect."

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"So what did he say, Captain? Monk and Natalie are dating, aren't they?" Randy fidgeted in the front seat on the patrol car, looking backwards to see Adrian and Natalie getting into Natalie's car.

"Well Randy, I'm not one to gossip so you'll have to ask him yourself. But it does seem like our boy is finally growing up." Leland chuckled and shot a quick look over to Randy before returning his attention to the passing traffic. When Leland pulled away from the curb, Randy faced forward and clicked his seat belt, giving Leland pause. "Actually, it looks like both you boys are growing up."

"Hey, when Sharona comes to town next week, we should all go on a double date. Wait, I mean you and TK as well as Monk and Nat, so what do you call that? A triple date? A triangular date? Captain?"

Leland rolled his eyes and sighed, now doubting his last observation. "Randy, let's figure that out later. Right now we have to get back to the precinct and question our suspect."