The sun shines brigthly now
dark coulds had gone away
I am so pleased to say to you all
"thank you for the prays!"
I know...I know... I am not good with rhymes...
Thank you, new readers, for your patience;
thank you, old fellows for staying with me;
and thank you, Andy, for allowing me to borrow these great characters from you!! Yes, the ones I do not own.
MR MONK MEETS THE REDEEMER
CH11
Monk and Natalie ate dinner in his room. She had changed her blouse and freshened up a bit, but she still wished for a shower. She decided to take it later. Monk had put on the shirt Bianca brought him. He was afraid that the gel on his skin would leave a stain on it, but he would rather have it on a shirt that hadn't been checked by inspector number 8 than the reverse!
During dinner they talked about what had happened. Natalie repeatedly reminded Monk that they would leave the country the next day, and that there was no need to disturb the Captain. Certainly he could not help much, being in London, and Natalie was there to help Monk through the next day.
'Maybe if I excel in my job while we are here you will reconsider the three months pay suspension," tried Natalie.
"You know I do not like changes, Natalie," Monk said, picking up a glass with water.
"So this means you won't change our previous agreement, right? Let's keep it like it is, right?" Natalie tried again.
The telephone rang. Both remained at the table; Natalie waiting for confirmation and Monk waiting for her to answer the phone.
"So?" Natalie tried again, at the third ring on the phone.
Monk shifted uncomfortable on his chair and said, "Make sure to answer it in an even number of rings, Natalie."
Natalie got up a little defeated and answered the phone, intentionally waiting until after the fifth ring. After hanging up, she went back to the table and sat down again, "It was Bianca. She said that two police officers are downstairs in her office, and they want to talk to both of you."
"It's about time." Monk said, getting up from the table and turning toward the bathroom, intending to brush his teeth.
Natalie went to her room, to brush her teeth also, and tried to regain a sense of calm. She knew that she would have enough time to put on light makeup and fix her hair while Monk was brushing his teeth. Perhaps Gilbert was downstairs also!
In 15 minutes the two were on their way downstairs. The hall was quite busy. There were several well dressed people, tall and beautiful women surrounded by photographers, walking along it. Monk stopped at the door of the elevator, hesitantly. Natalie was really excited to see Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sitting on a lavish lounge sofa, being interviewed by some reporters.
"Oh my God! So we are in the same hotel as the Rolling Stones?" asked Natalie.
"Yes…" said Monk, with fear in the voice.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"They are just a bunch of hippies, Natalie. What should I have said?"
Natalie, still enchanted with the parade of beautiful people everywhere, led Monk through the hall, towards Bianca's office. They dodged through the flashy raiment and the fantastic hair styles of the models as they tossed their heads from side to side, causing Monk to worry about hair touching him.
"Here you are then," commented Gilbert, approaching Monk and Natalie.
Natalie smiled graciously at him.
"They are waiting for you in Bianca's office. Please," Gilbert led the two into the room, smiling back at Natalie.
Bianca was seated behind her desk. Her hair was beautifully restrained in an upswept twist; she was wearing a black dress with a deep neckline and covered with bright scintillating beads. Her fingernails were carefully painted red; she was very elegant.
On the sofa the two men who were seated stood up as Monk and Natalie arrived. The tallest man was blonde, sporting a military hairstyle, wearing a black tank shirt designed to outline his muscular body, and black jeans with sneakers. The other was bald, thin, and had an extremely white skin, which contrasted sharply with the naturally bronzed and suntanned skin of Rio de Janeiro's citizens. He had glasses and wore black trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves folded up to the elbow. Their holsters were in plain sight, attached to their belts.
Gilbert stopped beside Bianca, stepping between the table beside her and the TV that was on. "Mr. Monk, these are Agents Silva and Costa, from the Federal Police," he introduced them .
Monk nodded his head to the two men.
Agent Silva, the eldest, began in English, "I believe that everyone here can understand if I use English, right?"
All agreed.
"We have a delicate situation to handle here, Mr. Monk, Mrs. Scarpa. We understand that both of you were hijacked early this afternoon, right? "
"Yes, and they took my car, our money and a jacket and shirt from Mr. Monk," continued Bianca.
"Thank you, Mrs. Scarpa. Well, we have a gap of several hours, between the time you left the hotel and the time you returned. During this period you were continuously in each other's company, so we understand. There was nobody else with you, until you returned to the hotel by taxi, correct? "
Monk and Natalie listened carefully.
"Yes" said Bianca, looking at Monk with some apprehension in her voice.
"So, during the afternoon, in the period in which you were being assaulted, there was a big delivery of illegal weapons to drug dealers in the Morro do Breu. Our investigations allowed us to learn of the delivery time and place. We were tracking the weapon suppliers and recording the transaction from a safe distance."
"It's the same hill that we were taken to by the hijackers," said Bianca. "So if you were able to see them, do you know who did that to us?" she asked in a hopeful tone.
"I wouldn't be so relieved, Mrs. Scarpa. Just have a look at this." Agent Costa then handed a DVD to Gilbert, and he immediately put it in the DVD player.
"I want you monitor this part of the film carefully," Agent Silva commented while advancing it until the crucial point.
The film was shot by a handheld video cam from some place on the hillside, behind some vegetation. Some leaves and branches appeared in the corner of the screen, and the images were distant, but clear enough to everyone see two small trucks parked on a narrow street in the slum.
Nearby, several young people were surrounding the place, wearing only shorts and sandals, with their shirts tied on their faces to hide their identities; some were holding semi-automatic rifles, and others had Uzis. They were monitoring the movement. These young people were spread across the slab roofs of nearby houses, the corners, and around the trucks. Some men were withdrawing rectangular wooden boxes from one truck and handing them to young boys, who were loading the second truck with them.
A car approached the alley, and after a watchman allowed it to continue, it parked near a group of men who were chatting by the trucks. The car had the same characteristics of Bianca's car.
Bianca innocently said, "Hey, you found my car!"
There were no comments. Everybody was focused on the film.
When the car stopped, one of the men pointed a rifle at the car's driver, and after several seconds of conversation, a man wearing a brown suit stepped out the car and addressed himself to the obvious head of the organization.
At this moment the camera zoomed in, showing in detail the characteristics of the man. He was tall, had black curly short hair, and used a brown jacket and long sleeved shirt, similar to the ones stolen from Monk, and he was buttoned up at his neck and wrists.
Natalie, who could not believe what she was seeing, looked at Monk, who watched the film closely. She struggled with all her strength to control her desire to ask Monk what he was doing in a place like that. She was afraid that her comments would contribute negatively to what the agents were already suspecting. So she slid over toward Monk and held his arm, pressing it lightly.
Monk hadn't changed his expression; he seemed to be devoting all his attention and concentration to the film they were watching.
The film continued; the man received a green canvas bag, nodded to the alleged trafficker and walked back to the car. Still filming with the zoom lens, the clip showed the five people in the room that the driver was a woman, with mid-length brown hair, wearing sunglasses.
Agent Silva froze the film in a shot of the man in brown suit.
The Brazilians in the room were pretty sure at that moment that the man who had taken part in the negotiation was in fact Monk. Even Bianca, astonished, was inclined to believe that she was the one driving the car!
Bianca shot a doubtful look at Monk. Monk looked back at her, expressionless.
"Well, Mr. Monk, Ms Scarpa. As you all could clearly see, we have the evidence to focus the international weapon trafficking investigation on the two of you." Agent Silva broke the silence.
"As we still don't have a warrant, I'd really appreciate it if you do not leave the city or country of Brazil in the coming days." Complemented Agent Costa.
"But we can prove that it is not us in the film, right Mr. Monk?" asked Bianca.
Monk did not answer, only lowered the head and looked at Natalie through the corner of his eye.
"Well, at this point your silence strengthens our case." Agent Silva said. "Unfortunately I cannot ask you to accompany us to our headquarters without the warrant. The law in Brazil works slowly, but certainly we do not allow foreigners to come to our country and just ignore our laws," Silva finished looking seriously at Monk.
Upon hearing this last comment, Natalie was tempted to jump on Agent Silva's neck and scratch his face with all her strength, but she knew this would only complicate Monk's bad position. She suppressed her anger, channeling her strength to Monk's arm instead, pressing it hard, unaware of his discomfort.
Bianca stood up and said, "Okay, as you do not have any warrant, you're not welcome here anymore. Please leave my hotel. I know you cannot come in here and freely accuse us, even being Federal Agents. I do know recorded tapes are not accepted as substantial evidence in court. I do have my connections, gentlemen, and you can be sure that I'm gonna make use of them right now." She finished and reached for the phone.
"I will see you soon," said Agent Silva with a smile on his face, leaving the room followed by the other agent.
Special Thanks to Kathy, who is always there for me.