It's back! Sorry it took so long. Enjoy!

chapter Three

Harold stared at Captain Stottlemeyer barely aware of the weight of the equipment he had strapped on his shoulders. Neither one of them had moved an inch for what seemed to be an hour, though it had probably only been a few minutes.

"I asked you a question," Captain Stottlemeyer growled, growing impatient. "Who are you?"

"My apologies," Harold finally answered, floundering for an explanation. "I just moved in to this apartment building a little more than a week ago and I still have trouble remembering where mine is. Is this one yours?"

"So you decided to go in and take a little stroll?" Stottlemeyer said, ignoring his question. "I happen to know that that door is always locked. So how did you get in and what were you doing?"

Harold didn't answer.

Stottlemeyer was quickly losing patience at Harold's refusal to answer his question.

"Look buddy, we can talk here or we can take a drive down to the station," he threatened.

Harold didn't dare speak. Any answer he gave would only lead to more questions, possibly to some questions he couldn't answer without telling him about the Machine.

"Suit yourself," Stottlemeyer said, grabbing his wrists and forcing his arms behind his back. "you are under arrest for breaking and entering."

Harold gasped at the forced movement as his arms stretched farther than they had in years. The damaged muscles in his neck and shoulders protested the sudden movement. He knew that Captain Stottlemeyer had no way of knowing about his injuries but that didn't make it any less painful.

He blinked the pain away, as Captain Stottlemeyer grabbed his arm and began escorting him down the hall and outside.

Finch knew that he could easily get out on bail if it came to that, but he had a feeling that Captain Stottlemeyer wouldn't let him leave San Francisco until he had answered his questions. He was confident that Mr. Reese could handle protecting Mr. Monk on his own, but what about the next number?

He sat silently in the backseat as Captain Stottlemeyer drove at a reckless speed toward the police station.

XxXxXxXx

Monk looked back at the man in the suit as he and Natalie sat down in her car. The man seemed to notice that Monk was watching but didn't seem to mind. He simply nodded and even smiled a little. He could tell that the man was highly efficient and there was a dark history in his eyes. The fact that he was following him now and the fact the he had shot fourteen kneecaps was very concerning. As was the fact that the man didn't mind him knowing. That meant that whatever he was going to do he could not be stopped easily.

Monk rocked forward slightly as Natalie put the car into drive. He noticed as the Man in the Suit got into a car and began following them.

"But why would Richards shoot himself if this man had shot everyone else?" he wondered, unaware that he was speaking out loud.

"maybe he didn't," Natalie suggested. "Maybe the man in the suit staged the whole thing so that it would look like Richards did it."

Monk thought about it. It could be possible, but there were still a few things that didn't add up. They still didn't know what was going on when the man in the suit open-fired. And the bullet angle. If the man in the suit was trying to frame Richards for shooting himself, why wouldn't he do something more obvious? Why go with such a small detail that few people would notice.

"No, whatever is going on, Mr. Richards is involved. You saw him in the hospital room. He got angry the second we started asking questions about last night. He's hiding something. We just have to figure out what."

Natalie's phone began to ring and she carefully answered it.

"Hello, sweetie, what's going on?" She said.

"Mom, my friends are planning this swimming party for tonight and I need ten dollars."

Okay, Who's going and who's driving?" Natalie asked.

"Jana and Emily are driving. Eight other people are going. We are going to carpool over to the water park by the rec center and we will be back at ten." Julie reported.

"Okay you can go as long as you stay with your friends," Natalie consented. "And as far as money goes, we will just have to see how well you do your chores."

She heard Julie sigh at the other end. "Fine," she sighed.

Natalie was sighing too. Julie couldn't be old enough to go to a party. She knew that Julie was sixteen but to her she would always be her little girl. Natalie pulled up to Mr. Monk's building and turned off the car. They walked inside Monk's apartment and Natalie began making lunch. Monk looked around. There was something off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about his apartment that he didn't recognize.

"You okay, Mr. Monk?" Natalie asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Monk looked at her confusedly.

"How could I have seen a ghost, when ghosts aren't even real?"

"It's just a figure of speech, Mr. Monk," Natalie sighed annoyed. "I don't mean that you literally saw a ghost. I just mean that you seem more confused than you normally are."

"What do ghosts have to do with being confused?"

"Forget it, Mr. Monk," Natalie said. "Just, what were you thinking about?"

"The room just looks so different," he whispered, more to himself than to Natalie.

She studied the room. Nothing looked different. The pictures of Trudy were prominately displayed in their place of honor, the little coffee table tilted at the precise angle it was supposed to be. Nothing looked out of place to her. But then again, she wasn't Mr. Monk.

"Different how?" She asked carefully.

Monk was just about to give up when he spotted it: the clock was one millimeter off center.

He went and took down the clock, but there was nothing behind it. Then, he looked at the back of the clock itself. There was a small, thin wire fed through the back and to the face of the clock. He pulled it out and noticed that it was a small camera. He didn't even know it was possible for a camera to be that small. But someone was watching them through that camera, and he had a pretty good idea who.

XxXxXxXxXxX

John listened as Monk and Natalie theorized about the crime scene last night. Monk had a sharp mind from what he had heard both from questioning the store owner, Richards, and what he said on their drive home. Natalie wasn't half-bad either. She was the kind of person who could think outside the box.

Finch had sent him the video feed from the camera twenty minutes ago so he was able to watch as they walked inside the apartment. He watched as Natalie started making lunch and Monk looked around.

Just as he suspected, Monk had noticed something off. He watched as Monk walked toward the clock and eventually found the camera.

He tapped his earpiece

"Well, Finch, I'm not the only one Monk was able to spot easily," John teased . "He just found the camera."

He expected to hear Harold's chiding remark about Monk being a brilliant detective but he didn't hear anything of the kind. In fact, he heard nothing on the other end of the line.

"Finch," he called, worry starting to seep into his mind.

He tapped the earpiece again but still nothing.

Something was wrong with his partner. He was tempted to abandon Monk to search for Harold, but he knew Finch would look down on it. For Harold, No one was worth sacrificing in order to save him.

Biting his tongue, he turned back to the video feed with a painful resolve that he would do whatever it took to save Monk.

XxXxXxXxX

Randy sat at his desk trying to work. The Captain's "discussion" had turned into a one-sided argument a while ago. The whole building could probably hear everything he was saying loud and clear. He would hate to be in the suspect's shoes facing the Captain's anger. He'd rather go skydiving without a parachute above a lake of molten lava than make the captain this angry.

Suddenly the door slammed shut and Randy noticed that the captain had come out. He watched as the Captain threw himself on to his chair still seething from his interview.

"So how'd that go?" Randy asked after a moment of intense silence.

"I can't get that man to answer a simple question," he admitted. "He just sits there, staring at me quietly without so much as even blinking. To be honest, it's downright creepy."

"Can I try talking to him?" Randy asked.

The captain looked at him doubtfully. Finally he said, "You can try. I doubt you'll get any further than I did."

Randy stood up and walked to the water fountain, grabbing a plastic cup and filling it with water. Then, he walked into the interrogation room and placed the cup in front of the small man in glasses.

"Figured you could use some water," he said, as the man looked up at him. He had an expensive vest under an even more expensive suit and he gave the impression that he was used to being in control whatever the circumstances.

"What's your name?" Randy asked.

The man didn't move, not even to pick up the plastic cup. He simply watched Randy as he sat down across from him. The silence was becoming uncomfortable as they exchanged looks. The captain was right, it was creepy.

"So, you broke into an apartment, huh?" Randy said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Too bad it happened to belong to a friend of ours."

The man didn't blink. He didn't even try to come up with a bogus explanation. He just kept staring at Randy waiting for him to continue.

"So what were you doing in Monk's apartment?" Randy asked.

"that is not important, Lieutenant Disher, as I told Captain Stottlemeyer, all you need to know is that I am here to help someone out of a difficult situation."

It took a moment for Randy to realize that the man had spoken. He had been starting to think that the man couldn't speak at all. After taking a moment to gain his composure, Randy decided to press for answers.

"so you can speak," he said. "Then maybe you can expand on that a little. Help who, with what?"

The man didn't answer.

"let's start with something easier," Randy said standing up. "How do you know my name? Or even the captain's for that matter?"

the man still didn't answer.

"In my experience, people aren't interested in cops unless they have something to hide," Randy said, trying to get a reaction. The man just continued staring at him, refusing to even blink.

XxXxXxXx

Captain Stottlemeyer was still seething when Monk and Natalie walked into the station.

"No, No," He growled. "Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it."

He knew Monk would take his anger personally, but he didn't care right now.

"Captain, we are being followed, " Natalie said, pulling Monk back into the room.

Stottlemeyer stopped just as he was about to retort.

"You're being followed, " he repeated. "By who?"

"We don't know," Natalie said. "We think it's the shooter from the robbery last night."

"It is the shooter from last night," Monk insisted. "He's been following us all day. Plus, we found this in my apartment."

Stottlemeyer took the small wire Monk offered. He looked up at Monk waiting for an explanation.

"It's a camera, the smallest camera I have ever seen. Someone hid it in my clock. I didn't even know it was possible-"

Monk stopped when he saw the look on Leland's face turn from anger to concern, and back to rage.

"Captain?" He called.

Leland rose to his feet with a dangerous look in his eye. If the man he had brought in had planted the camera, then he was a serious threat to Monk. And no matter how much Monk might tick him off from one day to another, he was still his friend. And nobody messed with Leland Stottlemeyer's friends.

XxXxXxX

End notes: so one thing I wanted to do with this chapter was explore Stottlemeyer's character. He's not a bad guy but he is very protective of his friends as are all the characters on both shows.