The next morning, Adrian and Natalie rode with Randy to the press conference, as Leland had gone in early to confer with the DA. Adrian was grateful he didn't have to deal with dodging reporters in his own car. Driving still made him nervous; having to drive while being careful not to hit people swarming around his car was the stuff of nightmares.
Natalie hadn't attempted driving yet, given her health restrictions. Truth be told, she didn't like the idea. Whenever she thought about getting behind the wheel of a car again, her hands got all clammy and she had to start thinking about something else. It would take time, she supposed, to get over the phobia.
When they arrived at the courthouse, they were quickly ushered inside and up to a room set aside for the conference participants. Adrian stole another admiring glance at Natalie as they hurried up the stairs. Her hair was swept up in a simple French twist; she was wearing a sedate black dress and heels, small diamond ear studs, and Trudy's necklace. He thought she looked both dignified and lovely.
He was wearing a basic black suit and tie, as were the other men present – including the district attorney, the ADA, the chief of police, and the police commissioner. Various aides and assistants swarmed the room, as did the DA's public relations people, even though the press conference wasn't set to start for another forty-five minutes.
Adrian scanned the room for Leland, and spotted him with two men in navy blue military uniforms at the far end. One of men he recognized as Lieutenant Keith Gautier out of the San Diego JAG Corps, who had worked with them to solve Trudy and Mitch's cases. The other officer – African-American, late fifties, salt and pepper hair, dark, piercing eyes, and a strong, clean-shaven face – was a stranger to him.
But not, apparently, to Natalie. When she saw him, she stopped in her tracks and gasped softly.
"You okay?" he asked, instantly on alert. The two naval officers had seen them enter and were heading toward them, Leland in tow.
She didn't answer him; her eyes stayed on the face of the unfamiliar officer as he approached them.
"Natalie," he said warmly, taking her hand gently in his. "It's good to see you again."
"Commander Mayrick," she said, a small smile touching her lips. Her eyes narrowed in on the rank insignia on his uniform. "Captain Mayrick now, I see. Congratulations."
"Thank you." He smiled, flashing a mouthful of white, even teeth. "I swear you haven't aged in twelve years. How do you do it?"
She blushed. "Just lucky, I guess." Suddenly, she seemed remember that Adrian was standing beside her. "Adrian Monk, this is Comm—that is, Captain Daniel Mayrick. He was Mitch's commanding officer. Captain Mayrick, this is my fiancé, Adrian Monk."
Mayrick clasped his hands behind his back in a relaxed military posture and nodded at him respectfully, a sure sign that he'd been briefed by Lieutenant Gautier about Adrian's dislike of handshakes. "Mr. Monk, your impressive reputation precedes you. It's a very great honor."
"Thank you, Captain," Adrian said, nodding in return. "I'm equally honored."
"And how's little Julie?" Captain Mayrick asked Natalie.
She laughed. "Not so little anymore. She's taller than I am, and she's a freshman at Berkeley."
"Julie's in college?" he said, shaking his head in amazement. "Last time I saw her, she was still throwing princess tea parties."
Natalie dug in her purse for a recent picture. "Look at her," Mayrick said admiringly. "Spitting image of Mitch."
"She's definitely her father's daughter," Natalie agreed.
"But with her mother's spunk," Adrian chimed in, causing Natalie to blush again as Mayrick laughed.
"Before the conference gets underway, we were wondering if we could have a private word with the two of you," Lieutenant Gautier said to them.
"All right," Natalie said, nonplussed, as Adrian nodded.
"There's a small conference room through there," Leland said, pointing at a doorway across the room. Adrian caught his eye and gave him a questioning glance, but Leland ignored him. "Someone will come get you when we're ready to get started."
Mayrick ushered them in to the room, closing the door behind him. After they'd taken seats around the small table, Mayrick took two sealed white envelopes out of his inside jacket pocket. He handed one to Natalie and one to Adrian.
"I've been instructed to give you these," he said simply.
The envelope bore her name in typed letters. Mystified, Natalie slowly unsealed it and drew out a letter on heavy white paper. Unfolding it, she saw the large and colorful insignia of the Navy, followed by bold black letters.
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAS AWARDED THE
BRONZE STAR MEDAL (POSTHUMOUS)
TO
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER MITCHELL AARON TEEGER
FOR EXCEPTIONALLY MERITORIOUS CONDUCT IN THE PERFORMANCE OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES
It was signed by the Secretary of the Navy.
Natalie raised brimming eyes to Captain Mayrick.
"The official citation will be awarded with the medal," he told her, quietly. "But we wanted to notify you as soon as possible."
Beside her, Adrian held a similar letter in trembling hands, one that cited the posthumous awarding of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award to Trudy Anne Monk for "exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long-term benefit to the Department of the Navy."
Adrian and Natalie stared at each other in mutual astonishment.
"I know this is sudden," Gautier said apologetically, "but… with your permission… we were hoping that we could announce both awards during the press conference."
"Of course," Natalie said, her voice barely above a whisper. Adrian merely nodded; his throat was too tight to speak.
Both officers smiled their thanks. "We'll give you some time alone," Mayrick said, rising to his feet. On his way to the door, he lightly touched Natalie's shoulder. "It's an honor that's long overdue," he said, then exited the room.
As Gautier passed her chair on his way to the door, Natalie suddenly stood up and took a few steps toward him. "Lieutenant," she said, still clutching the letter in her hand, "did you do this?"
He paused. "I contacted Captain Mayrick and suggested the nominations, yes," he acknowledged, "but only after Mr. Monk asked me if it were possible for Commander Teeger to be honored in some way for his service." He smiled in Adrian's direction. "It was a good idea, but not entirely complete, as it occurred to me that Trudy Monk deserved to be honored for her service as well. I'm pleased the Navy agreed."
As he left the room, Natalie slowly turned on her heel to look at Adrian, who was staring at the floor, his ears bright red.
"When did you talk to the lieutenant about this?" Natalie asked him. Her voice held the same odd tone it had the night of their engagement, after he'd told her about asking Julie for permission to marry her mother.
"The day after he arrived, while we were at the station," Adrian confessed. He hadn't intended that she should ever find out he'd made the suggestion.
That was the same day she'd been held captive by Wally Dougal, she realized. She and Adrian had spent the entire afternoon at the station house, engaged in endless busywork to keep themselves occupied as the search for Dougal continued. Thinking back to that day, she remembered that she'd seen Adrian in Stottlemeyer's office, speaking to Lieutenant Gautier about something, but at the time she hadn't paid much attention.
That had been before their engagement. Before their relationship. Before he'd told her that he loved her. Before he'd even realized that he loved her, according to what he'd said.
"Why?" she asked softly.
He raised his eyes to hers, shrugging self-consciously. "You've always known Mitch was a hero. I thought the world should know it too." He glanced at his letter. "But I wasn't expecting… I didn't know…"
She couldn't say why it meant so much that he'd done this for her, not as her boyfriend, or her lover, or her fiancé, but simply as her friend. It was, she suddenly understood, the best and most meaningful way that he have possibly communicated his respect and regard for her.
And if she hadn't already fallen head over heels in love with him, that one act would have thoroughly accomplished it.
"I didn't think it was possible to love you even more than I already did," she said quietly. "I was wrong."
Overcome, he surged to his feet and pulled her into his arms. They clung to each other in silence until a knock on the door interrupted them, and one of the PR reps came in to usher them to their assigned seats in the media room.
The conference went as Adrian had expected. First, the district attorney, flanked by the police commissioner and the chief of police, spoke. His narrative was simple and straightforward. After years of no leads, the sudden discovery of previously unknown documents belonging to Trudy Monk had uncovered the involvement of Lieutenant Commander Mitchell Teeger in exposing a child sex ring run by former Navy officials. That discovery in turn led to the capture and arrest of former Lieutenant Wallace Dougal, who had in turn pled guilty to homicide in exchange for his testimony against the man who had hired him to kill Commander Teeger, the late Dale Biederbeck. Dougal had also testified that his cousin, Frank Nunn, had been hired to kill Trudy Monk before she could break the story to the media. Thus, after twelve years, Trudy Monk's case was deemed solved, and was being officially closed.
Captain Mayrick spoke next. His statement was brief. Commander Teeger's death was being officially reclassified as a homicide, although his death was still considered as having occurred in the line of duty. In recognition of his service in this case, he would be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star; additionally, Trudy Monk would be posthumously granted the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, a civilian honor, for her contribution. The United States Navy thanked the SFPD, and Mr. Adrian Monk and Ms. Natalie Teeger in particular, for their assistance in the case, and for bringing both Lt. Dougal and Dale Biederbeck to justice.
At the mention of the awards, Adrian and Natalie had glanced at each other, but, mindful they were on camera, didn't dare do anything more than squeeze hands.
The reporters had stayed respectfully quiet during both statements, but when the DA asked if there were any questions, all hell broke loose. The questions came fast and furiously.
"Can you confirm that Monk and Teeger are engaged?"
"How long have they known about the connection between their late spouses?"
"Was Dougal's attack on Ms. Teeger several months ago related to her late husband's case?"
"Has Natalie Teeger's car accident affected their wedding plans?"
"Is Ms. Teeger fully recovered from her injuries?"
"Will Teeger continue working as Monk's assistant after their marriage?"
"Where will their wedding be held?"
"Have they set a date?"
"Where are they honeymooning?"
Adrian and Natalie exchanged a look of exasperation. "Are they going to ask about our sex life, too?" Natalie murmured into his ear.
"Shush," he whispered under his breath, subtly poking her in the side.
Captain Stottlemeyer rose to address the flurry of questions with the statement he and Adrian had prepared the previous day. It, too, was short and simple, acknowledging that Adrian and Natalie were indeed engaged to be married, they preferred not to release any further details about their personal lives, and they thanked the media for respecting their privacy.
But the shouted questions continued, even after the DA thanked the members of the press for coming and officially closed the conference.
"Where are we honeymooning?" Natalie said, irritated, after they had been ushered safely out of earshot. "Why do they even care?"
"It's a love story for the ages," Leland said whimsically. When both Adrian and Natalie stared at him, he shrugged. "That's what they said on CNN."
Adrian rolled his shoulders. "I guess it is rather incredible, when you think about it," he admitted.
"Do you still think the press conference will help the story die down?" Natalie asked.
He looked uneasy. "I don't know. By the sounds of things in there, maybe not."
At that moment, they were approached by Captain Mayrick and Lieutenant Gautier. "Quite the circus," Gautier commented.
"There are reporters camped outside my house as we speak," Natalie told him. "It's crazy."
"I hate to add to the craziness, but I was hoping we could arrange a date for the awards ceremony," Mayrick said. "The lieutenant and I were thinking May first, but it's entirely up to you."
She quickly conferred with Adrian. "That works for us," she said. "Do you have a location yet?"
"No, but Captain Stottlemeyer has volunteered to coordinate that, so he'll let you know when and where," he said. "I have to fly back to Norfolk tonight, but I'll be here for the ceremony, of course." He embraced her warmly. "It was wonderful to see you again, and I'm very happy for you and Mr. Monk. I think Mitch would be too."
"I know he would be," she said, hugging him tightly in return. Like her, he had never believed that Mitch had been capable of betraying his country or his crewmates, and his staunch loyalty to his fallen officer had been one of the few things that had kept her sane in the aftermath of Mitch's death.
When she released him, Adrian gently touched her back. "Are you ready to go?"
She nodded, and Randy escorted them out.
