Read Online Mr. Monk is a Mess by Lee Goldberg - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lee Goldberg
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assistant.
And now my house had been broken into again, there was another dead body and another package of birth control pills.
Only this time I wasn’t the killer, the birth control pills weren’t mine, and I wasn’t a frightened single mother working as a bartender.
Now I was one of the jaded cops, a woman who’d lost track of all the corpses that she’d seen and all the murderers that she’d looked in the eye.
I was an entirely different person.
I’d known that for a little while now, but I think it wasn’t until that precise moment that Monk and Stottlemeyer realized it, too.
It was a significant moment, one we absorbed in silence.
Devlin was left out of it and, judging by the look on her face, she didn’t like it much. To be fair, she ended up in that position a lot when the four of us got together. I could sympathize. I’d felt that way with Monk, Stottlemeyer, and Disher for months at first.
“You’ve both had a long day,” Stottlemeyer said. “You ought to go and let us handle this. I’ll give you a call in the morning and let you know what we’ve turned up.”
Now that he’d mentioned it, I was tired. The idea of going to sleep sounded good to me, but it wasn’t going to be in my own bed as I’d hoped, at least not tonight.
“Let me grab a change of clothes and we’ll be on our way.”
I made a move toward my closet but Devlin stepped in front of me.
“Sorry, I can’t let you do that,” Devlin said. “The whole house is a crime scene.”
“It’s a suicide,” I said.
“We don’t know what it is, or why Michelle Keeling was here, or what other evidence might be in the house,” Devlin said. “Until then, you can’t take anything out of here.”
I looked to Stottlemeyer for support, but he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m afraid she’s right, Natalie. You must have some clean clothes in your luggage you can use for a day or two.”
“I didn’t bring any suitcases back with me.”
It took Stottlemeyer a moment, but then he got the implications and nodded to himself. “Because you weren’t coming back to San Francisco to stay. You came here to pack. You’ve decided to keep working as cops in Summit.”
Monk lowered his head with guilt. “I’m sorry, Leland.”
“What are you apologizing for, Monk? I’m happy for you,” Stottlemeyer said, forcing a smile. “Three of my favorite people are going to be working together doing jobs that they love. I think that’s a great thing.”
“Thank you, Captain,” I said. “I wish it hadn’t come out this way. This wasn’t how we planned to tell you.”
The truth was, we didn’t have any plan at all.
The captain waved off my concern. “We’ve been friends too long to worry about that. Good news is good news.”
Maybe so. But if that was true, why did Monk and I feel so lousy about it?
CHAPTER NINE
Mr. Monk Cleans Up
I stepped outside and called a crime scene cleaning company I knew and asked them to deal with my bathroom as soon as the police released the scene.
Monk waved his hands in front of me, interrupting my call. “Wait, wait. You should tell them to do your whole house.”
“But there’s only blood in the bathroom,” I said. “The rest of the house is uncontaminated.”
“You’re living in denial. Did you see those carpets?” Monk said. “How many more people have to die before you do something about it?”
I ignored Monk and finished my call with the crime scene cleaners. Thankfully, it was too dark for him to notice how dirty the exterior of my car was, or he might have suggested that I hire the crime scene cleaners to go over it, too.
When I got off the phone, he invited me to stay the night at his apartment.
I’d been sleeping on a couch for the last few weeks so I figured one more night on one wouldn’t kill me. Besides, it wasn’t like I had a lot of other options. He sweetened the deal by offering me whatever I needed from his vast supply of unopened toothbrushes,
And now my house had been broken into again, there was another dead body and another package of birth control pills.
Only this time I wasn’t the killer, the birth control pills weren’t mine, and I wasn’t a frightened single mother working as a bartender.
Now I was one of the jaded cops, a woman who’d lost track of all the corpses that she’d seen and all the murderers that she’d looked in the eye.
I was an entirely different person.
I’d known that for a little while now, but I think it wasn’t until that precise moment that Monk and Stottlemeyer realized it, too.
It was a significant moment, one we absorbed in silence.
Devlin was left out of it and, judging by the look on her face, she didn’t like it much. To be fair, she ended up in that position a lot when the four of us got together. I could sympathize. I’d felt that way with Monk, Stottlemeyer, and Disher for months at first.
“You’ve both had a long day,” Stottlemeyer said. “You ought to go and let us handle this. I’ll give you a call in the morning and let you know what we’ve turned up.”
Now that he’d mentioned it, I was tired. The idea of going to sleep sounded good to me, but it wasn’t going to be in my own bed as I’d hoped, at least not tonight.
“Let me grab a change of clothes and we’ll be on our way.”
I made a move toward my closet but Devlin stepped in front of me.
“Sorry, I can’t let you do that,” Devlin said. “The whole house is a crime scene.”
“It’s a suicide,” I said.
“We don’t know what it is, or why Michelle Keeling was here, or what other evidence might be in the house,” Devlin said. “Until then, you can’t take anything out of here.”
I looked to Stottlemeyer for support, but he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m afraid she’s right, Natalie. You must have some clean clothes in your luggage you can use for a day or two.”
“I didn’t bring any suitcases back with me.”
It took Stottlemeyer a moment, but then he got the implications and nodded to himself. “Because you weren’t coming back to San Francisco to stay. You came here to pack. You’ve decided to keep working as cops in Summit.”
Monk lowered his head with guilt. “I’m sorry, Leland.”
“What are you apologizing for, Monk? I’m happy for you,” Stottlemeyer said, forcing a smile. “Three of my favorite people are going to be working together doing jobs that they love. I think that’s a great thing.”
“Thank you, Captain,” I said. “I wish it hadn’t come out this way. This wasn’t how we planned to tell you.”
The truth was, we didn’t have any plan at all.
The captain waved off my concern. “We’ve been friends too long to worry about that. Good news is good news.”
Maybe so. But if that was true, why did Monk and I feel so lousy about it?
CHAPTER NINE
Mr. Monk Cleans Up
I stepped outside and called a crime scene cleaning company I knew and asked them to deal with my bathroom as soon as the police released the scene.
Monk waved his hands in front of me, interrupting my call. “Wait, wait. You should tell them to do your whole house.”
“But there’s only blood in the bathroom,” I said. “The rest of the house is uncontaminated.”
“You’re living in denial. Did you see those carpets?” Monk said. “How many more people have to die before you do something about it?”
I ignored Monk and finished my call with the crime scene cleaners. Thankfully, it was too dark for him to notice how dirty the exterior of my car was, or he might have suggested that I hire the crime scene cleaners to go over it, too.
When I got off the phone, he invited me to stay the night at his apartment.
I’d been sleeping on a couch for the last few weeks so I figured one more night on one wouldn’t kill me. Besides, it wasn’t like I had a lot of other options. He sweetened the deal by offering me whatever I needed from his vast supply of unopened toothbrushes,
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