Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect

Infobox Television episode
Series = Monk
Title =Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect
Season=2
Episode=7
Airdate=August 8, 2003
Writer=Karl Schaefer
Production= T-1407
Director=Jerry Levine
Guests=Frank John Hughes
Chad Donella
Josh Stamberg
Matt Winston
Beth Skipp
Michelle Krusiec
Kathryn Joosten
Jake Richardson
Shishir Kurup
Adam Clark
Prev =Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater
Next = Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy
Episode list = List of "Monk" episodes"Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect" is an episode of the TV-series "Monk".

Jason Gray-Stanford listed the episode among his favorites. [cite web
title = Monk Cast Favorites Marathon
work = USA Network
url = http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/community/castfavorites/index.html
accessdate=2007-01-01]

Plot synopsis

The episode begins with Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher interrogating a suspect on the street when Brian Babbage (Matt Winston) runs his car repeatedly into theirs, gives them the middle finger, and then drives off. Stottlemeyer and Disher prepare to give chase, but moments later Babbage's car collides with an oncoming truck. Disher is dismayed, since it would have been his first high-speed pursuit.

Months later, Babbage's sister Amanda receives a package that explodes when she opens it, killing her. A few hours later Federal ATF agents and local police arrive on the scene. Captain Stottlemeyer is bitter because "the ATF is in charge and they aren't shy about saying so". He is also angry because Agent Grooms (Josh Stamberg), the lead investigator, is treating the SFPD in a condescending manner.

The motive for killing Amanda appears simple: she and her two brothers were all arguing over the division of their late father's substantial estate. While Amanda and her brother Ricky finally agreed to divide it equally, Brian felt he deserved the lion's share. The father did not help matters by constantly changing his wills, calling into question the "soundness of mind and body."

Monk inspects the remains of the package, and finds two interesting clues: the string used on the bomb's package was elegantly tied, and the mailing label shows that it had to be forwarded from Amanda's old address, to which it had been sent. Amanda moved into her current address two months ago, indicating that whoever sent the bomb didn't know she had moved.

Ricky arrives at the house. When Monk sees the poor job that Ricky did of tying his surf board to his car, he is convinced that Ricky is not the bomber. Ricky also confirms that he knew his sister's new address, since he attended a party she threw there.

Monk says Brian is the obvious suspect, but Stottlemeyer explains that Brian can't have done it. The package was mailed a few days earlier, but Brian has been in a Stage 9 coma for four months, as a result of the car crash. However, Monk continues to insist that Brian is their man, since he couldn't have known Amanda's new address, and when he sees the elegantly tied laces on Brian's shoes in his hospital room.

In the meantime, Stottlemeyer and Grooms interrogate Ricky but he doesn't break. Grooms becomes very upset when Monk, backed up by the Captain, tells him he suspects Brian.

Monk and Sharona go to Brian's house where his housemaid lets them in. Monk notices ketchup bottles glued to the ceiling, some of which have fallen to the floor. He also notices a magazine where Brian had circled a lawyer's name. Monk recognizes the name as a lawyer notorious for losing cases. As he and Sharona come downstairs, he notices the housemaid opening another package. Monk grabs it and throws it into a toilet, shutting the bathroom door on it just as it explodes, shielding them from the worst of it.

Grooms believes the attempted bombing is proof that Brian is innocent, but Monk says he must have sent it to himself to throw off suspicion. He is again told that this is impossible, since the package was also mailed a few days ago.

Later, Monk confides his suspicions to the comatose Brian; he has no one else to talk to since Dr. Kroger is out of town. As Monk leans in, he accidentally unplugs Brian's ventilator. But instead of killing Brian, the incident helps him eventually regain consciousness.

Ricky is released on bail, and Monk and Sharona escort him home. As they are looking around his apartment, Monk notices some peeling wallpaper, and says he's solved the case. Just then, Ricky starts to open another package, supposedly a box of his favorite Cuban cigars. As Monk realizes what it is and shouts out a warning, Ricky throws it away in a panic and it lands in Sharona's arms. While she stands frozen in place, Monk manages to defuse it with only a few seconds to spare.

This Is What Happened

Monk gathers Stottlemeyer, Disher, Sharona, and Grooms together at a mailbox, and, with the help of a gung-ho mailman, Tamil, explains that Brian found a way to send bombs through the mail months after he deposited them. Months earlier, he broke into several mailboxes and glued his bombs to the top of the compartment, with just enough adhesive that they would fall down after a certain period of time. Monk's clue was the ketchup bottles; they weighed about the same as the packages, and Brian was testing how long the glue would last before they fell down.

The second part of Brian's plan was to have himself incapacitated when the bombs were sent through the mail. When Grooms points out that no one plans to be in a coma, Monk agrees, that was not part of the plan. Instead, Stottlemeyer explains, Brian planned to get himself arrested, and be in jail at the time the bombs were delivered. He even went so far as to seek out a bad lawyer to make sure he would not get off. The crash was accidental, but gave him an even more perfect alibi - the coma.

When Grooms demands proof, Monk arranges a little trap. The now-conscious Brian is told in the hospital that both his sister and brother were killed. His housemaid (the one who was almost killed by the earlier bomb) brings his mail by, including a package that has already been partially opened. Seeing it, Brian panics and dives to the floor, shouting that it's a bomb. Then Monk, Sharona, Stottlemeyer, Disher, and Grooms appear from behind the curtain. Brian's reaction proves his guilt, and to his surprise he is arrested for just Amanda's murder.

In the meantime, Trevor, Sharona's ex-husband, returns, seeking to convince her and Benjy to return to New Jersey with him. They almost do, but when Sharona discovers that Trevor was going to parade her in front of his rich uncle in Detroit to get back into his will, she refuses to leave.

References

External links

* [http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s2_sleeping/sleeping.html USA Network page for "Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect"]
* [http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/ Official Site for Monk]