Mr. Monk Falls In Love - Recap

Disher and hi newest date are trying to hail a cab and spot one parked across the street. They get in and start talking and kissing in the back. Finally they notice that the cab driver is dead.

At police headquarters, Stottlemeyer has called in Monk to check out the case. The police haven’t identified the cab driver yet but they’ve found a blood-splattered charm bracelet on the back seat. The murder weapon was a hatpin with a family crest on it. They put together a profile of the suspected killer from the charms on the bracelet, determining their target is a female dancer with the initials “LZ.” They track down women who fit the profile and the Stottlemeyer and Monk go to see Leyla Zlatavich, a Zemenian national who runs a refugee center for her people. Monk is immediately attracted to Leyla, who mistakes him for a Zemenian refugee. Monk insists she can’t be the killer but Stottlemeyer a piece of Zemenian currency which matches a scrap found in the cab. Monk notes that although the evidence points to Leyla, there’s no motive.

Leyla calls Monk and asks to hire him as a detective to clear her name. She wants to come over and Monk goes into a panic. When Leyla arrives, Monk offers to take her case free of charge and wants to go out to dinner with him that night. She gives him a friendly kiss as she leaves and a shocked Monk can’t bring himself to use a wipe on it. Natalie teasingly notes that Monk is in love but he denies it, insisting he’s still married to Trudy.

That night, the couple is out walking when Leyla spots a barber harassing a homeless man. She comes to the homeless man’s aid and even Monk rises to the defense. At the restaurant, Monk is nervous the when the Zemenian cook touches his food on the grill. He and Leyla chat and he shows her the charm bracelet, which she says she’s never seen before. They talk about Trudy, and Monk talks about his wife as if she’s still alive. Leyla talks about her own family and how they were killed in Zemenia by the Butcher of Zemenia. The restaurant owner hears them talking and goes into a fury, saying that no one should ever mention the Butcher’s name. He spits on Monk’s table and as the detective goes for hot water, he sees a dartboard ion the kitchen with a photo of the Butcher on it. Monk recognizes the Butcher as the murdered cab driver.

Monk gives the information to Stottlemeyer, who is now convinced they have a motive to tie Leyla to the murder. Monk still insists that she’s innocent, pointing out that the cab driver picked up a fare at the airport on the night of the murder and Leyla didn’t have any reason to be there. Stottlemeyer orders Leyla’s arrest and Monk goes to see her and tell her he has to quit because of the conflict of interest. As they’re talking outside, a car splatters mud on Monk’s pants. Leyla invites him into her apartment where she cleans his pants and provides him with a robe that belonged to her dead fiancé. She’s playing a record by Tchaikovsky and asks Monk to dance with her. He reluctantly begins dancing with her and then gets into it. However, when Leyla touches his wedding ring, he draws back and Leyla realizes that Trudy is dead. She admits that she’s lonely too, but before they can go any further, Stottlemeyer arrives with a search warrant. They find a jewelry box with the same family crest as the hatpin. When they confront Leyla with the evidence, she immediately confesses to the murder.

At the station, Stottlemeyer and Disher interrogate Leyla, who explains how she killed the cab driver. Monk still doesn’t believe she’s guilty and examines Leyla’s personal effects. He sees a letter from Leyla’s mother and tracks her down to the apartment where she’s living with other Zemenians. Monk confronts her and tries to explain that he knows she killed the Butcher. She had arrived at the airport and caught a cab, going to Leyla’s old address to give her a charm bracelet for her birthday. She recognized the Butcher as her cab driver and killed him, then fled. When Leyla recognized the family crest on the hatpin, she realized who the murderer was and confessed to protect her mother.

Mrs. Zlatavich is taken into custody and Monk assures Leyla that she will only receive a couple of years in jail at the worst. Leyla is not assured, and wonders why Monk brought her mother in. Monk can only say “Because she did it.” An angry Leyla leaves him, telling him to go back to his wife.

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