"Oh, no-- don't--" oh, no. No, "Natalie, he's-- he's licking his fingers," no. God, no. Monk waved a hand for a wipe, though what he was hoping to wipe away was maybe the... the... oh, the feeling. Ugh. The feeling of this guy, he gave Monk the creeps. Seriously. He didn't think Stottlemeyer actually wanted him interviewing this man, he didn't -- no. No.
"That's OK, Adrian. You're OK," Natalie promised.
Adrian did not feel OK. "I'm meant to interview him, Natalie. I'm - I'm meant to - shake his hand," a grand gesture in Nathan's direction like he was flatly out of earshot, "This is - I know what this is. Captain Stottlemeyer's trying to get under my skin. I told him he missed a spot while he was flossing this morning, he's- he's joshing me, he's pulling my leg, Natalie, we gotta turn this down." Seriously. You can't play into this sort of thing. He told her, "It's a power move."
"Adrian. This man witnessed the murder."
Yes. Yes, that. That was true. He, um. He turned back to Mr Young, who -- "Oh, God," he turned away like it might not be happening if he was not witnessing it. Nathan had just put his hand, the one whose fingers he'd just licked, back into the cookie tray just - just willy nilly. Like a madman. He probably even committed the murder, that kind of person, they didn't have a care in the world, cold-blooded killers, they don't - they don't care about the sharing the cookies (not that he would have taken any), this man. Adrian had solved it. No need for investigating. Put him behind bars. Right?
Natalie continued to watch him, like she expected him to introduce himself.
"Natalie," he said, betrayed and hurt.
"Mr Young?" Natalie turned away from him (Monk used the back of his hand, held flat, to shield his eyes from making contact Nathan Young, "My name is Natalie Teeger, and this is Adrian Monk. He's the man who police wanted you to speak to today. It's really good of you to wait for us."
He hated this job. He wanted to quit and move to Hawaii. It didn't matter about the sand. He'd take a vacuum. They'd be thrilled, he'd be welcomed as a cleanliness... rescuer, he could do Hawaii.