Allison sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. He was right. The physical evidence—limited as it was—pointed to Marcus, even though she knew for as good as fact that Vanessa was the guilty party. “Well, maybe she’s framing him.”
“Maybe,” Lee agreed, sounding as far from convinced as humanly possible.
“No, Mrs. Dubois might be onto something,” Monk said, matching pace with Lee and Allison. Sharona was only a step or two behind him. “Vanessa Sawyer deliberately pointed us in the direction of Marcus Jackson when she lied about the status of his and Louise Boudreaux’s relationship.”
“That’s right,” Sharona said, snapping her fingers. “She’s the only one who said anything about their relationship being on the rocks! Nobody else could confirm that.”
“Exactly,” Monk said. “They were on the verge of marriage, not breaking up!”
“According to your readings of Jackson’s body language,” Lee countered. “And he’s not exactly the most credible figure when it’s his significant other who’s dead. Besides, Sawyer was Boudreaux’s roommate. It’s entirely possible she heard stuff straight from Louise that wasn’t being passed over to Marcus.”
“Vanessa’s credibility is just as shot,” Allison insisted as they all came to a stop in front of Lee’s police cruiser. “Her story doesn’t add up and you know it.”
“Did you check out her car?” Monk asked. “The blue Nissan she claimed to own?”
“I did,” Lee confirmed. “She doesn’t own any Nissan, blue or otherwise. At least not one that’s registered with the DMV.”
“Then why did she have a key for a Nissan?” Monk demanded. He frowned. “And there was something off about her key, too. I wish I’d gotten a closer look at it.”
“I mean, she could’ve been holding onto the key for someone,” Sharona pointed out. “I agree there’s something fishy about her, but it’s possible the key wasn’t hers.”
“Then why would she lie and say it was?” Monk protested, raising his shoulders and holding out his hands. “She’s the guy. There’s a connection between that key and the murder of Louise Boudreaux.” He faltered, shoulders falling. “I just don’t know what it is. Yet.”
— from ch. 3 of my untitled monk x medium crossover
