- When English teacher Beth Landow falls from the clock tower at Trudy's former high school, Monk is called in and quickly disproves the police theory of suicide. The trail of clues leads to a science teacher but he has an iron-clad alibi. Monk becomes a substitute teacher in the hopes of solving the case.—WyattJones
- The English teacher Beth Landow is the secret lover of the Science teacher Derek Philby and is pressing him to end his marriage with his wife. He schedules a meeting with Beth on the next morning to tell her about his discussion with his wife. On the next morning, Derek is giving a test to his students, and Beth apparently commits suicide falling from the clock tower of the school on Derek's car that activates the alarm. The principal Arleen Cassady was Trudy's best friend and asks Monk and Sharona to investigate the case. Monk accepts the case without any charge since it is Trudy's high school, and the place gives recollections to him. He questions the school janitor, but the man tells him that he did not see anything strange on that morning. Monk investigates the crime scene and finds that Derek's car was opened and alarmed. Then he interviews the teachers and concludes Derek is the murderer of Beth. But the police found a badly written suicide note and believes Beth committed suicide and the case is closed. Monk accepts to be substitute teacher to investigate Derek further and looks for a failure in his alibi.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Derek, a married school teacher (Andrew McCarthy) is having and affair with a co-worker Beth. She demands he end his marriage and threatens to tell his wife if he doesnt comply. The next day Derek is in a class room proctoring a SAT exam when there is loud crash outside followed by a car alarm blaring. Beth has seemingly committed suicide by jumping from the bell tower of the school and has landed on a car parked below. While playing chess with Monk, Sharona answers a call from a potential client, Arleen Cassidy, a friend of Trudys from high school, who is now the vice-principal of the private school they attended together. Beth Landau (the dead woman) was not only one of her teachers but also her friend and questions the police departments ruling of the death as an apparent suicide. Monk out of consideration for her connection to Trudy agrees to handle to case for free much to Sharonas dismay. After Monk investigates the scene and comes to believe it was murder, he fingers Philby, a well like science teacher who is leaving to become a headmaster at another private academy as the murderer and takes a substitute position at the school to have access to his suspect. Monk immediately starts having problems with a student whose father is the schools gym teacher who himself becomes Monks bully. The schools janitor approaches Philby in an attempt to extort him for money in exchange to continue covering up from the police what he saw the morning of the murder, in response Philby kills him to cover his tracks. He tries to cover up this murder up by staging it as gas leak accident that supposedly occurs as the janitor is trying to light a fire place, which Monk immediately sees through. Stottlemeyer who previously felt Beths death was a suicide begins to question his views when a second person from the same school dies. When Monk points out the flaws with the second crime scene he becomes convinced and begins an investigation into Beth Landaus death. Stottlemeyer and Disher visit Beth Landaus residence, notice inconsistencies in her home and find a pair of prescription sun glasses that they question to be hers or not. While having dinner at her house with Adrian and her son Sharona receives a phone call about a lead she was following up concerning a recent appointment Beth had with a doctor while Monk receives advice from Benjy about standing up to his bully. Monk approaches Derek Philby to question him at the end of his class, he reveals to Derek that Beth was pregnant and suggests that this and her intentions to reveal the situation to his wife were the motivation for him to kill her. Derek Philby denies doing this and adds that regardless of what he believes that he, Mr. Monk will never have proof of this because her remains had been cremated and he had a solid alibi for the time of her death. While revisiting the bell tower, Monk and Sharona go through the clock gear room on their way down, where Sharona finds glasses belonging to Beth Landau under one of the gears. As they are leaving to take the evidence to Stottlemeyer Monk is confronted by his bully, the schools gym teacher, who is trying to start a fight with Monk. Monk decides to take Benjys advice and stand up for himself against his bully stays to fight. As they begin to take fighting poses the bell tower clock begins to strike the hour, Monk is quickly pulled away from the moment as he begins to solve the case in his mind. He thanks his bully for his help and walks off to visit Derek Philby. Monk misleads Philby by using a goodbye to brag of a lead but tells him that they know Beths glasses are missing and its only a matter of time before they find them which will prove where she died since they werent on the crime scene. Philby of course falls for the lie and heads to the bell tower clock that night to retrieve the glasses, as he is leaving he is met by Monk and the police and is duly arrested for both murders. Monk then begins to tell the details of the murder of Beth Landau. He relates how Mr. Philby met Beth Landau in the bell tower at 8 A.M., twenty minutes before the exam began and that he killed her there. He then moved her body from the bell tower to the clock gear room where he places her on the minute hand of the clock at approximately 8:15, giving him five minutes to quickly return back to his testing room in time for the test to begin at 8:20. Using gravity to release her body after the test had begun around 8:25. The janitor had been the only witness to the body on the clock face and Philby had killed him once the janitor had tried to extort him.
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