Hal Tucker is a fictional character in Monk. In "Mr. Monk Makes a Friend" he was the main antagonist in that episode. He feigns befriending Adrian Monk at the beginning of the episode so he can get to a crime scene, at which he committed a crime but made a mistake.
He later makes a cameo appearance in "Mr. Monk's 100th Case", interviewed about Monk while in prison.
Mr. Monk Makes a Friend[]
Hal claimed to work in Import/Export, but this was used as a cover to smuggle stolen valuables in and out of various countries.
While stealing a valuable antique statue in Greece, Hal met SFPD police dispatcher Gail Segalis. Hal had previously been arrested for possessing stolen antique coins, and as such, knew his luggage would be searched by United States Customs. So to smuggle the statue away, he seduced Gail away from her boyfriend, restaurant owner Tim Hayden, with expensive gifts, with one of the most prominent being a bottle of Santorini Wine. This bottle is what Hal used to hide the figurine and take it back to America.
However, while Hal was showering in Gail's apartment, Gail asked him to stay over and have some of the wine with her. Hal grew alarmed, as Gail noticed the figurine in the bottle as she got a better look at it. However, before she could identify what the object was, Hal used one of her hand towels to strangle her to death, taking the bottle afterwards and fleeing the apartment.
Hal realized that he had a problem afterwards; Gail had dreams of seeing the Parthenon when in Greece and promised that she would send Adrian a photo when she got there...a photo that Hal was in. Having learned about Monk from Gail, he knew if Monk saw that photo, it could connect him to Gail's death. Hal knew he needed a way to get to Monk's mail and take that postcard before Monk could see it.
So, a short time after the murder, he collided with Monk as he was shopping for groceries. He acted in a way that Monk could relate to, leaving Hal and Monk to promise they would meet each other soon.
Their first true instance of hanging out led them to seeing a hockey game. Things became a hair more complicated for Tucker when he and Adrian bumped into an old friend of his, who spilled to Monk that Hal had been in prison. Hal quickly tells Monk about the coins, leaving out that he had stolen them himself. Luckily for him, Adrian dismissed his suspicions since he had never had a real friend.
Hal soon learned that the police had been talking to Hayden, and that while Hayden didn't know Hal's name, he said he could likely identify him if he saw his face. After watching a movie with Adrian and looking through his mail to see if Gail's postcard has arrived, Hal went to Tim's restaurant and confronted him in the kitchen. After learning Tim hadn't given the police a name, Hal pulled out a revolver to kill him. However, the gun jammed due to the firing pin being worn out. While Tim was able to fight off Hal for a short while, Hal was able to regain his advantage and beat Tim to death with the revolver.
Knowing it wouldn't be long before Tim's body would be discovered, he convinced Adrian to let him tag along to the crime scene, claiming that it would be amazing to see him in action. While there, Hal was able to find the sunglasses he had lost in the struggle with Hayden and discreetly pocketed them. He also pointed out the handle of the revolver left at the scene was cracked (more than likely during the fight). Monk's friends started to get suspicious of Hal and asked him why he was hanging out with Monk, but Hal managed to deflect by giving a small rant saying the three only really talk to Monk to solve crimes, never just to hang out or simply have a chat.
As Hal was once again hanging out in Adrian's apartment, Hal check the mail and finally saw the postcard Gail had sent. Relieved that he could now not be tied to Gail's death and no longer having to put up with Monk's quirks, he decided to leave. However, Adrian then asked Hal to officially be his best friend. Wanting to leave as soon as possible, Hal quickly agreed, leaving the house and getting on with his life.
Things became more complicated for Hal when Adrian showed up outside his apartment building a few days later, angry at Hal for speaking to another friend (or possibly one of his clients) like a clingy jealous lover, happening to see his bottle of Santorini wine.. Figuring Monk was too much of a risk now, Hal reluctantly let Adrian into his apartment, hoping to kill him. As Hal was shutting the blinds and curtains to ensure there were no witnesses to the killing, Hal unconsciously started to hum a song known as "The Fullness of Spring", the same song that played on a music box in Gail's apartment as he was murdering her. Adrian recognized the tune, noticed pictures on Hal's walls of him in Greece, and deduced that Hal was Gail's killer, only to see Hal pull a pistol on him.
At the same time, Captain Stottlemeyer and Lt. Disher realized that Hal was Tim's killer, as he pointed out that the gun's handle was cracked, indicating that Tim was beaten to death. The two figured that any normal person who heard that a revolver was used to kill someone would assume that the victim was shot, and only the killer would know that the gun was used to beat Tim, leaving Randy and Leland to rush to Hal's apartment.
Hal briefly lost his gun when Adrian was able to distract him, but he quickly claimed that pulling the gun was just his way of "joshing him". Adrian fell for the ruse and gave Hal the gun back, but by the time Hal took aim back at Monk, the police arrived and arrested him.
Mr. Monk's 100th Case[]
Hal was sentenced to 25 years to life for his crimes. He appeared on the InFocus special about Adrian alongside murderous farmer and marijuana dealer Jimmy Belmont and attempted murderer Joey Krenshaw. The three discussed their "perfect crimes" and their annoyance towards Monk solving them. Hal in particular found Monk's summation particularly annoying, saying that it was unnecessary for Monk to explain what he had done, as Hal obviously already knew it.