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Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure is the sixth episode of the sixth season of Monk.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Here's What Happened 2 Background Information and Notes 3 Quotes

PlotEdit

While in session with Dr. Kroger,

Adrian Monk talks about his mother's cooking, but loses focus when he notices that Dr. Kroger has received a new wristwatch. Monk starts to guess that it came from Harold Krenshaw. As Dr. Kroger gets Monk back on track, he gets an automated message from his son Troy's school - he hasn't shown up again. Monk figures that Troy is sick, but Dr. Kroger says that Troy is probably in some park skateboarding with his friends and listening to trash metal music. For all his expertise as a psychiatrist, Dr. Kroger confesses to Monk that he is at a loss when it comes to dealing with his own son.

At a skate park, Troy and his two dimwitted friends, Ridley and Pez, are skateboarding and listening to heavy metal music. During one trick, Troy accidentally loses control and his skateboard runs into the bumper of a nearby Cadillac. Going up to apologize to the driver, a heavyset man, they see him sitting up in the driver's seat, stone dead, clutching a half-eaten cheeseburger in his right hand. Looking in the backseat, they find empty burlap bags with the label West Bay Trust on them. The three boys all realize that the dead man is one of two who were responsible for a bank robbery a few days ago in which two gunmen killed a security guard and pistol-whipped a branch manager and made off with $2 million. Troy finds a hand-drawn map in the backseat, and figures that they might find the money.

The three teens approach Monk in secret, pretending to have been given an extra credit assignment for school: decipher the map, and they can avoid being flunked. Monk, who is anxious to do something for Dr. Kroger, is eager to help, although Natalie smells a rat and is suspicious.

At the same time, Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher are examining the dead robber's getaway car. The man suffered a heart attack, and was alone when he died, but spots of blood in the backseat indicates that there was a second man, possibly a dead body, in the car at some point. A detective tells them that they can't find any idenfication on the victim, as someone has picked him clean. The money is nowhere to be found. Stottlemeyer also notices skid marks near the car, and a fresh scratch on the fender, which indicates that some skateboarding kids may have found the car earlier.

With Monk's help, the three teens follow the map. During the drive, Troy asks Monk about what his father thinks of him and notes Dr. Kroger is never straight with him, even though he thought he’d be a psychiatrist when he was young. Monk quickly figures that the "44" on the first road they take is actually a mile marker. They later reach a crossroads. Up until now, Troy and the others have thought that the place was where a zoo was, but Monk notices that there is a brewery here called the 200, which sells 200 types of beer. He realizes that the Z on the map is actually a 2.

The next clue on the map seems to say “barbecue". Just then, as they are looking around, a cell phone rings. Out of earshot of Monk and Natalie, Pez admits that he lifted the dead man's cell, and answers it. On the other line is Steven Connolly, the bank's assistant branch manager, asking urgently if their "package" was buried. Ridley tries to extract a few details about the precise location, but Connolly realizes that they aren't "Tony", the man he is supposed to be talking to, and hangs up. Stottlemeyer and Disher arrive just as Connolly is hanging up and question him. He is shown photos of the dead robber, but he lies and says he doesn't recognize him at all given that he was being forced to open the vault at gunpoint. Disher spots a photo of Connolly's brother, "Happy Jack" Connolly, but Steven claims to be out of touch with his troubled sibling.

Monk is about to give up on the hunt, but then he spots a dump truck with the label "Belham Brothers Quarry," and realizes that "BBQ" is the abbreviation for a quarry. Once they reach the quarry, Troy and his friends are elated to see a big red "X" made by two planks sitting on the ground, but Troy reminds the others that they can't dig up the money with Monk and Natalie watching. Thanking Monk enthusiastically, they prepare to leave. None of them notice Connolly watching them, disguised as a workman and carrying a shovel.

Monk is called in to consult about the bank robbery. While also poking holes in Randy's soda cup, Stottlemeyer shows Monk crime scene photos of the car, and a surveillance video showing the robbery: two masked gunmen entered the bank on Wednesday morning at 9:18 AM, and they forced assistant branch manager Steven Connolly to open the vault, pistol-whipping him for emphasis. As they were preparing to leave, however, things went a little awry: a security guard shot the first robber (who wore a green ski mask), presumably in the chest. The second robber (who wore a black ski mask) immediately returned fire and killed the security guard with another round, then helped his partner out of the bank with the cash. They were gone within two minutes. The day after the robbery, the police found the robber who wore the black ski mask at a parking lot in Pacific Heights. Much like Connolly upon being shown a photo of the dead robber, Natalie mistakes the dead man for the shot robber. Stottlemeyer notes that by tracing the car's license plate, they have identified the man as a petty criminal by the name of Tony Gamelobo. He was 47 years old, lived in Daly City, and had spent four years in an Arizona prison. When they found him, his pockets had been picked clean, there was blood in the backseat, but there was no body at all and there weren't any footprints nearby.

Monk realizes Troy lied to him: he realizes that Pez was not only carrying Gamelobo's cell phone, but also his driver's license. Monk excuses himself in a hurry, leaving even Natalie behind.

Monk finds Troy, Ridley and Pez at the convenience store where they hang out, decked out in clothes and jewelry which shows they have obviously been spending money. Confronted, Troy confesses, but begs Monk not to turn them in, as it would break his father's heart. Caught, Monk orders Troy to take him back to the quarry and show him where the money was. If they can return the money to the police, Monk may be able to keep their names out of it.

By the time they arrive at the quarry, night has fallen. Troy says they found a small amount of money buried under the big red "X," but Monk says that doesn't make any sense - the "X" on the map corresponds to a different point inside the quarry; and anyway, why would career bank robbers ostentatiously hide two million dollars under such an obvious marker? Troy objects that they only found around $5,000, figuring that the bank inflated the amount to rip off the insurance company. When Monk notices a discarded green ski mask nearby, he solves the case, and tells Troy that they need to get out of there, immediately. Troy starts the car, but they are stuck on soft gravel. Behind them, Connolly starts up a bulldozer and shoves their car into a concrete berm, then bulldozes a small mountain of gravel over them, burying them both.

Here's What HappenedEdit

Monk quickly goes to pieces inside the trapped car, and Troy - discovering a hidden talent on par with his father's - encourages him to keep talking to stay calm. Monk tells Troy to pull out the cell phone that was formerly Gamelobo's and taking the phone from Troy Monk quickly starts pressing all of the buttons to call for help, he finds the phone's call history, which shows previous calls from both Steven and Jack Connolly. When Monk has another panic attack, Troy calms him by asking him to give the summation.

The bank robbery was an inside job: Connolly planned it with two accomplices, his brother "Happy Jack" and Tony Gamelobo. They pistol-whipped Connolly to make sure it looked real, but everything went wrong when the security guard shot Jack just seconds before Gamelobo gunned him down. Monk figures that Jack probably died a few hours later. Connolly was in trouble, because if Jack's body was found and identified, the police would know that the robbery was an inside job.

The map that Troy found was not a treasure map, but rather, a map that Connolly had drawn to instruct Gamelobo where to bury his brother's body. Gamelobo died of a heart attack after he had buried the body and returned to San Francisco. After Connolly realized that Troy and his friends were following the map, he trailed them to the quarry and, after they all left, he buried a small amount of money and marked the spot with an "X," to make sure that they wouldn't dig up his brother's body.

When Monk fails to come home, Natalie tracks down Ridley and Pez, and demands to know where he and Troy have gone. She, Stottlemeyer, and Disher go to the quarry, but can find no trace of them. They are about to leave, when Randy asks to make a pit stop (due to him drinking another giant soda can thanks to having entered a local fast food chain contest), despite Stottlemeyer berating Randy for not having gone when they were at the gas station.

Hearing him above, Troy and Monk start banging on the roof of their car and yelling. When nothing happens, they realize no one can hear them, but Troy plugs in one of his rock CDs and turns the car stereo up to maximum. Hearing faint traces of the music through the gravel, Natalie realizes where they are, and Stottlemeyer calls for rescue.

A short while later, Monk is huddled in a shock blanket on the back of an ambulance. Stottlemeyer reports that Connolly has been caught and confessed. Dr. Kroger, who is present, says that he and Troy have had a long talk, and Troy has decided to turn his life around, go back to school, and think seriously about attending college - maybe even to study psychology. Dr. Kroger thanks Monk for giving his family a wonderful gift - though Monk spoils the moment by begging Dr. Kroger to call Harold so Monk can gloat.

Background Information and NotesEdit

• Second and final appearance of Dr. Kroger's son, Troy, played by Cody McMains.
• Discontinuity: Jack Connolly is shot once when Monk, Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher watch the surveillance tape in Stottlemeyer's office. During the flashback to this scene in the summation, the guard shoots Jack twice.
• During the scene where Monk, Natalie, Troy, Ridley and Pez are by a grade crossing trying to figure out the map, a train passes through. The problem is that it is a Metrolink train, and Metrolink is Los Angeles's commuter rail system. Caltrain and BART provide commuter service in San Francisco.

QuotesEdit

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