User:Kevinbrogers/Sandbox/Monk articles/Mr. Monk and the Magician

"Mr. Monk and the Magician" is the 15th episode of the seventh season of Monk, and the 108th episode overall. It marks the last appearance of Jarrad Paul as Monk's upstairs neighbor Kevin Dorfman.

Plot
In a back room in Bangkok, Thailand, professional magician Karl Torini (Steve Valentine) is performing his sleight-of-hand magic tricks for some Thai drug dealers who operate a mass smuggling ring. He offers to trade the ringleader's watch for a chick. The dealer (who speaks only Thai, but whose translations are provided by a hired translator) demands his watch back, and when Torini fails to produce it, he draws out his gun, threatening to make a bullet vanish into Torini's skull. Torini merely tells him to ask his friend, who has magically gained the watch. After Torini places the watch on the ringleader's gun, the ringleader produces their biggest drug shipment yet - 70 kilos of heroin. The gang wants this heroin to magically disappear from Thailand and magically reappear on the streets of San Francisco, California. Torini promises them that it will not be a problem, as he makes a deck of cards vanish into thin air.

At the Magic Castle, a San Francisco venue for magicians both professional and amateur, accountant Kevin Dorfman is doing Torini's books, talking to himself as he calculates the magician's expenses, and stops when he notices an irregularity. In the main theater, meanwhile, Torini and his personal assistant Tanya Adams (Peyton List) are rehearsing for their next show when Kevin comes in. Having been told that this is a closed rehearsal, Kevin looks at the floor as he makes his way over to the stage. After Torini makes Tanya disappear by way of a vanishing cabinet, Kevin rambles on a bit about his own tricks, but when Torini reminds him that he is very busy, Kevin gets down to the point: he's been looking at the receipts from Torini's past world tour, specifically, his airline receipts. According to the airline receipts, Torini's equipment weighed more on his return trip to the United States than it did when he left the country. He's checked out the records and discovered that similar incidents have happened on several of Torini's past world tours, and figures that the airlines must be ripping him off. He suggests that they get a lawyer and sue the airlines. Torini tells Kevin to forget about the lawsuit and close the books, and then asks Kevin to do him a favor - he's supposed to be doing a show here this upcoming Saturday night, but he's got a personal conflict: he's taking Tanya to Reno for the weekend, and he's going to propose to her. Kevin is very happy for Torini, who notes having seen Kevin's performance as an amateur magician. Kevin promises Torini that he will not let the great magician down.

Later that day, at his apartment, Kevin is doing his own closed rehearsal for his act, with Adrian Monk and Natalie Teeger as his rehearsal audience. He's just performed his ring trick, and then Kevin decides to grab a cane from his coat rack. When Monk and Natalie simultaneously say "Abraca-Dorfman," the cane levitates on its own. After Kevin manages to grab the cane, Monk asks him how he did that, and Kevin tells him that the secret is the fact that the cane is on a thin piano wire attached to the coat rack. The piano wire is very thin, and painted black so that it's invisible. Monk asks Kevin as to how he got the job, and Kevin (who has gotten tangled up a bit in his own wire) mentions Torini and the incident involving Torini's taxes. Kevin cannot figure out one thing about the receipts: how can Torini's equipment way more on his return trips than when he leaves? Kevin then shows his piece de resistance: a vanishing cabinet identical to the one Torini was seen using earlier. Kevin attempts to coax Monk into entering the cabinet, but Monk points out that he's been buried alive once and does not want to enter the cabinet.

That night, at the Magic Castle, Kevin is trying to do last minute preparations before he goes on stage. Suddenly, the phone rings, and the stage manager picks up. It's Torini, calling from Nevada to tell them some great news. After Torini gets put onto speaker phone, he tells them that Tanya accepted his marriage proposal. Kevin tells Torini and Tanya that he's dedicating his show to them.

Kevin goes on stage and his performance is less than satisfying to most of the small audience. To be precise, Monk and Natalie provide the most applause for Kevin as he performs. Kevin ends by making his rabbit vanish, but the trick backfires because the rabbit starts scratching and biting his crotch, as the curtain falls on him. Monk comments to Natalie that there are three dead doves on the stage. He's still trying to absorb the rest of the performance.

Backstage, Kevin grades himself on his performance, cutting some slack for himself and noting areas for improvement. Suddenly the door opens and Kevin immediately asks the mysterious intruder as to what he is doing. Back in the theater, Monk and Natalie are waiting, but Kevin has not returned. Monk goes through the building's corridors to locate Kevin's dressing room. A maintenance man points in the general direction. Monk heads to Kevin's door, knocks on it, and finds the door unlocked. He finds Kevin on the floor, apparently trying to levitate, but Monk quickly checks Kevin's pulse and realizes that he is dead.

When Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher arrive, Stottlemeyer suggests to Monk that he sit the investigation out, but Monk insists that he is okay. Randy refers to his notes, and points out that according to the medical examiner, Kevin was strangled from behind with something that was thin and very strong, probably a piano wire. The wire has not been recovered yet. As Monk was the one to discover the body, Stottlemeyer asks him if he saw anything unusual. Monk confirms that there was only a maintenance man backstage, but the stage manager tells him that this isn't possible, as the maintenance crews don't work on Saturday. Monk realizes that he saw the killer, who was disguised as a maintenance man, moments after he'd committed his crime.

At Kevin's funeral, Monk and Natalie realize that the rest of the Dorfman family is like Kevin - they are all very talkative. They are admiring a photo of Kevin, which Natalie says is her own. She even mentions that it was very difficult to make the photo, as she had to get one where he wasn't talking (she eventually resorted to using Photoshop). They are approached by Kevin's Aunt Sheila, who hugs Natalie and then rambles on a bit about Kevin's Sunday chats with her over the phone. Natalie is only able to escape Sheila's ramblings by interrupting and claiming that she is thirsty. They walk away from the portrait, and bump into Torini and Tanya, who have arrived to pay their respects to Kevin. Noticing the water bottle in Tanya's hand, Natalie asks her where she got it, and Torini points down one of the hallways. Monk notices the gesture that Torini uses when pointing (with his right pointer and middle fingers together), and remembers how the silent maintenance man who pointed him towards the dressing rooms at the theater used an identical gesture. He immediately figures that Torini was the killer. Monk and Natalie double back and start to question Torini, who confirms that he and Tanya did get engaged. However, Tanya doesn't have an engagement ring, but Torini admits that with Kevin's death, a ring just didn't seem right.

At the police station, Stottlemeyer informs Monk that it is impossible for Torini to be the killer. For one thing, he was in Reno at the time of the murder, and he can prove it. Also, he called the theater at 9:55 PM exactly, just before Kevin went on stage, and they've got statements from everyone still alive who listened to that call (which was put on speakerphone). Disher also tells them that according to the phone records, the call was made from Torini's hotel room and it was a direct call (meaning it was not rerouted). However, Monk insists that Torini is the disguised maintenance man he saw at the theater on Saturday night.

Monk and Natalie head down to Torini's loft apartment to talk to him. Tanya is now wearing the ring, so their engagement is official. She mentions that her encounter with Tanya was purely by accident - she'd been at one of his shows in Toronto and she volunteered when he needed someone to levitate. She also mentions that she doesn't know anything about Kevin's death, so might not be of help. But as she leaves to see if Torini is ready, Natalie notes to Monk that Tanya might be hiding something. Monk is distracted a bit by some knives on the table, and notes that they seem to be for one of Torini's knife gags. He takes one knife and "stabs" himself with it, trying to see how the gag works. This one is obviously a prop knife. When he takes another knife and brings it down on Natalie's back. Natalie immediately jumps when the blade touches her back, and Monk realizes that the second knife is obviously a real one.

Monk then notices a cabinet and walks over to it. As he examines it, Torini's voice comes booming over hidden loudspeakers, describing the contraption as a Zig Zag Cabinet he created by himself. He asks Monk to step away from the cabinet, and both Monk and Natalie immediately notice machines in another room emitting a lot of colored fog, so they fail to see Torini magically pop into existence behind them. He mentions that he was able to pop up behind them by using misdirection, a trick that is the secret behind every illusion. To prove his point, Torini produces a coin and starts moving it back and forth between his hands as he describes the logic about where the coin might be. Torini tells Monk what he told the police before - he was leaving town and needed someone to fill in for him, and Kevin fit the bill. He admits that Kevin, who was his private accountant, was usually backstage doing his taxes when Torini was performing. Torini feigns surprise when Monk mentions having seen him at the theater disguised as a maintenance man. He does a magic trick with his coffee (including making his cup levitate and pouring sugar into one hand and emptying it into the cup with the other) as he gathers scraps of paper. Torini insists that he called directly from Reno (and blows on the gathered newspaper scraps, which fold out to reveal an intact newspaper; Torini comments that it looks like it will rain). Realizing that Torini is treating this investigation like it's another show, Natalie confronts Torini, warning him that there's nothing that will prevent Monk from proving that Torini committed the murder. Caught, Torini decides to write a confession, which he promptly folds several times into a small square of paper. He puts it in Monk's hand... and the "confession" promptly burns itself up, revealing that it's trick paper.

Later, Monk and Natalie are boxing up Kevin's belongings, and Monk admits that Kevin just wouldn't keep his mouth shut - he notes a time when Kevin had a sore throat and talked for over 2 hours about how much it hurt to talk. Just then, Natalie's cell phone rings, and Natalie cannot find her phone at all. She swears she put it on a black surface, and Monk immediately notices that it's a hinged trapdoor. He realizes that there are secret compartments inside the prop. After flipping the surface a few times, Natalie finds her phone, and Randy answers on the other end. Monk, meanwhile, noting the secret compartment, deduces what might be behind why Torini's equipment has been weighed more when returning to the States than it was when leaving.

That night, Torini is performing at the Magic Castle, easily impressing the entire audience. After performing a number of gags including transforming the color of Tanya's dress, he presents the Zig Zag Cabinet to his audience, and asks for a volunteer. Natalie gets up, but Torini asks for Monk instead. Natalie hands him a few chemical test strips and Monk heads up to the stage, gathering dropped cards from one of Torini's previous tricks. Monk notes that the cabinet is very cramped. After Tanya removes Monk's jacket, Torini eventually gets Monk into the cabinet and produces solid steel blades, with which he intends to "cut" Monk into thirds. Monk has to open the peephole to get some air, and remembering that he's doing this for Kevin, he runs the chemical test strip just as Tanya and Torini move the central part of his body away from the rest of the body. After Monk gets split, he pops open the peephole again, and shows Torini the chemical test strip - which has turned thoroughly red, and which means that the Zig Zag Cabinet just tested positive for heroin. He mentions that he figures Torini is using his props to smuggle drugs into the United States. Kevin must have accidentally discovered this, and Torini had no choice but to kill him to prevent him from asking more questions. However, before Monk can provide a summation, Torini shuts him up and apologizes to the horrified audience, saying that the cabinet does have a reputation of making people a little batty. He says that it's time to descramble Monk. After moving the central part of the cabinet back into place, Torini and Tanya perform several rotations of the cabinet, Torini removes the steel blades, and opens the cabinet doors to reveal that the cabinet is empty - and Monk has gone poof.

The scene changes to after the performance, with Stottlemeyer demanding Torini to get demystified as soon as possible. Torini swears that the cabinet is a simple prop gag and it was not supposed to be a vanishing act. He also mentions that Tanya is likely backstage.

In fact, Tanya is down in the basement, and Monk is tied to a chair. She admits that this wasn't her idea, and also admits that Torini is going to throw Monk into the furnace and make him vanish completely. Upstairs, Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher have not found the basement and Torini tells them that frankly, he'd like to stay, but with two shows coming up the next day, he has to go. He produces a business card for his lawyer, which he magically jumps into Disher's jacket.

Downstairs, Tanya is watching over the captive Monk and a basement phone rings. She mentions that the phone is just an extension. Monk turns to the phone, and notices traces of pipe tobacco - and remembering that Torini smokes a pipe, he deduces that Torini was down here recently. He reveals to Tanya that he's figured out how Torini set up his alibi: misdirection, the secret behind every illusion.

Here's What Happened
Torini and Tanya went to Reno for the weekend, and Torini made sure he was seen when he checked in. That afternoon, he slipped out of his hotel and he drove back to San Francisco, and hid in the theater's basement, dressed as a maintenance man, and smoking his pipe as he waited patiently. At exactly 9:55 PM, Tanya called the theater, so the phone records were correct about the call having originated in Reno. While the stage manager picked up the backstage phone, and Torini picked up the basement extension phone. He asked the stage manager to put him on speaker phone, and this fooled those listening in on the call into thinking that Torini and Tanya were in fact in the same room, when Torini was actually already in the building. After Kevin's performance, Torini made his way up to the dressing rooms, killed him, then left the building and returned to Reno. His perfect murder would have been so if Monk hadn't seen the disguised Torini calmly walking out just minutes after he'd committed the murder.

Just then, Torini comes into the basement, and Tanya informs him that Monk has figured out what they did. Torini opens the furnace hatch and they prepare to kill Monk and then throw his body in the furnace. Upstairs, Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher have been unsuccessful in their search for Monk, but then Stottlemeyer notices that one of the floorboards on the stage is a little bit wobbly. He pours a bit of his coffee onto the board, and it slides away, and they realize that Torini made Monk fall through a trapdoor into the basement.

Downstairs, Torini and Tanya try to restrain Monk as they do the job, but Monk manages to fight back. Tanya can no longer seem to go through with this, and she offers to take over from Torini. Tanya tries to hand Monk the key by transferring it from her mouth, but Monk promptly spits it out and it lands a few feet away. When Torini sees this, he realizes he'll need a new assistant, and prepares to also kill Tanya, just as Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Disher burst in and arrest them.

Later, at Monk's apartment, Monk and Natalie are watching Kevin's "video will" in which Kevin rambles on and on without getting to the point he intends to make.

Goofs

 * When Monk tries to leave after seeing Torini and Tanya's breeding rabbits, Natalie grabs him by the wrist, but her hand is suddenly at his elbow in the next shot.
 * When Torini says on the speaker phone that Tanya has accepted his proposal, you can see 8 people, including Kevin, the substitute magician. Later, when Stottlemeyer reassures Monk that there were 10 people who heard him over the phone, there were actually only 7 people that heard the phone call that are still alive.
 * During and after Kevin is on stage, the cut on his forehead moves around and even changes shape.