he notices skid marks that indicate the driver rapidly accelerated from a parking spot across the street. Mud drops further indicate that the driver used mud to conceal the license plate number. Natalie receives a call from Officer Curtis about another murder. On Russian Hill, waitress Diane Truby tumbled in front of the same bus she disembarked from minutes earlier. Monk realizes that the killer sat on a vegetable crate not visible from the street and waited for Truby to pass. Julie identifies the brands of each of the shoes the Golden Gate Strangler victims were wearing. She also says they are obsolete styles, sold out of trucks at freeway off-ramps which take only cash. Chow informs Monk and Natalie that Max Collins, who sells artwork, lost millions of dollars in bad investments he made based on Doucet's advice. Collins states that he subsequently had a private investigator do some digging, and found that the companies Collins invested in were paying her to steer wealthy clients their way. On the night Doucet was murdered, he was visiting his mother, just around the corner. Natalie privately tells Monk that she is concerned that Monk will be working himself to death solving all of these homicides. Monk and Natalie have a secret rendezvous with Captain Stottlemeyer. The Captain is bitter that Monk has taken over his position. Stottlemeyer advises Monk that all three of his detectives have their own strengths and he needs to learn to delegate. Monk calls up Porter for information about John Yamada's ex-wife's stolen car and has Chow check up on Truby. On the way over to the next murder, Natalie is issued a ticket, ostensibly because she was driving 28 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone; Natalie realizes Monk is being harassed because of his breaking the strike. Scott Eggers has been found dead in the alley behind his house. Monk sees that the killer bludgeoned Eggers, grabbed a grocery bag from the trash, and suffocated him. Bertrum Gruber walks into the station to say he saw the Golden Gate Strangler while he was at the community garden in McKinley Park watering his strawberries. The last part of the stranger's license plate number was M567. Monk has Officer Curtis search for Ford Tauruses with M567 in the license plate number. Monk believes, however, that Gruber is lying, since it is not strawberry season. The vehicle