Adrian Monk: [on the phone] It was Leonard Stokes. He planned the whole thing from prison. His trial was coming up and somehow he had to get his confession thrown out. The only chance he had was to discredit the cop that arrested him, and that was Adam Kirk. Stokes called his pal, John Gitomer. He convinced Gitomer to lure Kirk onto the Ferris wheel and then make it look like Kirk beat him up. The bruises on Gitomer's chest were self-inflicted. That's why his sweatshirt was zipped up all the way.
Captain Stottlemeyer: Okay, what about the stabbing?
Sharona: Captain says, "What about the stabbing?"
Adrian Monk: I'm getting to that, aren't I? Turn it back. It turns out, Gitomer only knew half the plan. He was the real patsy. Stokes had another partner, someone who worked at the carnival. Someone who loved him. Someone who would kill for him.
Sharona: The Ferris wheel operator?
Captain Stottlemeyer: Wait. How does he know it was the Ferris wheel operator?
Adrian Monk: They were both wearing Straight and Sober buttons, orange ones. Every chapter has their own color. Took me a while to put it together. Stokes didn't want to make Lieutenant Kirk look corrupt or hot-tempered. He wanted to make Kirk look like a killer. Kitty was there to finish the job.