Page 52 of Protecting the White Bear

“Crap. Well, thanks!” Monica explained what had happened to them, such as disabling her car and Pierre's disappearance.

“We’ll be looking for him also,” her fellow agent said. “We’ve continually tried to catch up with him with no success.”

“Yeah, me too.” They finally ended the call, and Monica told Andy what had happened.

“Well, hell, I was afraid they might just disappear once Eloise took off with Harvey’s truck. I sure wish we could have brought them in when we had them in cuffs.”

“I know. Me too.” Then she got a call from her boss, Remington. “Yes, sir?” She put it on speakerphone so Andy could hear.

“Everything was caught on security video at the motel—you realized Harvey Marquart was a danger, warned him to put his hands up, and then he brought out a shotgun and racked it. So the finding is a justified shooting on your part. There was a question about a missing video segment for a few minutes right after he shot at you, and you ducked behind the couch.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, we were all on the edge of our seats, believing you would have been dead from the encounter or killed him, which, of course, we know didn’t happen because you managed to get him into custody. But how did that happen exactly?”

“He tripped over his own feet while coming after me, fell, and hit his head, I guess. I was hiding behind the couch, waiting for him to come around it, ready to shoot him if he tried to shoot at me again. So I didn’t see what happened when he knocked himself out.”

“And Trooper MacMathan was in the restroom the whole time? The next thing we see is him coming out and helping you with Marquart. Then you put the closed sign on the door, took Marquart to his vehicle, and confined him to the hatchback.”

She didn’t respond to the part about Andy being in the restroom. “Did the DEA agents find any more drugs at the motel?”

“Yes, and tons of money were hidden in various locations in the office, and one of the rooms that is never rented out.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, he has already been found guilty of drug trafficking and just got out of prison only six months ago.”

“So he’s on probation, had a firearm as a convicted felon, and lots more,” she said.

“Attempted murder of a law enforcement agent. Yep. I got the paperwork about you being on leave for three weeksto recuperate, but I just wanted to tell you you're not on administrative leave over the shooting.”

“Thanks. That’s a big relief.” She had worried about them learning that some of the video had been deleted, but there was no way she could explain any of that. “What about Denny and the others and the kidnapping scheme?”

“No new leads on them. We’re not sure where they’ve gone to. You don’t need to worry about the case for now. Take it easy and check back in with me when you can.”

“Thanks.” Then they ended the call, and she raised her brows at Andy.

“Hell, it sounded like I was in the restroom while you were fighting for your life!” Andy shook his head.

She chuckled. “You were my bear hero. Unfortunately, we couldn’t allow that to be seen on the video. Everyone inourworld will know the truth, and that’s all that matters.”

He scoffed.

She laughed, knowing he wanted everyone to see him as a hero who had saved her in the nick of time. If he’d been coming into the hotel lobby to rescue her, that would have been one thing. But coming out of the restroom after he’d shifted and dressed like he’d missed all the action? She smiled.

“That decides it. The next venture we’re on together when it comes to taking down criminals—you wear your polar bear coat, and I’ll be on the CCTV?—”

“Getting shot at?” She laughed. “We did every version of that on our wild adventure already. So you’re planning on teaming up with me on more assignments?”

She didn’t believe that was possible unless she got another case in this area and contacted him for backup.

“I sure am. You need backup, and we still have some bad guys on the loose that I’m damned determined to catch. You’re off forthree weeks, and I figure we can do some sleuthing during that time.”

“What will your boss think of that?” She hadn’t discussed it with Andy, but she figured he would have to return to work. Chasing down Denny and his gang probably wasn’t something his boss would be all right with.

“Well, I’m responsible for enforcing traffic and criminal laws on state-regulated highways and responding to emergencies involving motorists, which I was doing when the blizzard hit. Of course, I also assisted with detours and evacuations. But I have seven days off to do my own investigative work.”

“Seven days off? Well, that’s something.”

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