Page 87 of Protecting the White Bear

Rob started to back down the drive in Andy’s car while Craig and Andy led Denny on the tire tracks in the snow. Once Robwas on the main road, he parked, waiting for Andy and the others to get into Craig's truck. After they had handcuffed Denny to a handhold, Craig climbed into the driver's seat, and Andy sat in the back with Denny to watch him.

"So what happened this time?" Craig asked. "I mean that you were without backup again."

"We're short of staff. You know how it is. We were checking out Harvey's motel when we saw Denny and Eloise make a run for it. There was no reception; we couldn't let them get away. So we took chase."

"Where did the bears go? Did you see them?" Denny asked.

"What bears?" Craig asked. "All I saw was you in handcuffs with the others, being herded to Andy's car."

"No, you have to have seen them. Well, no matter. My grandparents’ cabin door is trashed, and all of us saw the bears."

Andy hadn't had his body camera on, but wasn't sure if he should admit to having seen them, too. Three of the people with them said they were there. Otherwise, how would they explain the mess at Denny's grandparents' cabin?

"Maybe a grouchy black or brown bear woke up from his sleep and did that," Craig said.

"Hell, I know the difference between polar bears and black or grizzly bears," Denny said. "What do you take me for? A moron?"

Craig smiled.

Andy kept calling for backup so they could turn the three perps over to patrol units designed to carry detainees. He finally got service before they reached Harvey's motel. He called Roger first.

"What's up? Are you coming in early to work? Or inviting me to a cold-weather barbecue?" Roger asked.

“We need your help again.” Andy told them where they were.

“Right on it.”

Then they ended the call, and Andy read Denny his rights in case he talked.

Denny started in about the polar bears. “They need to be shot. Both of those polar bears.”

Showing off their polar bear coats to non-shifters could be a problem, so they always had to come up with a plausible explanation. Though they also tried to do what they needed to do with as much covertness as possible in the first place.

Andy couldn't think of one this time, so he didn't say anything.

"You're not going to deny you saw the polar bears," Denny told Andy as if he were telling him what to do.

Craig changed the subject. "What is this one wanted for?"

"Kidnapping Helen for ransom money."

"She was in on it," Denny quickly said.

"You didn't say that when we arrested you the last time." But Andy knew why he had said she was innocent before.

Denny had hoped she wouldn't be handcuffed and could help free him when given the opportunity.

"Your buddies said otherwise," Andy said.

"Lionel? Teague? You got them?"

"We sure did, and they told us you were the mastermind." Andy was recording everything they said in case Denny told him the truth.

Of course, that wasn't what Lionel and Teague had said, but Helen proposed this fake kidnapping to get money from Pierre, then Pierre ended up taking charge of the plan.

"What the hell? No way," Denny said. “Who knew Pierre had money? I didn't. Sure, he had a nice home and car, but that didn't mean he had a lot of cash readily available. Helen came up with the plan."

Which sounded more like it.

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