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“I understand. We would have most likely felt the same way if we hadn’t seen what Rob and Alicia could envision. Was she exonerated?”

“Yes. She had been with her ten-year-old daughter the whole time, first at a school music program and then with others to celebrate dinner at a fast-food restaurant with friends when thecrime occurred, so we knew she hadn’t been there. I hope I’ll be more open-minded if that happens again.”

“That’s why you asked if my cousin and his mate got in trouble for sharing what they were witnessing.” Andy got the point now.

“Yes. If they ever helped a police department with what they had seen.”

“They have on occasion. They’ve helped locate missing kids too, not only because of their sense of smell and hearing but because they could ‘see’ where the child had gone.”

“Now that’s a remarkable ability to have. They ought to be in law enforcement.”

“I’m sure they would feel there were still too many skeptics.”

Craig droppedMonica and Andy off at the White Bear Tavern, and they thanked him for the ride. Inside the tavern, Monica met Andy’s parents, Genevieve and Ned. Ben came over and greeted her.

“We’ve all been so worried about the two of you,” Ben said. “Once we found your vehicles, we immediately smelled that Monica was a bear. No trails or scents were left behind to indicate where you had gone. The blowing snow had obliterated everything.”

“That’s what we were afraid of,” Monica said.

“She tried to leave me behind,” Andy said, as if he still couldn’t believe she would do that to him.

“He had sprained his ankle in the accident,” Monica explained. “I didn’t feel that he could easily follow me.”

“Which makes perfect sense. I probably would have suggested the same thing. Your vehicles were both towed backto town,” Ben said. “The tow truck operator said it appeared your brake lines had been cut at some point, Monica. Police are checking to see if it was due to the accident or something else.”

Monica closed her gaping mouth. Then she frowned at Andy because he’d made disparaging comments about her not taking care of her vehicle.

Smiling sheepishly, Andy shrugged. “I figured you had faulty brakes and hadn’t serviced your vehicle properly.”

“Well, I did.”

“Which means we need to learn what that was all about if the brake lines had been cut on purpose.” Andy was serious now and sounded ready to take down whoever had tried to harm her.

Ben shook his head. “I can’t believe you would accuse the agent of not taking care of her car like that. Is that also why you wanted him to stay back at his vehicle?”

“No. He had a badly sprained ankle, and I had to investigate the kidnapping. I didn’t want him to slow me down.”

Ben laughed. “I definitely would have left him behind.”

Monica smiled. “We complemented each other in the end. I couldn’t have managed five arrestees at the same time.”

“We had to use our polar bear strength even at that,” Andy said. “Of course, that didn’t go into our police reports.”

“Wait,” Ben snapped his fingers. “Alicia’s premonition!”

Andy and Monica smiled.

“She knows about it, right?” Ben asked as if he had spoken out of order.

“Yeah, and I think it’s just remarkable how much Alicia got it right.” Monica squeezed Andy’s hand.

“I’ll get you your menus.” Ben hurried off.

Andy and Monica sat beside a warm and welcoming two-sided brick fireplace. Orange-red flames curling up the chimney made it a cozy spot for two.

The walls were a warm oak, and the ceilings held antiqued brass lanterns for each table. The tables also had little blue and white candles with orange flames. Soft music played in the background, adding to the lovely ambience. She noticed the polar bear oil paintings on the walls and wondered if they were of Andy’s family.

She pointed to one featuring five male bears about the same age. One looked like Andy when he was in his bear coat. “Is that you?”