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“Yeah. I worked a week on and a week off before the blizzard, but then I had to go out to rescue stranded motorists instead of being off and then ended up on a kidnapping case.”

“Okay.”

“So I got credit for having to work, and I have a full week off. If you’re resting your hand and back, we can check into this kidnapping case.”

“That means we only have a week to catch all of them.”

“Yeah, but when we do, I want to be caught on video arresting them. But first—we need to stock up on more handcuffs.”

13

“What about your gun?” Monica asked Andy as they left the mini-mart and headed home.

“About losing my gun to the perp? My boss wasn’t happy about it, but he understood my dire circumstances. He authorized the reissue of another gun for me, and they’ve notified all the agencies that one of the men we had confined, Lionel, had fought me for it.”

Andy told his boss about it as soon as he had reception when they were driving to White Bear. He’d had to tell him what he’d been doing the last few hours also. In case Lionel or one of the other men had used his gun in the commission of a crime, he had to warn his boss that he didn’t have it any longer.

“And?”

“Everyone in the department will give me grief about it when I pick up the new gun, but losing it was in the line of duty while I was fighting for my life. It wasn’t a case of me leaving it in a bathroom stall at a bar, which happened to one of my coworkers.”

“Oh, no.” Monica shook her head.

“Yeah, and worse, he lied about it being stolen, but an honest citizen turned his revolver in to the police. So the officer was fired for drinking on duty, being drunk, and losing his weapon. Totally a different case from mine.”

“Wow, not a good thing to do. Regarding our perpetrators, we need to learn where they could have gone.”

“We could question the owners of the cabin Denny and Helen were staying at and learn about their association with Denny,” Andy said.

“What if Denny just broke into their place and wasn’t supposed to be there? He feared someone might realize his grandparents had a cabin, and he would take Helen there. He might have thought they could safely hole up in the vacant neighbor’s cabin instead if the word got out that there was a kidnapping in progress.”

“On the other hand, if he did know the owners and they had agreed to let him use their cabin, they might have a clue as to where he could go next.”

“Not his cabin,” Monica said.

“Your agents would have undoubtedly checked it and even talked to the cabin owners.”

“Let’s see if we can locate them, call them, and learn what we can.”

They went inside the house, but he noticed Monica wincing every time she got in and out of his car. “Before we do anything else, you’re napping. You’re supposed to be resting during these three weeks, you know.”

“That’s the part I don’t like about being off.”

He laughed. “I know. It sucks.”

“Okay, will you call them while I’m napping?”

“Absolutely. I’ll run into the department and get some handcuffs and my replacement gun while you rest. That way, we’ll be ready to go as soon as we have a lead.”

She smiled and hugged him. “More than anything, I would love to nap with you.”

“I feel the same way, but you need to rest your back.” He wrapped his arms gently around her and kissed her mouth. “Feel better.”

She kissed his mouth back, and he parted his lips for her, their tongues tangling with each other in pent-up intrigue. Then she pulled away.

“Whatever you do, you don’t goanywhereon this case without me if I’m sleeping and you get a lead,” she said.

“Are you kidding? I’m not going anywhere without you. This is a team mission.” He just hoped neither of them would get killed doing it. “I’ll be back.”