Page 54
Story: Protecting the White Bear
“Better be.” She headed for the bedroom.
“Do you need me to tuck you in?”
She chuckled. “Tonight.”
“Gladly.” Then she retired to bed, and he headed to the station.
When he arrived there, he knew he would get a lot of grief from everyone in the office. Losing a gun, no matter how it happened, was big news.
“Hey, Andy, you didn’t tell me you lost your gun to one of the perps.” Roger slapped him on the back. “And your jacket. One of the officers turned it into us when they searched the cabin.”
“Oh, that’s great. Yeah, the guy got his handcuffs out from under the couch leg. I couldn’t find anything else to handcuff him to. He came at me like a grizzly ready to rip me apart.”
“Which one was he?”
“Lionel.”
“Oh, yeah, we have an APB out on the whole gang, and you’re right. The guy’s huge. Six-four, muscled…I can see why you had trouble keeping him away from your gun. The boss said you can have a replacement, right?”
“Yeah, it was in the line of duty, unlike one of our fellow troopers who left his gun in the restroom.”
“That was a dumb action—drinking on the job, the whole thing. I heard you need a slew of handcuffs. The guys chipped in and got a bunch together for you.”
Andy laughed.
Roger opened his desk drawer and piled ten pairs of handcuffs on his desk. “I don’t know if this will be enough for you, but if it isn’t, we’ll get more. Your parka, backpack, and other gear are hanging on the rack. You know everyone is damned proud of you for braving that blizzard to help the agent out and try to capture the people involved in the kidnap scheme. ”
“I couldn’t let her do it on her own.” He was so glad the guys had retrieved his gear.
“Yeah, as pretty as she is, I would have done the same thing. I can’t believe you had a sprained ankle on top of that. And then to capture bank robbers too?”
“Hey, you and the other guys helped with that.”
“Well, that’s true. We got many accolades for that, and”—Roger smiled—“of course, many troopers said if we hadn’t been there, you might have lost them too. We defended you, reminding them that you and the agent had been injured in the car wreck, and you were outnumbered five to two with regard to the other perps. With those odds, truly, we were amazed you could take them all into custody.”
Andy was afraid he would be questioned on how they had managed that.
“So…how did you do it?”
“We took them down separately. We had already taken Helen into custody. Denny left the cabin to get firewood, and we easily managed him. Lionel, Teague, and Harvey separated so we could take them down one at a time.”
“Aww. I told the other troopers that you two didn’t have secret superhuman powers. Then, the four guys claimed that a polar bear had attacked them. Even the one you took into custody at the motel. We don’t have polar bears in the area. So what was up with that?”
“The blizzard made visibility next to nothing. I’m sure they thought we were polar bears coming for them in their delusional state. Maybe when Harvey hit his head in the lobby, he dreamed up being attacked by a polar bear.” Andy shrugged.
“Uh, yeah, that’s what we figured.”
Andy hoped everyone would believe their story.
“So…we heard Monica’s staying with you for now. You’re off for a week. What are the two of you going to do?”
Andy smiled. “Really? You think I would answer that?”
“I heard she’s a workaholic. So are you. If I had to guess, I would say you’re going after the suspects you lost since no one has caught them yet. If you need any help, let me know. Many of the guys would assist if you learn something and need us as backup.”
“I appreciate that, but then you would say we couldn’t handle the matter without you guys.”
Roger laughed. “Yeah, but there are six of them now, the four men and two women, and there might even be more if the only ‘victim’ in this—Pierre—is in on it.”
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