Page 93

Andy listened carefully but didn't hear anything more until something slammed into the glass, maybe the bedroom glass door with access to the balcony or one of the windows looking out on the scenery. Immediately, Monica and Andy rushed into the room as Helen fired at Craig. Anticipating the barrage of bullets, Craig had quickly moved down the ladder out of her line of fire.

Andy lunged forward without waiting for Monica to order Helen to drop her weapon. They'd already given Helen enough chances to give up. Fearing Helen would turn and shoot him because he looked so menacing, he charged into Helen. Her eyes were huge, and her mouth gaped wide as if she was about to have a heart attack.

He could smell her fear and panic as he struck her with his paw, trying not to hurt her too much, though deep down, he was angry that she had wanted to kill them.

Someone was heading up the stairs, and Monica glanced out the door. "It's your brother. He's bringing your clothes, which is good because I hear your cousin and Roger coming to the front door."

Andy shifted, and once Craig handed him his clothes, he dressed.

Monica checked on Helen. "She's alive."

"Good."

Then she handcuffed Helen. "We need to get her to Roger’s patrol car.”

"Is this the last of them?" Craig asked.

"No. We still need to apprehend Pierre." Monica holstered her gun.

Andy and Craig carried Helen out of the bedroom and down the stairs, where Roger and Rob were waiting.

"What happened to her?" Roger asked.

"I knocked her out before she could shoot Monica and Craig." Andy told Roger how Craig had created the distraction to give them time to apprehend Helen.

"That's good. I'm glad she didn't shoot anyone. Put her in my car, and we'll take her back to White Bear and have her checked out.”

They carried her to the patrol car when Helen began to stir and tried to get free.

Roger glanced at her. "She looks all right to me." He sounded relieved. "But we'll still have her checked out."

"Ohmigod, where's the polar bear?" Helen asked in a panic, glancing around wildly, looking for any sign of the menacing bear.

"There are no polar bears around here," Roger said, but then he paused as they put her on her feet so she could walk the rest of the way to the car.

"Yeah, that's what knocked me out!" Helen looked at Monica. "You saw it! It broke down the bedroom door. You were right there when he broke it."

Monica shrugged. "I didn't see any bear. I certainly would have been talking all about it. If I did see one, I'm sure he would have hurt me."

Roger shook his head. "Absolutely." As if that decided that.

Helen said, "You can't be serious! The bear nearly gave me a heart attack. I would have shot it but was so shocked that I forgot to. And then he hit me. I don't remember anything after that."

"Have you been drinking?" Monica asked as they reached the patrol car.

"No, I haven't been drinking."

"Using drugs?"

"No. And you can't deny he was there. He broke the damn door down!" Helen repeated.

"That door was flimsy, and I kicked it in," Andy said. "And Craig broke through the back door that led out to the balcony after climbing a ladder. You don't think he was a bear, too, do you?"

"Of course not!"

Smiling, Roger opened the car door for her, but as soon as he and Andy tried to get her into the car, she was kicking and trying to bite them, totally resisting arrest.

Andy liked her better when she was knocked out. Roger went to the other side of the car and opened the door, then reached in and grabbed her from his side while Andy pushed her in from his side. They finally got her into the back seat and seat-belted her in.