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C oncerned that Monica might be a nonbeliever when it came to Andy’s psychic cousin and Alicia having premonitions, he’d never considered that possibility. That would be hard to deal with unless something happened that proved to Monica that—oh, hell!

Alicia had predicted he would have trouble with Monica in the middle of the blizzard! He hadn’t even given it another thought with all that had happened since then.

“I had breakfast at the tavern with the whole family before I went on patrol the morning of the blizzard, and Alicia had a premonition. She said I would meet up with a woman, polar bear type, who I had met before, but never been intimate with.”

Monica’s eyes widened. “She had a future vision of us ?”

“Well, they’re hazy, and she was trying to grasp what she saw. She’d never met you before, she didn’t know your name, but she said…” He hesitated to say.

Monica's lips curved up slightly. “What?”

Andy cleared his throat. “Well, as I recall, she said you would be angry because you had someplace important to go, and I would be an impediment.”

“Yep,” Craig said at the wheel. “That’s just what Alicia had said.”

For a moment, Monica just stared at them and then laughed. “Boy, she hit the nail on the head. Not that you were an impediment. You were just who I needed in my life. That is just amazing.”

“I thought you would be a motorist caught up in the blizzard and giving me grief for not allowing you to try to reach your destination. Instead, I would have taken you back to White Bear. I never gave it another thought while I was rescuing travelers. Or when you ran into my vehicle.”

“That’s just amazing. I can’t say it enough.”

“Rob and Alicia only envision situations in the past or future, which causes them problems, but only because they see the trouble coming,” Andy said.

“That’s a cool ability. I admit I didn’t really believe in such a thing until I had a case where we were looking for a murder weapon, and this woman called out of the blue, saying it was under a rug beneath a coffee table.

I don’t know how everyone missed it. She said she…

envisioned it. So we took her comment with a grain of salt. ”

“But checked into it and found the gun,” Andy surmised.

“Yes, and then took her in for questioning. No one with psychic abilities had given us clues about anything before. So when she did, our first thought was that she had to have witnessed the crime scene. How else would she have known about it?”

“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 the crime 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 dropped Monica 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 back to 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?”

“Yeah. It was Margot and Craig’s idea to have the paintings done.

We posed for photos, and then the artist painted us.

Those are my brothers and cousins with me.

Over there are Mom and Dad. Then Rob, Alicia, and their little ones.

Edward, Robyn, and their kids, though the babies were sound asleep the whole time. And Craig and Margot.”

Craig and Margot touched noses in a display of polar bear affection, which she thought was so sweet. “You don’t have one of the whole family.”

“People probably think they’re AI creations anyway, but if the whole family were in one portrait, they would think that for sure.”

“True.”

Ben returned with their menus. “Everything we serve is excellent. I’ll let you take a moment to decide on what you would like to have. It’s on the house.”

“Is mine on the house?” Andy asked.

Ben laughed, then left to wait on another table.

“The family’s meals are free,” Andy said.

“I figured. What are you going to get?” Monica eyed the fresh halibut and the prime rib steak.

“I feel like having some juicy red meat,” he said.

“It sure looks appealing. But the golden crusted halibut does too.”

When Ben returned, she ended up ordering the halibut. Andy ordered the steak.

“I’ll get these right in,” Ben said.

“So, where would you like to stay? Here with us?” Andy sounded hopeful.

“Sure. I don’t have a vehicle here.” She shrugged.

“I can get a ride home when I feel better.” No way was she going home to an empty house when all the action was still down here.

Not to mention, getting to know Andy better was becoming more of a priority.

No dodging bullets or manhandling perps into cuffs.

Just resting up with a hot bear that she really was intrigued with.

“Absolutely,” Andy said. “I can take you home whenever you want.’

It didn’t take long before Ben brought their meals to them. “Dad took care of your orders as a priority as a salute to our law enforcement officers. If you need anything else, just let me know. Mom and Dad will offer for you to stay with them, but you can visit me.”

She smiled. Ben was cute, but Andy was the one who was already in her sights.

“She’s residing with me if she agrees.” Andy sounded possessive, like Ben was encroaching on their relationship.

She laughed. “I’ll stay with Andy. We need to figure out when and where my brake lines were cut. So we have a mission before I return home and get back to work.”

Ben shook his head. “I’m always late to the party. Do you need anything else?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Thanks, Brother.”

Ben left to take more orders at a nearby table while Andy and Monica began cutting up their halibut and steak.

Monica took a bite of her halibut. “Hmm, this is so great.”

“Thanks. We try to have the best meals possible and get top star ratings.”

“I can see why. Okay, so if you’re fine with this, can we go to Pierre’s place and talk to him about the kidnapping business?” Monica still wanted to find out what was up with him.

“You’re supposed to be off for three weeks and rest up. The other agents said they’d get hold of him.” He sounded a little worried that she was still so concerned about Pierre.

“Yes, but I want to see Pierre and tell him what we found. The other agents weren’t there.”

“It’s an ongoing investigation though.” Then Andy frowned. “Wait, do you think something else is going on with him?”

She sighed. “Everything about this case has been turned on its head.”

“Well, hell.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Andy’s cousin, Edward, dropped by their table and winked at Monica. “I brought your SUV here so when you’re ready to leave, you’ll have your own transportation, Andy.”

“Great.” Andy told Monica, “You briefly met my cousin Edward at the police department.”

“Right, so good to see you again.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Thanks so much for bringing my SUV by.”

“We knew you needed your wheels to get around.” Then Edward told Monica, “We hear you’ll be with us for a while. If you need a place to rest up, you can always visit with my mate, Robyn, and me.”

“I’m good. I pulled Andy’s arm, and he agreed to put me up.”

Edward laughed. “I’m going to grab a bite to eat. Come for dinner at our home when you feel more up to it.”

“That would be lovely.” Things were looking up after all Andy and Monica had been through together. Though she really needed to lie down.

When they finally finished dinner, she and Andy drove to Pierre’s house to check on him. She couldn’t help feeling anxious about his welfare if he wasn’t truly involved in all this business.

Monica sighed. "So I need to tell you how I know Pierre Johnson."

"I wondered about that."

"Yeah, I met him in Anchorage when he lived there. He came into the shop where I was having coffee and doing my usual—checking Facebook and other places concerning cases I was working."

Andy smiled. "I've done the same thing."

"There's a wealth of information out there just waiting to be found. So this gentleman hovers over my table, and I look up. He was carrying a tray with a coffee and a scone and asked if the seat across from me was taken. The coffee shop was always busy, and I didn't mind if he sat there.”

“It wasn’t more than a meeting by chance?”

“Spoken by a true investigator. He was so smiley and nice that I teased him, saying it would cost him if he wanted to sit there. He said he would do anything for me so that he could sit there. I took his scone, and he laughed and went and got another.”

“Hmm, sounds like a smart move on his part.”

“We dated a couple of dozen times before he moved to White Bear.

I'd just ditched the bear I was seeing before I met Pierre, and so it was fun going out with a human for a change. I had no intention of having a serious relationship with him. But I think he wanted something more serious than I would give him.”

“Because he isn’t a bear.”

“And more. I never had a deeper physical connection than I have had with you. I don’t know, but I think he really was torn about leaving me behind.

Still, it seemed like something else was forcing him to move on.

I kept telling myself he was tired of me saying no to dates because of my long hours on the job. "

"Ahh. So, exactly how did you get involved in this case?"

"I had been working on a kidnapping case in Sea Lion Cove, where a neighbor had snatched a ten-year-old girl off the street near her home.

I found her—great sense of smell, you know, and freed her from her kidnapper.

I decided to drive through White Bear to get gas when I got the call from Pierre saying his girlfriend had been kidnapped. "

"So he knew you were in the area?"

"Yes, he’d seen me on the news already. But he said he wanted me to secretly handle it because the kidnapper warned him that he wasn't supposed to alert law enforcement or Denny would kill Helen.

So I agreed. However, I did tell my boss about it.

He couldn't put any more agents on the job at the time.

I was supposed to keep in touch, but you know how that went. "

"Yeah, we had no way to contact anyone, so seeing Pierre is more personal." Andy charged his phone in his SUV as he drove her to his place.

"I guess you could say that."

"Well, I hope he's not too upset that his girlfriend stole his money."

"Hopefully, the other agents will catch up with Denny and the rest and still have the cash on them."

They located Pierre's house and parked in the driveway. The one-story brick home looked quiet, with no lights on. "Maybe he's not even home. I didn't think of that." She was afraid this was another failed mission.

"Did he say how much Denny was asking for?”

“Five hundred thousand. My main goal was to find Helen and rescue her.”

“Understandable. What does he work at?"

"He’s independently wealthy.”

“That must be nice.”

“He made money off the stock market and invested in real estate, so as far as I know, he just works out of his home."

"Okay."

They left Andy’s SUV and headed to Pierre’s front door, and she knocked on it.

But then she smelled Wendell Marquart and his cohort's scents around the doorway. "Do you smell what I smell?"