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O n the drive to Denny’s grandparents’ cabin, Andy had the niggling concern that Wendell and Helen might have gone to the motel to hide out.

Before he could voice his concern, Monica echoed his own thoughts, "Do you think they're at Harvey's motel?"

"That's certainly a possibility. It’ll be taped off as a crime scene because Harvey tried to kill you when you were in the lobby, but he’s incarcerated now.

The police won’t have any reason to be there now.

How much do you want to bet that Wendell or Helen has access to it?

Which would make the perfect place to hole up for a while. "

"Right. So the motel is on the way. We’ll check it out. If it looks like no one is there or has been there, we'll go to Denny's grandparents' cabin. Or even to the cabin where they stayed before," she said.

“I agree that’s the best move.”

Monica got a call. "It’s my boss. Yes, sir?" She put it on speakerphone.

"One of our agents questioned the couple who own the cabin where all this went down.

They said they know Denny because they're neighbors who live about a quarter of a mile apart.

But they hadn't told him he and his girlfriend could stay there. Denny has his grandparents’ cabin to stay at.

So they were pretty steamed about the whole thing. "

"Good. I'm glad they're also not involved."

"From the sounds of it, they're sincere. We checked into their background, and he owns a nightclub in a town north of White Bear. She has an accounting business there. Neither has had any run-ins with the law."

"Okay, thanks!"

"Did you question Lionel and Teague?"

"Yes, sir." She explained what had happened.

"I thought you were supposed to be resting up."

"I am. But I'm still checking into things in case we can get a lead."

"I don't want you to overdo it and need even more time off."

Andy smiled at her.

Monica smiled because, as it was, she wasn't taking off that much time, but she knew from the tone of her boss's voice that he was glad she was still working the case. He was known to have a sense of humor. "Yes, sir."

"Keep me informed."

"I sure will." Then they ended the call.

Neither she nor Andy said anything for a moment. He finally cleared his throat. "You're working on your time off."

Monica chuckled. "Yeah, it's a joke between us. He knows when I get injured—I was shot once in the leg—I recover quickly, and I'm back on the job."

"I hope whoever shot you is in prison or dead," Andy said.

"Uh, no, he was a fellow agent and meant to get the perp, but hit me instead. When I went down, he managed to take out the gun-wielding robber. Of course, the agent was given grief because of shooting me, but I told my boss and the investigators that he was a fine agent, and he'd saved my life.”

“Fine agent.” Andy scoffed.

“He was. The robber had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and he would have shot and killed me if my partner hadn't hit me, making me fall, and then taken the guy out."

"Did your partner purposefully shoot you?" Andy asked.

She smiled. "No. He was just trying to hit the robber. The poor guy was so shaken up about it that he quit the FBI. I felt bad for him because he was good at his job, except for shooting me. But one incident like that can mar someone for life."

"That's for sure, but if you ever need to shoot me to get me out of the way so you can save my life?—"

"I'll make sure it's just a graze."

He laughed.

This time, they had traveled much faster to the motel than when driving in a caravan to White Bear.

He was surprised when they finally came upon the motel.

The lobby was taped off as a crime scene, but no one was there.

There were no vehicles, no lights on in any of the rooms, the lobby was dark, and the closed sign was still on the glass door.

"Looks dead," Monica said.

"Yeah." Andy parked his car in the drive-thru in front of the front doors to the lobby.

"Do you feel like this is déjà vu?"

"Yeah, I sure do." As soon as he drove under the cover at the drive-thru, envisioning leaping out of Harvey’s camper truck as a bear, and roaring in to save Monica. Andy got out of his car.

Monica left right after him, and the two approached the door. They peered in but saw no movement.

She tried the door, but it was locked. Do you have your lockpick handy?

"Yeah. Just watch out for the cops while I do this."

Her smile warmed him.

He unlocked the door, and they moved under the crime scene tape, locking it behind them. They listened for any sign that anyone was in the lobby but didn't hear anything.

Andy said low for her ears only, "Do you want me to take your gun and lead the way because of your injured hand?"

"No. If we need to shoot someone, I want to be the one responsible for using my own gun. Otherwise, my boss would go ballistic and say I really shouldn't have been trying to track these guys down."

"All right." He glanced at the security videos. "Good, the security cameras are operational." He said so quietly, but in a way that the camera would capture him saying it, making it appear they were there like they were supposed to be.

The only reason to alter the video was if either had to shift into their bears.

They checked out the restroom, but no one was in there.

They searched the counter area and the back office and found them empty.

They walked into the laundry room and didn't smell that anyone had been washing clothes recently; there was no humidity or scent of laundry detergent having been used recently.

They left the laundry room and reached a set of stairs. Monica warned, “I smell Denny and Eloise’s scents.”

He agreed and wondered if the stairs led to an apartment where Harvey lived. But it could be just storage. Still, if he was dealing drugs here, he was probably staying here and managing the motel also as a cover-up.

She started climbing the stairs, trying not to make them creak. She was doing well, too. He, on the other hand, just had to step on a stair that squeaked. With their enhanced hearing, he felt it was loud enough to wake everyone in the motel if anyone had been staying there.

She glanced sharply at him, and he shrugged, embarrassed, but he couldn’t help it. He was trying to be careful! She was just sneakier than he was. And weighed less.

They finally reached the landing. A door was closed at the end of the walkway, and a balcony looked over the front desk. She moved down the hall to the door, gingerly walking that way while he tried to follow in her footsteps and not make any more noise.

Before she reached the door, a floorboard beneath his feet creaked, and his heart nearly stopped. She didn't glance back at him this time. He felt like she probably thought she should have left him waiting in the vehicle because he was making so much noise.

She waited until he was beside her. Then he tried the doorknob because she had her gun in her hand. The doorknob didn't budge.

Harvey probably kept it locked while he was downstairs taking care of customers.

That would make sense. Andy placed his ear next to the door to listen for anyone in the place.

He shook his head, telling Monica he heard nothing.

He did smell the odor of weed beneath the door, which could be from when Harvey was in there last—nothing new.

"Weed," Monica whispered.

Andy nodded. He got out his toolkit and unlocked the door. Even though he did it as carefully as possible, he swore it sounded like he was making a ton of noise. He heard a click. Then he waited, ensuring he didn't hear people moving inside when they thought someone was about to breach the room.

Nothing. He looked at Monica, asking silently if she was ready.

She nodded.

He slowly opened the door, and the darn thing squeaked. Wouldn't you know? When his doors made noise like that, he put oil on the hinges, but it worked if Harvey wanted a creaky door to sound an alarm.

Andy looked around the door but didn't see anyone in the living area.

It was filled with two couches, three lounging chairs, a big maple coffee table in the center, and a few things tossed around—pillows and clothes.

Law enforcement agents would have grabbed what they could for evidence after the shootout in the lobby, and because they had found drugs in his vehicle.

He smelled more weed, stronger in the living room, but there was no evidence of any right now. The police had probably confiscated it. He also smelled Denny and Eloise’s scents; they were new enough to make him think they had been here recently.

A small kitchen was located off to the left, and a counter divided it from the living room.

The cabinet doors and drawers were shut, and nothing appeared to be out of place, making Andy wonder if someone had recently been using it.

A glass door, covered by vertical blinds, was located at the back of the apartment. He headed for it and opened the blinds.

Snow covered the deck off the bedroom. Only bird tracks had been left in the snow. He closed the vertical blinds.

Monica checked out one of the three doors opposite the kitchen. She listened at one door, then hearing nothing, he hurried to open the door for her. He turned the knob slowly.

She peeked in and stepped into the room. He quickly joined her and looked inside. The compact bathroom had a sink, commode, and bathtub. She pulled back the shower curtain and shook her head.

Clear. Then they went to the next door, and when she opened it, they found a closet, coats hanging inside, snow boots, and nothing else.

They moved to the last door, which had to be the bedroom. This time, Andy turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. A queen-size bed was sitting against one wall, the covers half hanging on the floor as if someone had recently left the bed.

He headed over to the wooden door in the room that he suspected was the closet and found a walk-in closet with clothes on one side and linens and towels on the other.

Monica checked out the glass door, half hidden by vertical blinds, and he assumed that it led to another balcony. A wall must have separated the living room balcony from this one, so he hadn't realized there would be another balcony.

He hurried to the door, but when he went to unlock it, he realized it was already unlocked. He peeked through the blinds. Smaller boot prints were imprinted in the snow, and a larger man's boots were beside them.

"Hell." Irritated to the max that they could have just missed them, Andy rushed onto the balcony and looked down.

Footprints had run toward the imprint of where a car had been parked. Then, the two people got into the car and took off. There were no cars anywhere in sight.

Monica joined him. "It looks like they were here for a while, probably straightened up the kitchen and went straight to the bedroom to rest."

"Yeah. Then heard us enter the apartment at some point." He pointed to a parking area behind the motel. "Tire tracks there."

“Let’s see if we can find them.”

They hurried out of the apartment, down the stairs, and through the lobby. Once outside, they got into his car and headed around the motel to the backside, where a dumpster and room for about six cars sat. Only one vehicle had been there, and now it was gone.

They drove off and followed the tracks, but the road led back to a snow-packed area, and they couldn't tell where the car had gone.

"They only have three ways to go—back toward town, or in the direction of the cabins, or hit the road we had been on and go from there once they get farther down the road," Monica said.

"They would most likely keep going. I suspect they would be afraid whoever was after them might return to the cabin they'd stayed at or go to Denny's grandparents' cabin." Andy drove back toward the cabin.

"Or not. Pierre supposedly is the one who planned things out and disappeared, unlike these guys, who ended up back at Eloise's house. So maybe they will go to one of the two cabins. I would opt for his grandparents' place. "

Andy drove as fast as he could, but the road conditions were still icy, and his tires slipped on patches.

"Don't wreck the car."

He shook his head, not wanting that either. "Nope. I can't imagine what the guys would say at the office if they heard I was in yet another accident."

"Right. And out here?" She checked her phone. "No reception. So we don't want to be lost in action again."

They finally reached the first road that led to the neighbor’s cabin. Andy slowed down.

"Yeah, go for it. It's first, so we might as well check it out."

He pulled into the long drive, but Eloise's car wasn't there. “Do you want to go inside to see if there’s anything anyone missed?”

Monica eyed the lifeless building. “I don’t think anyone’s here, but we’re here now, and we might as well make certain.”

They exited his SUV, guns drawn, and approached the cabin using caution. A white hare hiding under a snow-covered bush darted out of its hiding place and dashed into the nearby woods, making Monica jump back.

Andy caught her arm before she completely lost her balance and fell. “Are you all right?” He ran his hand over her back to calm her nerves.

“Yeah. Don’t tell me the hare didn’t scare you too.”

He chuckled. “Damn near gave me a heart attack.” He used the lockpick to let them in, and they cleared the house. No one had been here since the police had been.

Monica took a deep breath and let it out. “Are you ready to find Denny’s grandparents’ cabin?”