Bear of Interest

by Unknown

  Cole looked around. He knew just about everyone. Bear’s table was already full. However, Dane and Melanie had a spare seat.

  “How about I go join Dane and his family?”

  He followed Hannah over there.

  “Cole’s joining you,” said Hannah.

  “That is if you don’t mind,” added Cole.

  “Not at all,” said Dane, pulling out a chair for him.

  Cole sat.

  “What can I get you to drink?” asked Hannah.

  “A beer would be perfect.”

  Cole took off his jacket and pulled a face at Dane and Melanie’s son, who sat in a booster chair between his parents.

  “Hi young man, looks like you love salmon.”

  “Fish,” he said, before sucking on his greasy fingers.

  “Have you settled into the area and clinic okay?” asked Dane.

  “Sure have, but I’m still looking for someplace to live.”

  “Check with Liam because the cottage that he and Lucy rent out at the back of their place, well their renter just left, and the place is empty. Or even take a look at the local paper,” said Melanie, sliding it across to him.

  “I will certainly do that and I’ll take a look at ads in here.”

  Hannah returned with his beer and placed it in front of him. “Your salmon will be out shortly.”

  “So Dane, are you still working at the school?” asked Cole.

  “Sure am. I’m also doing some private consulting work if your computer runs into trouble.”

  “More like when I run into trouble,” said Cole. “I’m an MD and still can’t figure out all that geeky stuff.”

  Dane laughed.

  Cole placed the paper down in front of him. There on the front page was a lead story about the dead woman. The woman he’d found. Margo Henderson from Missoula, a twenty-eight year old law student.

  “Wasn’t that horrible,” said Melanie, pointing to the story.

  “I found her body,” said Cole.

  “You did?” asked Dane.

  “I was running out in the woods there and I found her.”

  “Geez,” said Melanie.

  “I’m the one who called 911.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Dane. “You were running I assume in bear form, and you found the body and then called the police.”

  Yes, it was one of the rules they’d set for themselves. No contact with the authorities unless necessary. He should have gotten someone else to do it but that would have looked more suspicious.

  “You think I have anything to worry about? I mean, Trent’s vouched for me,” asked Cole. He thought back to what he’d said about the detective having a personal not professional interest in him.

  “I’m sure they’ll find who did it pretty soon and forget all about it,” said Dane.

  Hannah arrived with his plate of salmon and rice, and also a basket of bread that smelled heavenly.

  “Are you dating anyone?” asked Melanie.

  Was everyone trying to match him up or what?

  “You’re the third person to ask,” said Cole, breaking off a piece of the bread.

  “Sorry,” she said, raising both her palms to him.

  He shook his head. “And sorry if that sounded rude or snappy. It’s just I’m not sure I’m in the mood for dating right now.”

  “That’s what I said until I met this wonderful woman,” said Dane.

  They were so in love. He looked like he’d finally healed after the tragic death of his first wife, Lucinda. Love was a good thing when you found it. However, Cole wasn’t looking.

  “What are you up to once you get done eating?” asked Dane.

  “I’m going back to my motel room and I’ll probably do some reading.”

  He hadn’t realized how pathetic and lonely that had sounded until it spilled across his tongue.

  ****

  Sam sat up and switched on the light. She puffed up her pillow and leaned her back against it. She’d never been so worked up about a case since she’d became a cop. She’d worked homicide cases before so why was this one getting to her so much? The victim was young, female, had half her face bashed in but she’d seen worse. She’d even worked on one where a child had been abducted and then suffocated. Maybe thinking back to her mother’s death was the cause, but she knew she’d long since closed the door on that. So what was keeping her awake this time?

  Dr. Cole MacDonald. She’d thought there was something about him that was sort of odd when she’d interviewed him.

  She thought there was also something about him that was very sexy too.

  She’d read about cases, killers that were able to wrap the detective around their fingers, blind them to the facts and then gradually seduce them.

  But that wasn’t the case. They’d met the one time and he hadn’t even flirted with her.

  Hadn’t he found her attractive or what?

  Listen to yourself, Hardy. You’re putting man above investigation. Your own needs above finding a killer and getting this poor girl justice. Margo’s roommate hadn’t been much more help than her parents had been. Last time she’d seen Margo was when she’d headed to the Missoula Farmers’ Market and her parents’ home and she’d never returned that evening. At least Sam knew the timeline now. Who’d ever killed Margo had done it the day she’d gone to the market because the autopsy had revealed she’d been dead at least two days. Had the killer kept the body someplace and then maybe driven up to the Flathead area to dispose of it? The roommate didn’t know of any boyfriend so maybe they were looking for a complete stranger. But what was the motive?

  Sam picked up her paperback book from her side table and opened it. She tried to concentrate on the plot but couldn’t. This time it wasn’t the case and all the details that were swimming around in her head, but the sexy man who’d found the body. Of course getting to know Dr. MacDonald wouldn’t hurt, right? Sort of undercover to see what she could find out.

  Truth was, the only cover she’d like to be under with him was the one on either her bed or his.

  She wondered what his bed looked like.

  A cold shower. If this line of thinking kept up she’d have to run the shower and step under the water.

  Okay, now back to the book. She tried to focus. When she was growing up she used to like mysteries. Stories about police officers who had brought people like her mother’s killer to justice—but now that solving crimes was part of her own everyday life, she’d turned to other genres like romances. Sam read the next line.

  He kissed her for the first time…

  She ran her fingers over her lips. She bet the doctor was a great kisser.

  Will you stop it and just read.

  Simon placed his hand on her breast.

  She closed her eyes imagining Dr. MacDonald’s hand on her boobs. She bet he knew what to do to turn a woman’s nipples hard.

  Sam fanned her face with the book. She clearly needed to get out, date more, anything, because she’d never been prone to sexual fantasies like this ever before.

  She looked at the clock on the table. She was never going to get to sleep at this point. Maybe if she saw him again. Saw him for longer than she had at the crime scene, she could shake off this stupid dreamy image she had.

  Yeah, tomorrow she’d invite him down to the station, have him sign his statement and ask more about the time leading up to him finding Margo Henderson.

  Chapter Four

  Cole knew he’d done the right thing by reporting the young woman’s dead body, but what Dane had said had unsettled him. He didn’t want his error to make the group or Trent vulnerable to outside scrutiny. He hadn’t slept all night thinking about it. And when he’d gotten a phone call from Detective Hardy reminding him he needed to drop by the station and sign his statement, well, it had sent him into a panic.

  He drove around the parking lot for the third time, almost thinking about not stopping and just driving to the ends of the earth. Someplace they wouldn’t find him and the oth
er shifters would be safe.

  But he loved it here. Loved his new job. He was going to check out Liam and Lucy’s cottage later today. It would be someplace to live while he looked to buy his own apartment or even a house in Kalispell. Running would also make it look like he was guilty. She’d think he’d been the one who’d killed the young woman. That was the last thing he wanted to happen.

  He turned into the closest parking space and took a deep breath. All he needed to do was walk in there, add his signature to a piece of paper, and leave. Cole switched off the ignition and got out of his car. The entrance was to his left. He headed that way and then opened the front door and made his way inside. The reception desk was ahead.

  “Hi my name’s Cole MacDonald and Detective Hardy said the statement I gave is ready for my signature.”

  “Yes, she left a message to say to let her know when you arrived because she has some more questions for you.”

  Cole tugged at his tie. More questions. Didn’t sound good.

  “If you can wait over there I’ll let her know you’re here.”

  The police officer pointed to a row of chairs that were lined up against the wall. The door and his escape route were only about ten feet from them. Nope, now he was here, he’d have to stay put or it would look really suspicious.

  He sat and looked at the stack of magazines sitting on the table and thought about picking one up to read when he heard his name being spoken.

  Cole looked up to see Detective Hardy approaching him. Today she was wearing a wrap- around black dress, and beige pumps. She looked gorgeous with her hair cascading over her shoulders. In fact, she looked like she was heading off to date which might well be the case.

  “Dr. MacDonald, good to see you again, and thanks for stopping by.”

  Cole stood and extended his hand. Like the first time they’d shaken, her grip was firm and she looked directly at him.

  “No problem. You said the statement’s ready for me to sign?”

  “Yes, I have it in my office. If you’d like to follow me back there, and I do have a few more questions. It won’t take long.”

  She turned and Cole followed close behind her. She opened some double glass doors and indicated for him to go ahead of her.

  “Third door on the left,” she said.

  He turned into it, and she came in behind him and closed the door. Cole glanced at the photos she had sitting around. One with her and some other officers, one of her with a Yorkshire terrier, but certainly no family snaps.

  “Have a seat,” she said.

  He pulled out a chair and sat as she walked behind her desk.

  She opened up a folder. “We did find bear tracks close to the victim’s body.”

  Cole pulled on his tie again. Shit, he’d been in bear form and only in bear form when he’d been close to the body. Even he’d find lack of human prints suspicious.

  “Did you see any bears around that day?” she asked.

  “I can’t say that I did.”

  It wasn’t a lie. No other shifter had run with him. And the only way he would have seen a bear was if he’d looked into a mirror. So technically he was telling her the truth.

  “Is it an area where you often go running?”

  “Yes, well, I haven’t been in town long.”

  “Really, where did you move from?”

  “East coast,” said Cole.

  “And you came here to take a job at Kalispell Hospital?”

  “No, actually I work at a private clinic.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re a plastic surgeon.”

  “No, actually my specialty is genetics and infertility.”

  “Really, that sounds interesting.”

  Cole nodded, hoping she wouldn’t ask too many questions about the clinic. They tried to keep it off the radar of anyone who wasn’t a shifter.

  “The thing that puzzles me the most is this.” She slid one of the photos of the crime scene across her desk for him to see.

  He saw his own bear paw prints in the mud close to the victim.

  “I’m told the bear who made these prints would be a grizzly.”

  “Wow, grizzly, glad I didn’t run into him that day or her…don’t want to be sexist.”

  He pulled on his tie one more time. He hoped she wasn’t a body language expert because he knew he was giving off signals that he was as nervous as hell.

  “But your prints aren’t anywhere to be seen.”

  “I can explain that.”

  I hope I can explain that.

  “I ran on the other side of the woods there,” he said, pointing to the photo. “I did notice the mud and I didn’t want to get my shoes dirty so I avoided that particular area.”

  It looked like she was biting the inside of her mouth or chewing gum or something.

  “Yeah, that makes sense. By the freshness of these prints, I’d say the bear must have been in the area close to the time we all were, so I guess we got lucky. Wouldn’t want to run into a bear with those size paws. Well, any bear for that matter.”

  Hmm, didn’t like bears. If she’d care to run into him he could show her that he was one bear who wouldn’t hurt her. In fact, he’d bring her nothing but pleasure.

  “Do you have any suspects? I mean besides the bear?” asked Cole.

  Oh dear lord that had sounded a tad sarcastic and the last thing he wanted to do was antagonize her in any way.

  “Not at the moment, but I’ll find whoever did this. You can bet on that.”

  “Well, I’m glad I could help in some small way. And if you don’t mind I have to be back at the clinic soon so if I could just sign the statement?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She pulled it from the folder, slid it across to him and then held out a pen to him. He took it, the very tips of their fingers brushed and they looked at one another.

  If she wasn’t a human, wasn’t a detective that he didn’t want to spend another minute with, well, he might get so bold as to ask her out.

  “Thank you Dr. MacDonald.”

  “No need to be formal. Cole is fine with me.”

  “Cole it is.”

  She stood. He stood. “That’s it then? That’s all you need from me?”

  “Yes, unless you think of anything else that might help us then we’d appreciate you giving us a call,” she said.

  “I will definitely do that. And I can find my own way out.”

  Cole turned and walked out of her office, hoping that he could in fact find his way back to the entrance because he didn’t want to have to spend a minute more in this place than he had to.

  ****

  Sam knew that Cole, yes, she did like referring to him by that name rather than Dr. MacDonald, would have parked in the visitor parking lot which her office overlooked.

  She rushed to the window, almost getting her foot tangled with the leg of her chair. She dragged it for a few inches and then freed herself. She just made it there in time to see him unlocking his car and getting inside. Damn.

  He backed out and then headed from the lot. Sam continued to stand there until he was out of sight.

  She walked back to her desk and sat.

  There was something strange about him, but her hunch told her he wasn’t the killer. She saw him as a man who helped rather than harmed. And yes, she was an expert now at reading people who were going to hurt you. It was the way she’d survived this long.

  Trent had vouched for him but she was going to do a little digging of her own. She put her hand on the mouse and knew she shouldn’t because this was for personal reasons and not professional, but one final background check of the good doctor was needed.

  Chapter Five

  “So what do you think of it?” asked Lucy. Cole followed her through to the kitchen.

  “I don’t know what it looked like before you did your magic on it, but it looks great to me.”

  “Did you know I lived here when I first came to town?” asked Lucy.

  “No, I didn’t. Is that h
ow you met Liam?”

  “Not exactly. We met when he picked me up on the highway, literally.”

  “Really?” asked Cole.

  “And kindly opened up this place to give me somewhere to live. I know it was tough for him because it had once been Danny’s place.”

  Danny Ahern. Yeah, Cole remembered him well. Motorbike fan, smart guy, but was a rebel at heart and had often landed himself in trouble with just about everyone.

  “When I do find a place to buy I’m going to hire you to do the interior design,” said Cole.

  “Thank you, I appreciate that. So are you going to take this place or not?”

  “Would you be open to a six month lease instead of the one year? Just in case I find the perfect home sooner than I think.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. And as you’re not a member of the group, but also one of Liam’s fellow bear shifters I’m thinking we can give you a break on the rent.”

  Cole lifted his hand. “Lucy, you don’t need to do that. I’m guessing you and Liam need the money.”

  “Okay, how about fifty dollars off the rent and we’ll both be happy.”

  He slipped his hand into hers and they shook. “Is it okay if I move in here at the weekend?”

  “Any time you want. If Liam’s around, I’m sure he’ll help you carry in boxes or whatever you have. It will be great having a member of the group living close by. We’re going to try a new restaurant near Glacier next week. Maybe you’d like to invite a date and come along with us.”

  They walked outside. Someone else trying to get him paired up. “I suppose you have someone already in mind?” asked Cole.

  “No, but I hear you’re almost as popular as Bear was when he first arrived in town, so I’m sure it won’t be tough to find someone.”

  “Almost,” asked Cole. He was messing with her and he hoped she knew it. Bears had a sarcastic sense of humor. Hopefully she’d figured that out from being married to one.

  “Are you giving him a hard time?” Liam called over from the garage where he was working on a car.

  “Just trying to get him a date,” Lucy called back.

  Liam wiped his greasy hands on a rag and joined them out front.