Chapter 40

"Are you seriously watching that and taking notes?" Monroe asked as The Thomas Crown Affair played on the TV. "Didn't you get enough from the book?"

"This one is different from the book," I replied as I held my steno pad in my lap, my gaze not deviating from the screen.

I'd spent most of my Sunday going over the theft in my mind. I was determined to make sense of who was behind it. Well, at least to eliminate the ones that it might be.

"But watch," I continued. "It takes three guys with an over-the-top elaborate plan to try to steal one Monet painting. They're clipping wires inside walls, changing wardrobes, and using hidden mics to talk to one another." I shook my head. "This Waschbar waltzes in single-handedly in broad daylight, lifts the painting off the wall, shoots a guard, and walks out. No covert operative moves, nothing."

"Well, you said she was dressed all in black. At least that fits the art thief movie plot, right?" He motioned to the outfits of the guys on screen.

I shrugged. "That was about it."

We watched the movie further as the elaborate plan was foiled. All that hard work for nothing. Thomas Crown walked in after the real thieves got caught and took the Monet painting, walking out without a hitch.

"See, that guy just walked in single-handedly and put Monet's San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk in his briefcase," Monroe pointed out.

"Yeah, but he uses the chaos from the first attempted theft. It's still not the same as the Waschbar," I retorted.

"Well, the movies and real life aren't exactly the same thing."

"True," I agreed. "And by the way, that you know the name of that Monet painting… That's really sexy." I grinned up at him.

"Hey, I'm a fan of real art."

"So you keep telling me."

We watched as Thomas Crown and Catherine Banning fall for each other during their cat-and-mouse game around recovering the painting. After the movie, Monroe and I were cuddled on the couch and the steno pad had been cast to the side.

"So, are you ready to watch Entrapment next?"

"Another art theft movie?"

"Umm, perhaps."

Monroe chuckled. "You aren't going to let this go are you?"

I smirked as I looked up at him. "Since when do I ever let things go?"

"You don't want me to answer that, right?"

"There has to be a way to clear Natalie from all this."

"I'm sure Nick has already done that today. He probably already had her in for questioning, you know?"

"But there has to be a way to know if she's a Waschbar."

"Dude, I've already told ya…"

"Right, the nose knows," I cut in. "The nose…" I glanced at my watch as I stood up. "Wanna go to yoga with me?"

Monroe sighed. "You know, no offense, but that's really not much of a workout worth doing again."

"No, not for yoga. Well, we'll be doing yoga, but maybe you can double check and see if Natalie is actually a Waschbar now that you're well again."

Monroe perked up. "Oh, so you mean like an undercover kinda thing?"

"Yeah, in a way. At least if we know that much it'll help."

"Well, what if she is though?"

"Then that might help Nick. If she's never had a woge in front of me, then she's definitely not having one in front of him."

"Yeah, well, you might be right about that."

"So, will you do it?"

"Yeah. But what should we wear, I mean, so we're incognito?"

"Monroe, they already know us. We don't have to hide who we are."

"Well, that's not as exciting." Monroe sighed as he stood. "Too bad I didn't bring my hat, though."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Monroe and I dressed quickly since yoga started in twenty minutes. Surely Monroe would be able to tell if Natalie was a Waschbar in that little yoga studio. Hopefully she'd be there tonight.

"So, just give me a thumbs up or down when you know, okay?" I said on the walk over.

"Maybe we could make up a code phrase instead," Monroe replied. "You know, like, if she is then I could say, 'The fox is in the henhouse.'"

I stopped walking to stare at him. "If you say that, don't you think that might sound a bit suspicious?"

"Well, I can't say raccoon, because then they'd know what I was talking about." He tapped his temple. "What about two colors of paper? Green could mean 'yes' and red could mean 'no.' We could go back and get some."

I rested my hand against his cheek. "Let's just stick to the thumbs up and down thing. Maybe the next time we go undercover we'll use something more James Bond-ish."

Monroe shrugged. "Okay, I suppose."

I held my breath as I opened the door to the yoga studio. Natalie was in her usual spot in the back row. Good, she was here. She smiled faintly as we entered. She wasn't her normal cheery self. Maybe Nick had already talked to her after all.

Monroe stepped in behind me and I reached for his hand. I turned quickly toward him as his thumb went to the up position. Crap! I turned back and smiled at Natalie. So she really was Wesen. Her control was superb.

She came towards us as she reached for my arm. "Renée, am I glad you're here tonight! Did you hear about what happened at the Portland Art Museum yesterday?"

"Yes. I heard," I said nonchalantly. She didn't need to know that I did more than just hear about it.

"Gosh, it's just awful though, isn't it? Lydia is beside herself since she's responsible for getting that painting back to Italy. The police are investigating people that were at Lydia's gala, too." She shook her head. "Renée, I got called in to the police station this morning. Oh, gosh. I thought I was gonna faint right in that little room they put me in. The cop questioned me about where I was yesterday." She held her arms tightly. "Have they questioned you guys, too?"

I nodded reluctantly. "Yeah. I was questioned, too."

She looked at Monroe. "Didn't they question you?"

"No, umm, not yet." Monroe rocked on his heels a bit.

"Of course I was at home with my cat yesterday afternoon," Natalie continued, "so I couldn't prove anything when they asked where I was." She shook her head slowly. "The cop said he'd be in touch with me if he had further questions, but he didn't seem too relaxed when he said it." Great, that wasn't such a compelling alibi. Oh, this wasn't good at all.

"I'm sure it'll be all right," I replied as convincingly as I could.

"Gosh, I hope so. And it had to be a sexy cop that questioned me, too," she said with a sigh. I fought to keep from rolling my eyes.

"Sexy, yeah right," Monroe mumbled sarcastically behind me. I elbowed him quickly.

"He had dark hair and these killer blue eyes," she went on as another sigh escaped her. She didn't mention Captain Debonair, so she must not have seen him. She might have fainted for sure had that been the case.

Speaking of blue eyes, Natalie's were blue again, too.

"What happened to the green contacts?" I asked her.

"Oh, I've been doing the blue thing lately," she casually replied. Was she wearing them yesterday? This was getting so difficult.

"Maybe we should stretch before yoga starts," I suggested while motioning Natalie forward. As we walked toward the back row, Johnna Smallwood appeared from the closet area.

"I found a mat," she said to Natalie then looked up at me. "Hi," she smiled in my direction. "Renée, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Johnna. Yes, good to see you here." Well, no wonder Monroe smelled Waschbar. Crap.

"I invited Johnna to try yoga with us," said Natalie. "She seemed interested in giving it a shot. There oughta be enough room in the back for all of us." She looked over at Monroe. "Alicia is here tonight, so this one might be even easier than the one Robin led us through."

"Easier, huh?" he said sardonically. "Great."

I turned toward him quickly, eyeballing him.

"Sorry, it's just that if it's easier, then it…"

I shook my head at him. I could care less right now if he was making jabs about yoga. I eyeballed him again and gave him a knowing look.

Monroe raised his eyebrows like he understood. He shrugged back at me. Could he tell if Natalie was a Waschbar if Johnna was here? Ooh, the customary thing! Perhaps Johnna and Monroe would share their woge and then Natalie would feel obligated to do hers.

I turned quickly back to Johnna. "Johnna, this is my boyfriend Monroe," I said as I smiled wider than I probably should have.

Monroe took her hand. "Nice to meet you."

It was all I could do to not stare at Johnna to see what would happen, but I had to keep a straight face. Monroe waited a moment, again rocking on his heels. When Johnna didn't morph, Monroe went ahead and did.

Johnna kept a blank stare similar to mine and just smiled. "Pleasure," she said quickly then turned back to her mat, rolling it out on the floor. Natalie hadn't even been paying attention.

As Johnna bent down, I jerked my head back to Monroe. His eyes widened, and he gave me an exaggerated shrug this time. I ran a hand through my hair, then pulled out my elastic band and pulled it back into a ponytail. I rolled out my mat next to Johnna, who had decided to put her mat between Natalie and me.

If only I could freely talk to Monroe. Maybe code phrases would've come in handy tonight after all. Instead I held my thumb out, moving it up and down at him. Monroe just shook his head at me like he didn't know. Double crap!

Alicia ran us though a nice, leisurely yoga session. For the next hour I periodically glanced up at Johnna, who for a first-timer was adapting to the movements with ease. I tried to watch her form. Maybe something she did would spark a memory from that day at the museum. I couldn't see Natalie from this spot. No, this wasn't going to help at all. I glanced back at Monroe. He was looking a bit bored at this slow pace.

We had a fifteen minute meditation and after our 'Namaste,' I hurried to roll up my mat.

"Wow, did you see her?" Natalie poked Johnna's arm. "This lady is a natural!"

"I did," I replied. "Johnna, you picked that up really fast."

"Well, I was a gymnast in high school," she said with a half-smile. Gymnasts moved like ninjas. Maybe it was a clue.

"Natalie, I wanted to talk to you if you had a moment." Perhaps I could get her alone outside, so Monroe could determine what she was.

"Well, I have to get Johnna home. We kinda carpooled here tonight. Can you call me later?"

I nodded, suppressing a sigh. "Sure. Yeah, I'll just call you." My eyes lit up. "Actually can I get your number again? I just got a new phone and accidently deleted my address book."

"Sure, of course," said Natalie with a smile.

I reached for my bag and produced a pen and a card, handing them over. Natalie wrote her name and number down… with her left hand. Oh, I'd just hit the crap trifecta!

"Thanks," I said while evening out my tone.

"Definitely call me tonight," said Natalie. She looked past my shoulder. "Good seeing you again, Monroe."

"Good to see you, too," Monroe replied with a small wave.

Natalie and Johnna walked out in unison, closing the studio door behind them.

I practically growled in frustration.

Monroe slid my blue mat in its bag as I threw on my jacket, slinging my mat bag over my shoulder. I remained silently frustrated until we're halfway back to my house.

"You think it's safe to talk now?" I whispered.

"Yeah, we were fine when we left the studio."

"Oh. Well, then you should've said something."

"I thought you were contemplating."

I chuckled, ruining my frustration. "So, what just happened back there?"

"Well… Your yoga studio is a small, confined space. So when we first walked in, I caught the Waschbar scent easily. Now the problem, dude, is with that small of a space I couldn't tell who it was coming off of. I mean, I could've walked up right on them, but most people don't like to be scratched and sniffed if you ask me."

"Johnna is definitely one, so you got something from her, but she didn't… reciprocate the woge."

"Remember, I told you some Wesen like to cloak themselves. Waschbars are crafty like that. And in a room that tiny, she knew I'd have no way of knowing which one of those ladies was a Waschbar. Same thing could be said for Natalie."

I nodded. There was a guy in college I'd hung around with for a few years that was a Waschbar. I didn't find out until he got drunk at a graduation party and couldn't hold back his woge. Even Chloe was clueless. Her sense of smell was good, but her nose wasn't as keen as Monroe's was on picking up on Wesen scents. Apparently small spaces were more of a hindrance than a help, regardless of how keen his nose was.

"So both of them could be Waschbars," I said aloud as I was thinking.

"They did seem kinda chummy. Birds of a feather and all, you know? They both might be doing a little cloak and dagger. Well, in this case, one of them might be doing a cloak and arrow."

"This didn't work out like I'd planned at all." I turned back toward Monroe. "Did your nose pick up any Chanel No. 5?"

"No, I checked for that, too. No one was wearing any. But, oh man, some of those ladies really need to shower before going to yoga. It was a bit frowsty in there." Monroe held his nose for effect.

I reached for his arm as we walked onto my street. "Sorry, Honey. But I appreciate you trying."

I really wanted to clear Natalie's name, but it wasn't looking good. I'd just have to come up with a new plan.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Later that night, I called Natalie.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

"Do you know when the next art gala is?" I asked her. "You'd mentioned Johnna was taking over immediately."

The question served two purposes: It gave me something I needed to talk to her about, and if there was one coming up soon, it would give me another opportunity to figure out what Natalie was… or hopefully wasn't.

"Oh! Didn't I tell you already? Gosh, I'm sorry, Renée. Johnna has her first event this Tuesday."

Tuesday. Perfect. The gallery was a much bigger area, so Monroe would have no problem determining what she was, for sure.

"Tuesday works great for me," I replied with a smile.

"So you're going to come? Oh, gosh. I'm sure she'll be thrilled if you can."

"Count me and Monroe in."

Natalie gave me the details. It was going to be held at the same venue Madame Dazzles had used. Everything was practically the same, except Johnna was showcasing interactive art, which was new to me. How did one sell interactive art?

Natalie talked more about the robbery. She brought up that Johnna had been interviewed by police already. Since Johnna was at yoga tonight, it had meant that Nick hadn't gotten a confession out of her, either. Natalie still sounded panicked about all of it. I assured her it was probably standard procedure to question people that Lydia knew. Who better to steal art than someone close to the curator? I thought about Madame Dazzles. Maybe she was the thief. Nah. That would require her to get her hands dirty. Besides, she didn't seem the type to sprout fur. She was more the type to wear it.

I let out a sigh after Natalie and I hung up.

Monroe came out of my kitchen. "Did I hear you mention another art gala?" He groaned slightly.

"Yeah, but this way you should have no problem using your nose. And we'll just be in and out, I promise."

His face brightened. "So, can we use code phrases this time?"

"Sure." I grinned up at him. "If you really want to."

"Maybe I can rent a tux." He glanced up in thought as he stroked his bearded chin with his hand.

"Okay, that might be going overboard, Mr. Bond."

He smiled as he leaned against the kitchen doorway. "The name's Monroe. Just Monroe."

A/N: Monroe sure does love undercover work, huh? LOL!