Owen Jarvis, the commander of the Edson RCMP detachment, welcomed Marissa with a big hug. Like Brent Evans, Owen had grown up with Gael and had known her and the other Brennan children since they were born. “Welcome home, Marissa! You don't know how relieved everyone is that you are back safe and sound.”

“Safe for the time being, Owen - though I don't know for how long.” Marissa was getting cold feet about what she was about to do. She knew that the Cartel would not hesitate to take her family out if they chose to make good on their threat.

“Your dad told me a little about what's going on. We will do everything we can to keep you safe. Let's go into my office and talk. Gael, why don't you and Irene go get a coffee? We may be a while.”

Owen closed the door to his office and they sat down. “Normally, one of the officers would take your statement, Marissa, but your father thought you would be more comfortable with me. Do you mind if I tape it so that it can be transcribed onto the computer later?”

“That is fine, Owen.”

“Thank you. You can start at any time. Walk me through everything, starting with your disappearance.”

Marissa took a deep breath and told Owen of all that had happened. He occasionally interrupted her to ask a question or two. At one point, she needed a break so he sent one of the office staff out to get what he called “decent” coffee for them and they chatted about other things for a few minutes before she resumed her account of working for the Cartel.

When she was finished, Marissa looked at Owen and asked “What's going to happen now? Will I go to jail?”

“No, Marissa, not if I can help it. I do need more information, though. I need you to name everyone you can that works for them.”

“That's hard, Owen. Most use aliases. Maybe even all. My supervisor's name was Brian when we were in Denver, but it got changed to Mark when he went to Seattle. I worked under a woman named Cara at the compound in New York State when I was teaching. I did see a psychiatrist there named Dr Alan Collins, but I don't know if that's his real name.” Owen was writing the names down. “Oh, and there was the psychiatrist in Seattle - her name was Callie Lambert and she made me get my medication at the drug store on the corner because she said they would bill the Cartel, so maybe they are part of it.” She gave him the name of the pharmacy.

“This is a start, Marissa. I'm going to talk with the Denver and Seattle Chiefs of Police and see what they know, but I think it may be a matter for the FBI.”

“Will I have to go down there to give a statement?” Marissa did not want to have to go to the USA again any time soon. She was afraid the Cartel might have someone working in Customs who would alert them if she crossed the border.

“I hope not. If they need to talk to you in person, I will see if they will come up here.”

“Oh, thank you, Owen. That's a relief, though I'm worried about the Cartel making good on their threat to kill my family if I ran away.”

“I would think they would be busy trying to hide from the police down there, but I may be able to get surveillance on the farm. I can't make any promises, though. I am aware that your dad has guns and knows how to use them if he needs to to defend his family.” It was the same thing Gael had told her. “You did the right thing in coming to me, Marissa. I know that if this cartel is taken down, another one will take it's place, but at least the people in this one will pay for their crimes. We have to keep trying to eradicate this type of thing.”

“Owen, what about me using fake identification to come home?” Marissa was worried about what consequences she'd face for that.

“I will have to speak to the federal authorities, but as I said, I will do my best to keep you from being arrested. You've done a brave thing and I don't want to see you go to prison. Do not worry about it, please go home and enjoy being with your family again. And do whatever you need to do to treat your cancer.”

“One other thing, Owen. What about the money I saved from my pay?”

“Where is it?”

“Most of it is in my bank account down there. I brought some home with me.”

“You might be able to keep what cash you have, I'll ask the FBI about it and the bank account.”

“I need it to start over with and I went through hell to earn that money.”

“I know, Marissa. I'll see what I can do.”

Marissa's parents were waiting for her when she emerged from Owen's office. “Brent called”, Gael told her. “He faxed your prescriptions to our pharmacy and he said to call him at home regarding his chat with Dr Maynard. You can use my phone since I have unlimited time on it.” The Brennans had a family account with their cell provider - they used their phones a lot on the farm. It sure beat the old days when they would have to go find whoever they wanted to say something to or ask a question of. “I'll see if I can get you on our plan, I don't know if you can use that phone but we'll find out.”

Once in the car, she called Brent. “I talked to Maynard”, he told her “and he faxed me your script for the pain medication. I also talked to the pharmacy in Seattle and they confirmed the Zoloft prescription.”

“Oh no, Brent! The pharmacy may work for the Cartel!”

“Relax, Marissa. I didn't tell them you're up here. I said I was calling from a hospital in Seattle and needed to confirm your prescription. Fortunately, they accepted that and didn't ask any questions.”

“Oh, thank you, Brent. How is Dr Maynard doing?”

“He's been very worried about you. I passed along your message and he said he will call you later. He's going to email me your scans so I can see them, but he agreed with me that they should be done again. He'll talk to you about that when he calls. I will call you tomorrow when I've seen the scans.”

Gael drove to Marissa's pharmacy and she got both prescriptions. They arrived home to the smell of pork roasts cooking. Because the family was so large, they had two stoves and a convection oven. Irene never cooked just one roast or just one chicken or turkey. Leftovers were never enough for another meal, so she would heat them up the next day at lunch for whoever was around - usually her, Bill and Stan. Tonight, Patsy and Vicky had started supper.

The house phone rang while they were eating. Normally, it would go unanswered and all cell phones had to be left on the counter until the meal was over. This night, Gael made an exception to his rule, knowing that Marissa was expecting an international call. Most people were finished supper by the time they were starting theirs. He got up and answered it. “Marissa!” he called from the living room. “Do you want to take this in the office?”

“Yes, thank you.” Gael took his ring of keys out of his pocket. He found the one to the office and held it up for Marissa to take. “I'll stay on the line until you pick up in there”, he told her.

Once she had closed the office door behind her, Marissa sat down at the desk and picked up the phone. She heard her father and Dr Maynard talking. “She's been through a lot”, Gael Brennan said. “Please go easy on her about running out on the surgery. She didn't have a choice.”

“I will. My concern is her well-being.”

“Hi, Dr Maynard”, Marissa greeted her caller.

“I'll hang up now, Marissa”, Gael said and he put the receiver in the cradle.

“Hello, Marissa. How are you doing? I'm so glad to hear you are back home with your family.” Gideon Maynard *was* glad she was with her family, but he was very concerned about her health.

“Thank you, Dr Maynard. I am doing okay, though scared of what lies ahead.”

“Do you mean medically or otherwise?”

“Both. Mostly otherwise, at the moment. I had to give a statement to the police today.”

“Dr Evans told me that you had been forced to work as a drug mule”, Maynard told her. “He said you had given him permission to tell me that.”

“Yes, I did. If you want to know the whole story, I will tell you.” She didn't relish going through her story again, but she felt her former oncologist had a right to know, given that she'd skipped out on surgery that he had arranged.

Gideon did want to know, as he felt it might explain her reluctance to have the biopsy and then the cancer surgery, but his immediate concern was where things were at regarding the tumour. “I would like that, Marissa, but I don't want to take up too much of your time and I want to talk about your health. Why don't you email your account of what happened to me? It might be easier for you to type it out.”

“I can do that, and you are right, it might be easier that way.” Marissa was relieved that she would not have to verbally recount her experience with the Cartel yet again - at least not tonight. “What's your email address?” She found a piece of paper in her father's desk and wrote it down.

“Now, Marissa, I am very concerned about your cancer and whether it has progressed. I've had more than one sleepless night wondering if you were okay.” Gideon had not meant for that to come out, he was sure she'd been through enough already.

“I'm sorry, Dr Maynard. I feel bad about running out on you and Braxton.”

“Do not worry about that, my dear. Right now, I want your sole focus - as much as it can be - to be on your health. As I told you when I gave you the biopsy results, this is a slow progressing cancer, but I don't know how long it had been there when we did the biopsy. I want you to get the scans done again, however I understand there's an issue with coverage up there in Canada.”

“Yes, I have to be in the country for three months to get Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan and the insurance I have down there in the USA will not cover cancer care out of the country. I do have some money saved up, if it's not too expensive.”

“You hold on to your money, you are going to need it to get back on your feet and while you are recovering from having the tumour removed. If you can get there, I can arrange for you to have the tests done at the hospital in Great Falls, Montana. Do you think you can get there?”

“I'm sure I could use one of my dad's vehicles to drive down, but I don't know if I will be allowed across the border now that I have gone to the police and admitted to committing crimes.”

“First, I don't want you driving that far and I don't want you going alone. You need someone with you for support. Second, I will see what I can find out about coming back to the USA and I can write the authorities a letter saying how vitally important it is, with your permission.”

“You certainly have my permission, Dr Maynard.”

“Good. I will be in touch again when I know something. In the meantime, discuss it with your parents - I'm sure one of them would be willing to drive you there. Your father sounded very worried about you on the phone, but I couldn't give him information without your consent.”

“Oh, you have my consent for both my parents, Doctor.” Marissa had no problem giving permission. It was the least she could do, given the grief she'd put them through.

“All right, I will email you the consent forms, you can print them out and fax them back to me if you can get to a fax machine. Or I can scan them into the computer and email them back.”

“We have a fax machine here. My dad uses it for farm business.”

“What kind of farm does he have, Marissa?” Gideon had not known that she'd been raised on a farm.

“Dairy. We have a milking herd of about 60 cows, and a few beef cows we milk for our own use as the milk has a higher fat content.”

“High fat milk isn't good for you, Marissa.”

“Oh, we separate out the cream and we use it to make butter and ice cream. We are pretty self sufficient as far as food goes. We hunt, grow our own vegetables and keep a few steers for meat. But not Charlie”, she hastened to add.

“Who's Charlie?” was the inevitable question.

“He's my steer. I got him from Dad before ... well, before all the problems started. I was raising him for beef, but I got too attached to him and decided to keep him as a pet. My parents kept him when I ... disappeared. He even has a job on the farm - he 'babysits' the heifers we are keeping to replace aging cows when they are old enough. Charlie and I have quite the bond.”

“I've never heard of a steer as a pet! Is it safe?” Ever the doctor, Gideon's first thought was Marissa's safety.

“Charlie is a pussy cat, Dr Maynard. Now, if he were a bull, that might be a different matter. I'll send you a couple pictures of the two of us, if you like.”

“I'd love to see them. I need your email address so I can send you those consent forms.”

Marissa gave him her email address and then said “Oh, before I go, Dr Maynard ... Do you know how Braxton Jagger is doing? I'm afraid to contact him for fear of the Cartel going after him - it was a deal I made with my supervisor when they took me out of Denver.”

“I'm sorry, I don't know, dear. He's moved away.”

Marissa could swear her heart stopped beating. “Where to?”

“He didn't say. I got a form letter from him that I assume he sent to all the doctors who referred patients to him. All it said was he was closing his practice because he was moving out of the area. I wish I had more information for you.”

“It's okay - I should be able to find him by searching online if he's opened another practice.”

“I'm surprised he didn't let you know where he was going, Marissa. He thought a lot of you.”

“He didn't know where I was, Dr Maynard. I was forbidden to have any contact with him and I had to obey or risk his life. You'll understand when you get my email, but it may not be until tomorrow.”

They said goodbye and Marissa booted her father's computer. She went to her anonymous email to see if Braxton had responded to her. Maybe he told her where he was going. No such luck. The email she had sent to him had bounced back saying “no such user”. She went to Google and searched for his name. Nothing. She tried the American Psychological Association's Psychologist Search, he was listed as being licensed but there was no place of practice given. She even checked Facebook to see if he was on that social media platform. He wasn't. No luck at Twitter either. Her heart sank. Marissa silently cursed Kezia for being a “quack”. She would see Braxton again? Evidently not, she thought. Her eyes watered up and a tear escaped and ran down her cheek. She dabbed at them with a tissue. Better not show any sign of crying, she thought. I don't want to upset my family.

Marissa went to the closest downstairs bathroom (there were two - with a family that big, having 5 bathrooms, including the ensuite in the master bedroom, cut down on lineups and fighting over who was first). She splashed some water on her face, dried it and went back to the kitchen. Supper was over and clean-up was in full force. “I put your plate in the oven to keep warm”, Irene said to her. “Sit down and finish it, then tell us about your conversation with the doctor.”

Not wanting to refuse to eat, Marissa tried to finish her meal, but she was not hungry. Her stomach was in knots. The Brennans did not waste food, so she gave it her best. Anything they couldn't use was put in a bag in the freezer to give to Marissa's brother, Beau, for his pigs. In return for that as well as milk and beef, he provided them with pork. “Mama, I'm going to put this in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. I can't finish it.”

“Okay, honey, I'll get you a container.” Irene was concerned about her daughter's lack of appetite. She was way too thin. “Marissa, what's wrong?” she said as she set a plastic container on the table and saw the expression on her face. “Is it your conversation with Dr Maynard?”

“Yes, Mama - but not about my health. It's about something else.”

“Your father and I will talk with you about it after the dishes are done. If you want to talk to us about it, that is.” Irene put her arm around Marissa.

“I do, Mama, but I don't want to upset or worry you.”

“We can't worry any more than we already have.”

“I'm sorry, Mama.”

“It's not your fault, honey. Would you like some coffee?” She picked up the container that Marissa had put her leftovers in.

“Yes, please, Mama. Let me get it.” Marissa felt guilty that her mother was waiting on her.

“I'll get it. Don't you worry - once you are settled in again, we're going to put you to work.” She winked to show she was joking.

“Please do! I will do anything I am capable of.”

“Let's take care of your health first, honey. I'm almost finished here, then I'll sit down with you. Where's your father? He's usually right here when a fresh pot of coffee is made.” Just then, Gael appeared in the doorway.

“You rang, woman?” he asked her as he approached her for a kiss.

“Good to know you still have excellent hearing”, she said as he playfully patted her butt. Gael took a mug of coffee from her and sat down at the table.

“You gals almost finished?”

“Yes, Daddy”, Patsy said. “We'll be out of your way in a minute.”

Marissa butted in with “No, Patsy - you and Vicky can stay if you want. I'd like you to know what's going on and you can tell the others when you are talking to them.”

Once everyone was seated, Marissa began “That call was from my oncologist in Denver. He said the tumour is a slow growing one, but he wants me to have the scans done again. I can't do that up here because I can't get AHCIP until I've been here three months. Dr Maynard said he can arrange for me to have them done in Great Falls, Montana, if I can get there.”

“We can get you there, Rissa”, Gael said.

“I told him I can drive one of your vehicles down. He said he doesn't want me going by myself. I don't know why, though.” Marissa didn't want to take her parents away from the farm.

“We will hear nothing of you going by yourself”, Irene interrupted. “Both your father and I will go, if he is okay with leaving the farm in the hands of Bill and Stan.”

“Of course I'm coming, the boys are more than capable of taking care of things and I'm sure the girls can get meals together.”

“You bet we can”, Vicky piped up. “It's settled. You three are going.”

“There's just one thing”, Marissa said. “I have to make sure I can get into the States legally. Dr Maynard is going to make some calls to see about that. He's going to call me tomorrow.”

“Honey, what else did you want to talk to us about?” Irene asked.

“Oh, I just wanted to tell you that Braxton moved out of Denver. Daddy, your email to him probably bounced back. I checked and the one I sent him a few months ago did. Dr Maynard said he got a form letter from him saying he was closing his practice and moving out of the area.” Her eyes teared up again.

Gael saw the tears in her eyes and it made him angry. “That rotten, no good....”

“No, Daddy, don't say that”, Marissa interrupted. “It's my fault for not being in contact with him. If I had been, I'm sure I would know where he is. Please don't get angry at him.”

“Baby, it wasn't your fault you could not contact him.”

“Maybe I should have done it from the library sooner. At any rate, he had every right to move if he wanted to.”

Gael was thinking. There had to be a way to find Braxton. “I have an idea, Rissa! He has a friend on the Denver police force - a detective. I think he said his name is Logan. Surely Logan would know where he is.”

“That's a great idea, Daddy! I'll call down there tomorrow.”

The next day, Marissa called the Denver police station and asked for Logan. She said she didn't know his last name but he was a detective. They put her through to the detective division. The woman answering said that Logan was on a six month leave of absence. Marissa told her why she was calling.

“Let me get your number and I will try to reach him and he can call you back”, she offered.

“That would be great. Thank you.”

Detective Irwin called her back five minutes later. “I reached Logan”, she said, “and he said to tell you that Braxton Jagger wants nothing to do with you. I'm sorry.”

Marissa was floored. It felt like the bottom had dropped out of her world. “T-thank you”, she managed to get out before she hung up and burst into tears. She had a good cry, then decided if that's what Braxton wanted, she could do nothing about it and vowed to get on with her life.

At lunch, Gael said Owen Jarvis had called him. The FBI had jurisdiction over drugs being transported across the border. Owen had spoken with a senior agent named Rex Avery who told him that they had been very close to arresting a good number of the Cartel members in Denver. The hope had been to offer them deals in return for information about and testimony against people higher than them in the organization. They really wanted the top tiers as without them, the Cartel wouldn't exist. Rex wanted to go to Edson to speak with Marissa and get her statement. He had spoken with his supervisor who assured him that if the information Marissa gave them was good, they could keep her out of prison.

“But, Daddy, I didn't really give them anything to go on - just some fake names and my shrink's name.”

“And the name of the pharmacy that bills the Cartel, honey. Apparently, Rex seemed impressed. Talk to him when he comes up here. He's not going to arrest you at that time regardless. And he can't take you to the US without an extradition order anyway.”

“I hadn't thought of that.”

“So, can I call Owen back and say that you will speak to Rex if he comes here?”

“Yes.”

“By the way, Rissa - did you call Logan?”

Marissa had been dreading this - she didn't know if she could tell him what had happened without bursting into tears again. “Yes, Daddy. Logan is away but they called him and he said to tell me .... that....” she was having trouble getting the words out. “...that....Braxton wants nothing to do with me!”

“Why, that....”

“I can't blame him, Daddy. Please, let's just move on. I need to forget about him.”

Gael let it drop, but it weighed on him all day. Once he had calmed down, he got to thinking and it did not make any sense at all. Braxton had been too concerned about his daughter to decide he wanted nothing to do with her. They had seemed to be getting close when Marissa left Denver. Maybe he was angry at her leaving, but surely he would want to know what had become of her. No, it didn't make sense at all. But how could he find the man if his friend wouldn't give his number out?

Later in the afternoon, Brent Evans called Marissa to find out how things were going and to tell her what she already knew - that Dr Maynard wanted her to have the tests done again. She told him that they were trying to make sure that she could go across the border legally. They set up a riding “date” for Sunday afternoon. Brent told her to cancel if she was in pain. She said the pain medication was helping a lot so she should be okay.

Dr Maynard called her just before supper. “I can book the tests for next week in Great Falls”, he told her, “but you need to contact border authorities to see if you will be able to get through.”

“Someone from the FBI is coming to take my statement. I will ask him about it. Apparently, they aren't going to arrest me - yet, anyway.”

“Let's hope they don't arrest you at all, dear. Thank you for sending me the account of what happened to you. It sounds like you've been through a lot. I hate to add to that, but no matter what the scans show, at the very least, you need to get that tumour taken out.”

“I know, Dr Maynard. I'm not looking forward to it one bit.” She had tried not to think about having the tumour out - right now, her focus was on the implications of going to the police about the Cartel and she told Maynard that.

He was concerned about this. “Marissa, I know you are afraid of what could happen regarding your situation with them, but I need to impress upon you that your first priority right now needs to be your health. If the cancer has spread, treatment will be more involved than just an operation. If it hasn't spread, you still need to have it taken out and the sooner, the better.”

“You're scaring me, Dr Maynard”, she said, her voice trembling.

“I'm not trying to scare you, dear .... though maybe you should be scared in order for you to take this as seriously as you need to.”