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It was a very long day with a lot of waiting. The events of this ordeal spanned several days and describing in detail everything that happened took time. Gracie Layne and I were waiting along with a couple of the DHS agents, when Chris walked back in. "How are you two lovely ladies doing?" he asked, kneeling between our two chairs.
"Just tired of waiting," I offered.
"Why don't you refill your tea, and we'll get started on your statement," he said. He sat in the chair I vacated and chatted with Gracie Layne while I went to the beverage service in the back of the room and made a fresh cup of tea.
As I went through my story with Chris, I thought of questions I had for Chance and Gracie Layne. By the time we finished, I had pages of questions and the start of a to-do list. It felt good to have at least a bit of control over my life again.
By the time Chris escorted me back to the conference room, lunch had been delivered. There was salad, chips, and trays of sandwiches. As I laid my pad and pen down on the table, I heard Chris say. "Fill your plate, Gracie. We'll eat while I take your statement."
"I was glad Chris was handling Gracie. I suspected when she was forced to relive some of the recent events she might breakdown. I felt better knowing Chris was with her.
Chance was sitting beside Jared and the two were in deep conversation when I sauntered up. "Can I join the group?" I asked, setting my plate on the table in front of an empty chair. "Are you guys finished?" I asked.
"Yeah. I think Gracie Layne is the last one. Once she's done maybe we can wrap this up and head for home,' Jared said.
"Do you think we'll ever be able to stop looking over our shoulders again?" I asked.
"I understand how you feel," Cassie said. "We had a similar problem once before when a terrorist group targeted our team."
"You seemed like your life was pretty normal, when we first me," I said. "How did you make that happen?"
"At some point, you either have to go after the people at the top, if you can find out who they are, or trust others to do that," Jared said.
"Do you think Dr. Braun is the man behind all of this?"
"It's hard to know," Cassie said. "I know that's not what you want to hear. I'm interested in hearing whether or not DHS or some other agency is going to pursue this."
A female agent walked in, "Everly Mason," she called out. I raised my hand. "Could you come with me, ma'am."
"Sure. I already gave my statement to Agent Driscoll though.”
“I know ma'am. Just follow me, please."
She led me down the hall to one of the interview rooms. She knocked then opened the door. Chris was seated behind the desk and Gracie Layne was in the chair in front of the desk in tears.
"I thought maybe you could help," Chris said, clearly uncomfortable.
I knelt in front of her. "Gracie Layne, what's the matter?"
"I'm crazy," she said. "It's funny. I always thought you were the crazy one in the family. I didn't think I had to worry about that. Y'all had that covered. Obviously, there's enough crazy in our family to go around."
She broke down in sobs again. I looked at Chris, but he just shrugged his shoulders. "Did she finish her statement?" I asked.
"Almost. I think," he said.
I put my arm around her shoulders. "Are you upset about Mark?"
She dried her tears with a tissue from a box on the desk. "I shouldn't give a flying fuchsia what happened to that creep. He used me. He tried to hurt Chance. How did I get so desperate that I fell for his crap? That makes me pretty dogwood pathetic."
"Don't be so hard on yourself. I trusted him to care for my arm when I was wounded. I thought he was a good guy too. We all did. Even though we were wrong, I'm still sorry about what happened to him."
"Yeah, me too," she said, leaning her head into my side.
I sat on the edge of the desk. "Where did you leave off with your statement?"
"I told him about waking up with the bigfoot people in the clearing."
"OK. Chris, what else do you need from her?"
He asked her a few more questions before saying we were finished.
"I'll take her back to the conference room, it that's OK," I said.
"Sure. Thank you both for your cooperation. I'll join you in the conference room as soon as I get these reports filed."
I took Gracie Layne's elbow and led her back to the conference room. "Everything OK?" Chance asked as we took seats beside him.
"She's finished with her statement. Did I miss any excitement?"
"Valerie said we'd start the discussion at the top of the hour," he said.
"Oh, it's Valerie now, is it?" I teased.
"Yes. She works with your friend, Chris."
I reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Let's make sure they both know we're taken," I said, leaning in for a kiss.
Mr. Meecham joined the discussion via video conference. I should have expected that the agents would have difficulty accepting our story about the bigfoot. I couldn't fault them for having trouble believing. I was still skeptical, and I'd been there. It was clear the BITES people were used to this, so I let them attempt to convince the others.
When the discussion petered out, SAC Stinson stood up. "Thank you all for your patience today. I know you're anxious to get back to your normal lives."
"How are we getting home? We don't have any identification," I reminded them.
"We're taking care of that," Agent Stinson said. "By the time you're ready to go, we should have your new driver's licenses for you. We realize you have no credit cards, ID, money, or anything. We're taking care of it."
"When is our flight home?" Cassie asked.
"I'm sorry. I know you are all anxious to get back to your lives. Unfortunately, there's another step we need to take related to this case. Mr. Meecham, would you like to explain." I had the feeling she thought we'd take bad news better coming from him. She was right about that.
"Tomorrow morning you'll be taken to the CDC for full medical workups. I can assure you the doctors involved are top-notch."
"Bertram, we've been through enough poking and prodding," Cassie said.
"I agree," I chimed in.
"I understand your position, ladies," he said. "Agent Stinson, if you're finished with my people, could you clear the room of everyone except the BITES people, Mr. Munroe, and both Ms. Masons?"
"That's fine, sir," Valerie said.
"Mr. Meecham, would you mind if I stayed. I'm invested in this case," Chris said.
"If the people there don't mind, it's fine by me," he said.
I looked around and everyone nodded. "He can stay. Thanks, Agent Stinson."
"Just disconnect when you're finished," she said. "I'll have your documents couriered to your hotel. We'll be in touch if we need anything further related to this investigation."