When Elizabeth and I got home about an hour later, we walked into the house and heard a funny noise. I put the bags I was carrying in the kitchen and Elizabeth went back to the van for the rest. I started down the hall hearing that noise again. Upon entering the bedroom I found that Gary had broken the screen out of the window and was climbing out!
I got back to the door in time to drag Elizabeth in out of his reach. He started yelling at me, while waving a bag that contained a jar of nutritional powder that he had been taking He kept screaming that I wasn't going to get away with it. He then got in the van and took off!
I started shaking and turned to find Elizabeth in the same condition. At that exact moment the phone rang and it was a friend of Elizabeth's from church (the daughter of the woman we had just talked to at the store). Elizabeth told Karen what had happened and Karen said that she would come right over. I then took the phone and called our drug store. I thought he might go there where he had this jar with him and I wanted to prepare them because I now knew he was having another breakdown. One of the pharmacists actually went to the church. I then called the RCMP and told them, I was very afraid of him causing an accident.
Karen arrived and said that her mom was at the parsonage. The Pastor and another man from the church had taken off to see if they could find Gary. Cathy wanted Karen to bring Elizabeth and I to the parsonage right away, they were afraid that Gary would come back to the house.
I sat on the couch at Cathy's not believing that this was happening again and tried to plan what to do next. Pastor finally called with some news. They had spotted our van in the parking lot of the RCMP headquarters. Apparently Gary had shown up there accusing me of trying to kill him with this nutritional powder. The RCMP knew immediately who he was because of my call. They tried to calm him down and get him into the cruiser. He started to fight them and ended up being put into handcuffs and leg shackles and put in the backseat of the car. He then promptly kicked the back window out of the cruiser! This was a man who at times could hardly move because of the Parkinson's...talk about adrenalin! Pastor said that they were on their way to the hospital, but for me to stay where I was.
From what he told me later, when they walked into where Gary was being held, he immediately started yelling that the Pastor was a drug dealer! Pastor turned and walked out.
When I found out that he was in the hospital and was going to be there awhile I had Karen take Elizabeth and I back home. Soon after Bruce and Anne showed up to stay with us awhile. They invited Elizabeth and I to come stay with them for a few days, but I just wanted to be at home. Pastor showed up and gave us a brief update, prayed, then they all left.
That night when I went to bed I found I was really nervous for some reason and it was a relief when Elizabeth came and asked if she could sleep with me. But neither of us got much sleep that night. This was the first major breakdown that Elizabeth had witnessed and she was very shaken up.
The next afternoon I met Pastor at the hospital. He hadn't wanted me to go alone and I didn't want Elizabeth there. When we entered the Psych ward Gary was by the locked door. When he saw us come in he backed away. He thought that the Pastor was in cahoots with me in trying to kill him. Pastor tried to talk to him. Eventually Gary edged closer so that he could read the I.D. tag the Pastor was wearing. It had his name and who he was on it. Gary didn't believe that he was a pastor. One of the nurses came over and handed me the bag containing the jar of powder. It had been tested to make sure it was what I had said it was. I needed to get out of there. I got the Pastor attention and told him I needed to leave. Karen's mother had come with me and was waiting outside the ward for us. I collapsed into her arms sobbing.
That night after church I went home while Elizabeth went to the parsonage for Youth Group. I decided to call the hospital for an update. During the conversation with one of the nurses I learned that Gary was free to leave if he so desired! A doctor had to examine him and certify that he had to remain there before they could keep him against his will. He was just under observation and wasn't slated to be seen by a doctor for another day or two!!
I flew into a panic, what if he decided to come home? I was scared to death of him now. I called Cathy and told her what I had just been made aware of. The Pastor came on the line and said that he wanted me to pack a bag for myself and Elizabeth, that we weren't going to stay there until Gary had been certified. He and another man brought Elizabeth home and we moved out to Bruce and Anne's. Elizabeth still wanted to sleep with me so we shared a room.
It was a couple of days before Gary was certified, but Elizabeth and I stayed with Bruce and Anne for nearly a week. It felt good to be in a place where we were safe with someone caring for us.
Pastor and his family came for supper a couple of nights later. After we had eaten the phone rang. It was one of Gary's brothers. He said that he had just talked to him on the phone and thought I should know what he was telling everyone. Apparently Gary was saying that Pastor was not only a drug pusher but was also part of the Michigan Militia and was actively involved with me in planning his murder. Pastor just laughed when I told him. He turned to Cathy and said, "Well my resume is letting longer!" It felt good to laugh about something.
A few days after I returned home a RCMP officer called just wanting to know if I was alright and telling me that if anything else happened not to hesitate to call. That phone call blew me away. Living in the city you would never have received a call like that, but small town living was so different. I was glad we were here.
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