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be if they could not find her.
    â€˜I went to my mother,’ Danny explained. ‘She didn’t have that kind of money, but she sold a parcel of land on the edge of our farm to a developer who had been itching to get his hands on it. It was just a couple of acres and he paid cash. My mother never doubted me for an instant. She had the money within two days.’ His voice cracked as if he were about to cry.
    â€˜Danny went down there personally with the money and brought Arcelia back,’ the priest continued for him. He glanced at Danny. It was too much for him to remember. ‘He was asked to leave the money at some tiny shop in a godforsaken village in the middle of nowhere and, in return, they were supposed to leave Arcelia at another village a few miles away. They kept their word. It’s better for business that way, you see. If they kill everyone, then no one would ever give them money. Danny and Arcelia returned to the States and I married them the day after they arrived here. That was just over two years ago. Arcelia spent several weeks being treated for her wounds. She does not speak of that time. But she devotes almost every free moment she has to counseling Mexican immigrants who come here, helping them file reports for missing loved ones still in Mexico. She helps them provide identification and DNA and other information whenever the US authorities find the bodies of people along the border that might be missing relatives. She is a very strong woman. She has helped many people in our congregation. You must find her. She’s gone through enough.’
    â€˜How did you get over the border?’ Maggie asked.
    It was clear that Danny had rehearsed his answer. Too quickly, he said, ‘We got married in Mexico before we came back, so legally she was my wife. Between that and the papers I got from the consulate, she was able to come into the States with me. We got married again by Father Sojak, once we got here, just to be safe.’
    I’m not sure anyone believed that answer. It usually took years to get travel documents from a consulate. But both Maggie and Calvano knew that they would never get the details out of Danny Gallagher if he and his wife had entered the United States illegally. Besides, there was no doubt that they were married and that Arcelia had the right to be here.
    â€˜Could she have run away?’ Maggie asked him. ‘Sometimes pregnant women start to have second thoughts. It’s pretty common, in fact.’
    â€˜Never,’ Danny said. ‘I think maybe her worst fears came true – maybe the drug gang that took her somehow found out she was pregnant and living in the United States. Maybe they figure I’m rich and will give them even more money now.’
    â€˜You think a drug gang came up here and got her?’ Calvano asked skeptically. ‘Why bother? They’d be taking a huge risk for an uncertain payout. And if she had known something, or seen anything that might hurt them, they would have killed her long ago.’
    â€˜I don’t know why they would come up here for her,’ Danny Gallagher suddenly shouted. ‘I just know she lived in fear, every day, fear that they might come for her and now the worst has happened.’
    A nurse came running in at the sound of Danny Gallagher’s cries and she looked at Maggie and Calvano with disgust. ‘He needs his rest,’ she told him sternly.
    â€˜I can arrange for him to talk to you again as soon as he is able,’ the priest told them. ‘I give you my word.’
    A priest’s word was good enough for Calvano. He stood, stowed the notebook back in his pocket and extended his hand to the priest once again. ‘Thank you, Father Sojak.’
    â€˜Call me John,’ the priest said quickly, shaking Calvano’s hand. He held out his hand to Maggie, suddenly shy. I had seen it in priests before: the younger ones, fresh from the seminary, often had little