Sanctuary Lost WITSEC Town Series Book 1 (27 page)

Pat twisted around. “I get the day off
school!”

Palmer shifted in his chair and huffed,
apparently not looking forward to Pat being underfoot all day.

Andra’s attention was still on him, so he
said, “I didn’t read it yet.”

Betty Collins had mentioned something about a
newspaper in her welcome speech. Where had this Dallas former
editor been hiding the past four days? Sure, John hadn’t met every
single town resident. But shouldn’t a reporter be more interested
in a new arrival? Especially when it was their new sheriff.

“Care to give me the highlights?” He crossed
the room and poured himself some coffee.

“Depends.” Andra stood. “Can I get some of
that?”

He glanced at Palmer who was concentrating
exceptionally well on his computer screen. “Did you eat,
Andra?”

She stared, apparently not wanting to stir
something up. “Coffee is fine.”

He nodded. “Pat, you want to run upstairs and
get Andra a granola bar, or some cereal?”

Pat jumped up, holding all the cards in a
bundle. “Do you like Fruit Loops?”

“Just a granola bar is good. Or a banana.
Something like that?”

He nodded and ran on his little kid feet
upstairs. John took a second just to soak up the sound of it, his
eyes on the door where Pat had gone. Then he looked back at
Andra…in time to see the same look she’d been giving his son was
now directed at him. What was that about? She blinked and turned to
sit on the cot. John poured her coffee and not just because it
meant she had to take it from him.

When she grasped the cup, he waited a second
before letting go and lowered his voice, “Everything okay?”

Something flickered in her eyes but she said,
“Mm-hmm.”

That was supposed to convince him everything
was fine? John slumped into his chair and downed half his coffee.
The newspaper really did look more like a newsletter. Regular
printer paper. Heaven only knew how much ink the man went through
producing enough copies for the whole town.

The headline read, A
ssassin Kills
Again.

John wanted to bang his head on the desk, but
he kept reading. There was enough to bring the man up on charges of
libel. He turned and saw Andra’s attention was on him as she ate
the apple Pat had given her. She shrugged, like, “What are you
gonna do?”

John wanted to yell. She should be angry,
more furious than she’d been about the fire even. The woman was
just going to sit there and let people say this trash about
her?

She swallowed a bite of apple. “The mayor
called a town meeting.”

Sure enough it was listed on the front page.
Noon that day at the Meeting House, all residents expected to
attend. He lifted his eyebrows to her. “Are you planning to go?”
They were going to eat her alive.

“It seems my schedule is open.”

“Andra—”

“I don’t know how my print could have gotten
on the knife when I didn’t touch it. I didn’t kill Betty.” She shot
a glance at Palmer and then back at him. “They deserve an
explanation.”

“The print was inconclusive. It could easily
not be yours, just as it could easily prove to be a match. But what
exactly are you going to say to them?”

“Whatever I need to.”

“To convince them you didn’t do this?” He
blew out a breath. “What, you’re going to produce the real killer
out of nowhere? Do you know who did it?”

Andra sank onto the cot. “Reasonable doubt,
isn’t that what I need?”

Palmer snorted.

John shot him a glare and turned back to
Andra. “Maybe you do need a lawyer.”

“Do me a favor, don’t call Nadia Marie. She’d
make a crappy lawyer.” The ghost of a smile crossed her lips as she
stretched out and closed her eyes. “This is all I’ve got, John. I
have to face it.”

John lifted his hands and let them fall,
slapping the legs of his pants. She wanted to do this? Fine. The
town was going to crucify her because of what she’d done in the
past and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

John pulled up the file on his computer. If
she was going to stand up to them, he was going to have to scour
every inch of this case for a possible suspect that wasn’t Andra
Caleri. Because she might be fine accepting whatever fate was
dished out, but that wasn’t the way he did things. No matter what
Grant asked of him, an innocent woman wasn’t going to go to
jail.

Not if he could help it.

Coffee was being handed out to all. Someone
had rustled up a table of sandwiches, chips and cake. Nearly
everyone in the already crowded room had a loaded paper plate,
standing around staring at their eats to avoid awkward
conversation. John walked across the Meeting House, escorting
Andra. The hum in the room stopped as everyone turned to look.

“I’m calling this meeting to order!” Justice
Simmons banged a hardback book bigger than his head on the podium
until everyone settled.

Chairs had been set out in rows enough to
fill the room. Still, maybe only half the town had turned out. The
other half evidently either didn’t read the newsletter, or they
didn’t care all that much about Betty Collins’ death. Or Andra’s
life.

Simmons surveyed the crowd with his tiny
eyes. “This is not a court of law. Whatever decision is made here
has no legal standing. All we are attempting to do is find the
truth of the murder of Betty Collins.”

John strode to the front and leaned down so
only Simmons could hear him. “This isn’t for you to do. The
investigation is still underway, evidence is being tested and
you’re going to have to wait for my findings. This meeting isn’t
only absolutely not legal, it’s also not right.”

He pushed the podium microphone to the side,
just in case. “You’re one of the few people here who actually
understand how this works. I would trust your judgment, but this is
not what you’re supposed to use it for. This is not about you
reliving the glory days of your career. You want to issue an arrest
warrant, fine. But that’s the only assistance I require from
you.”

Muttering filled the room. The disgruntled
sound rose in volume until John pulled the mic back over and spoke
into it. “Enough.”

Mouths shut.

“This isn’t happening.” John straightened and
faced the crowd. “A member of this community was murdered and I’m
not going to allow anyone to turn it into a source of
entertainment. Not any more than it already has been. Whoever stole
Andra’s file was way out of line.”

He might never figure out who it was took the
file. But that didn’t mean John wasn’t going to let them know
exactly how bad it was it’d been stolen.

Halfway back in the seats, Terrence shot to
his feet. “Andra Caleri needs to answer for what she did. I, for
one, am done waiting for you to decide what we all already know to
be true.”

A rumble of agreement swirled around the
room.

Terrence jabbed his index finger in Andra’s
direction. “She needs to be arrested. But if you’re not willing to
do what is necessary, maybe someone else should.”

John unlocked his tablet screen and swiped
through to the copies he’d made of Betty Collins’ files. It was a
long shot, but he prayed to whoever was listening that it would
work.

He scanned Terrence’s page and shook his
head. “Yes, I can see how you would be concerned about finding
Betty’s killer. The question remains, though. Do you simply seek
justice, or do you want to make sure whoever killed her doesn’t
spread around what they learned Betty knew…about you.”

The notation not only confirmed Betty’s
knowledge of Terrence having an illicit relationship but that it
was with Harriet Fenton, the doctor’s wife, of all people. John
couldn’t even picture that, nor did he want to.

Terrence shifted, standing his ground. “I’m
sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Do you know Betty Collins kept files on
everyone in town? She added a note to her file on you four months
ago. Apparently she witnessed a disagreement between you and a
woman she names. You threatened to kill the woman if she ended the
affair between the two of you. Now, you tell me, who is more likely
to kill Betty Collins? Someone with a secret they might be willing
to murder to protect and threatened murder only months ago. Or a
woman who has by all accounts changed her life and lived a
peaceable existence for the past decade?”

“Once a killer always a killer.”

John didn’t look at Andra. “That’s not going
to cut it, Terrence. Your personal opinion is not evidence and
Justice Simmons knows it. Which is why, even with the revelation of
Ms. Caleri’s file, he still has not issued an arrest warrant.”

“He’s right.” Justice Simmons bounced on the
balls of his feet. The old man was enjoying this? “Even better than
strong physical evidence is a witness.”

John ground his jaw. Did Simmons think a
bunch of people enrolled in the witness protection program didn’t
already know that?

Many of them had testified, securing the case
for the U.S. attorney. They ought to know the difference a witness
statement made when the witness could identify the perpetrator
without a flicker of doubt.

Which begged the question, if someone was
trying to frame Andra why hadn’t they contrived to seal her fate
with witness testimony? Either they figured that was too obvious,
or couldn’t get one for some reason. It could have been they didn’t
have time or enough planning in place.

The door burst open. “We’re here!” The two
guys who’d discovered Betty’s body—Sam and Bill—strode in. Bill’s
smile dissipated. “You guys started without us?”

Justice Simmons elbowed John aside from the
mic. “Boys, we’re going to need a statement from the two of
you—”

John said, “Let’s go over to the sheriff’s
office.”

They both blanched. “What?”

Bill said, “Why?”

Simmons breathed into the mic. “Are you able
to confirm the identity of the woman you saw the night of Betty
Collins’ murder?”

John pulled the mic over and said, “Don’t
answer that. Not here. Come back to the sheriff’s office.” He
turned to Simmons. “That’s not how this is done and you know
it.”

“I’m just getting the answers you need. I’ll
issue you a warrant and you can arrest the suspect. Case
closed.”

“It was her!” Sam jabbed his finger in the
air. “Everyone knows she did it!”

Andra folded her arms, her eyes on him. Her
lips were pressed into a thin line like she was biting them to keep
from saying anything.

Simmons said, “You can confirm this was the
woman you saw that night?”

John whipped his head around to pin the older
man with a stare. “Justice—”

“Answer the question, boys.”

“Sure.”

“Yes,” the other one said.

John shook his head. “Your testimony is no
good. Not like this.”

The crowd surged into a new round of
shouting, calling Andra every name John had ever heard. He wanted
to whisk her out and shield her from the force of their
accusations. But while she didn’t look especially happy, she also
didn’t look like she needed help.

Simmons pounded the book on the podium. “I’m
granting a warrant for the arrest of Andra Caleri.”

The crowd cheered.

John shook his head. “This is out of control
and you know it. There isn’t sufficient evidence. Plenty of people
in this town had motive, given what Betty knew about them.”

Simmons shrugged. “Got you a result, didn’t
it?”

“Not one I’ll accept.”

Simmons pulled out a piece of paper and
unfolded it.
Arrest Warrant.
“How about now?”

John shook his head. He’d prepared it before
the meeting?

The old man flashed his teeth. “I’ll have
Deputy Palmer arrest her. And I’m going to be contacting your
brother to let him know you weren’t willing to do what was
required. Murder is nothing to mess around with.”

“Then why create this farce?”

Simmons didn’t back down. He just peered at
John above the rim of his spectacles. “I spent my whole life trying
to shake up the establishment. Now I finally got a result for all
the effort I’ve put in. And if that means a murderer was captured,
then good. Because it’s plain to see Ms. Caleri is guilty. Why else
would she just stand there through this whole thing and say
nothing?”

The man was right, she hadn’t said anything.
“You don’t have the authority to decide her guilt or
innocence.”

Simmons sneered. “Perhaps you’re not fit for
this job, Mason. Someone else might be better. Someone more
decisive.”

Ire rose in him. “This isn’t right.”

Palmer had his handcuffs out. He yanked
Andra’s arms behind her back, but she didn’t react. “Nothing to
say?”

This incident would be added to her file and
Andra would never get out from under the cloud of doubt over being
arrested for murder—whether or not she committed it. She would
likely get kicked out of the witness protection program. It wasn’t
worth it to Grant to take the risk she might have actually done it.
Not when the security of an entire town was at stake.

“What is going on?” Olympia stood at the
door, her eyes were wide and rimming with moisture as she bounded
over to John. “She didn’t do this.”

“At this point the evidence neither confirms
it, nor puts it in doubt.” John gritted his teeth. “My hands are
tied.”

“You’re going to let her be arrested while
you just stand there?”

“What else can I do?” He took her elbow and
led her away from listening ears. “I can’t show favoritism. Even if
I think she’d never have done this, I can’t prove it.”

Tears spilled onto Olympia’s cheeks and she
swiped them away with a sausage finger. “But she didn’t do it.”

“That isn’t enough. I need to figure out who
did. Only then will Andra be truly in the clear.” He swiped a hand
at the crowd in the room. “All of this isn’t helping. I’m not going
to be swayed by the force of their opinion.”