In Self Defense (Winchester, Tn. Book 1)

by Debra Webb

  Colt paused. “When did Wesley get back?”

  Beth released a big breath. “Not until yesterday.”

  Which meant he wasn’t in Winchester on Monday night. Wesley Sauder—aka Thomas Bateman—couldn’t have killed the man in the storeroom at the bakery. Oh hell. “Beth, what happened at the bakery?”

  She stared directly at him then. “Sarah called me. She was alone at the bakery. They’re closed on Sundays, you know. She was cleaning, stocking. The kids were there, too. She wanted to talk. She was scared. She thought someone had been following her.”

  Holy hell.

  “She was right, someone was following her. He walked around the building. She saw him through a window so she hid the children behind some boxes in the walk-in cooler. The next thing she knew the man was inside. She’d forgotten to lock the back entrance. He was demanding to know where Wesley was. She kept telling him she didn’t know but he wouldn’t listen. He backed her into the storeroom.” Tears slid down her cheeks. “He was going to kill her, Colt.”

  “But you got there just in the nick of time.”

  She nodded. “I brought my .38 with me, just in case. I never expected to have to use it.” Her lips trembled. “When I told him to stop, he turned around and the only reason I’m not dead is because I shot first.”

  The words rang in the air for an endless beat. “It was self-defense, Beth. If you hadn’t shot him, you and Sarah and the kids would be dead.”

  She nodded, swiped at her cheeks. “I guess you have to arrest me now.”

  Colt shook his head. “No. I’m not going to arrest you for defending yourself. But I will need a statement, and I’ll need one from Sarah confirming what you’ve told me.”

  “Okay. I’ll finish up here first, if that’s okay.”

  “Sure. I’ll help you.” They moved to the next table. “I’ll also need the gun you used.”

  “It’s buried in the flower bed in front of my trailer.”

  “When we leave I’ll call my evidence tech and have him go by and pick it up if I have your permission.”

  “Do what you have to do,” she agreed. “I’m trusting you, Colt. I screwed up my life once, but this time I did the right thing. Don’t punish me for doing the right thing.”

  The fear and resignation in her voice tugged at his protective instincts. He could only imagine how terrified she had been when he walked in a little while ago. “I’ll see to it that no one punishes you for this, Beth. I just wish you’d come to me.”

  She nodded. “I know. It was a dumb decision to try to cover up what I’d done. I guess after everything else I’ve screwed up, I couldn’t deal with my family thinking I was a killer, too.”

  “You’re not a killer, Beth.” Colt touched her arm when she reached for another stool. “You’re a hero. You saved your sister’s life and the lives of her children. Your daddy will be proud when he hears about that.”

  More tears spilled down her cheeks. “Maybe.”

  “Tell me how I’m going to find Wesley before his old friends do. I know he’s close, hiding out within the Mennonite community, but none of his friends will tell me anything.”

  “They’re protecting him,” Beth confirmed. “They know him as Wesley Sauder, the good man who saved my poppa’s life. He’s been especially helpful to their community. They’re not going to easily accept that he’s not who he’s claimed to be all this time.”

  “So they’re not going to talk to me.”

  “Probably not.” She smiled across the table at Colt. “But one of their wives might. Go see Jenny Hoover. Tell her I sent you.” A frown lined her brow. “But you’ll need to take a woman with you. I’d say I would go, but if anyone sees me that could get her into trouble.” Her expression brightened. “Take Audrey Anderson. Everyone knows her. Jenny will talk to Audrey.”

  Sounded easy enough.

  All Colt had to do first was get Beth out of here without having to kick Ray Stokes’s ass.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Audrey left the office once the paper was put to bed. She needed to visit her mom again. It likely wouldn’t do any good, but she had to try. She had a name now, though she wasn’t sure that would help in any way. She had tried all afternoon to piece together the shattered memories. But too many fragments were missing.

  Basically she had been a child when it happened. Time had done its job, putting distance between her and the trauma. Her mind had buried so much of that night that her recall was no more reliable than her mom’s. But she had to try to remember. What happened when she was twelve years old had some bearing, however remote, on what was happening now. She was certain of it.

  There was a connection.

  What if Wesley Sauder or Thomas Bateman, whatever name he went by, hadn’t come to Winchester by chance? Would he know why Jack Torrino had shown up in her father’s office all those years ago?

  Had Sauder passed the newspaper offices every day for the past ten years knowing the Anderson secret? Audrey had to talk to him before he was hauled away by Branch or killed by another mob thug.

  She needed the truth.

  But what if the truth was not what she believed it to be? What if her father had somehow been involved in organized crime?

  “No way.” She would not believe such a thing. Surely her mom or Uncle Phil would have known something was going on if that were the case.

  Or perhaps her mom had urged her to forget that night because there was something more unseemly going on?

  Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. She had no idea where she was going. Out of town, along the back roads. Wesley Sauder was hiding somewhere and she intended to find him. She needed answers. The not knowing was driving her mad. The rain had stayed away so far, but it was supposed to start up again later tonight. He had to be lying low somewhere.

  As if she’d telegraphed the thought to local law enforcement, blue lights appeared in her rearview mirror. She frowned. The truck was Colt’s. Why would he be blue-lighting her? She glanced at the dash. She wasn’t speeding.

  Cursing her bad luck, she pulled to the curb and put the car in Park. Then she waited. If he asked to see her license she was going to punch him.

  He swaggered up to her window. She watched each step in her side mirror, her pulse reacting. Why didn’t her libido just die? Experiencing all the sudden urges for Colt was making her crazy. She did not want to repeat the same mistake she’d made as a kid. She’d given him too much of her life already.

  When he braced his hands on the roof of the car and peered down at her, she powered down the window. “Was I speeding, Sheriff?”

  “No, ma’am.” He moved down to the window then, propping his crossed arms there. “Why aren’t you answering your cell?”

  Her cell hadn’t rung? She poked a hand into her bag and retrieved her phone. Three missed calls. “I didn’t hear it ring.” She checked the sound—it was off. “Oh.” She switched the setting from mute. “Sorry, I was in a meeting. I just forgot to turn on the ringer when I left the paper.”

  The truth was she was so distracted and frustrated she hadn’t even thought about her phone.

  “I need you to take a ride with me, if you will.”

  Her heart stumbled. Did he already know about Torrino? How the hell had he figured it out? Judd would never tell anyone about her questions and even if he did, there was no way to take her questions and follow them back to anything related to her parents or the newspaper, much less that damned basement.

  “Why?” Her voice was a little too high-pitched.

  “I want to interview Jenny Hoover. Sarah’s younger sister Beth thinks Jenny’s husband might know where Sauder is. He won’t tell me, but Beth thinks Jenny will talk. To you.”

  Audrey vaguely remembered Jenny Hoover; she had been Jenny Kauffman back when they were kids. If talking to Jenny would help Audrey find Sauder
, she was more than happy to do so. But she and Colt had to get one thing straight first. “On one condition.”

  “I let you have the exclusive,” he said with a shrug. “You got it. I’ve already promised you the exclusive.”

  She shook her head. “I need to ask Sauder a couple of questions before you turn him over to Branch.”

  Colt drew back the slightest bit. “Do you mean privately or in my presence?”

  She chewed her lip. “Privately.”

  “I don’t know about that, Rey. There are all kinds of rules about witnesses and—”

  “Two minutes, that’s all I’ll need.”

  Big exhale. “All right. As long as it’s within my power to allow, you will have two minutes. Can we leave my truck at your house? I don’t want to spook Jenny by showing up in my vehicle, particularly at this hour.”

  He was right. It was half past eight. “Of course.”

  “Great.” He smiled. “I knew I could count on you, Rey.”

  He might not feel that way when he learned the secret she and her mother had been hiding for more than two decades. Reminding herself to breathe, Audrey drove to her house. Colt parked his truck and hustled over to climb into her passenger seat.

  “What if Jenny’s husband is home?”

  “Beth says Wednesday nights are meeting night for the men. They’ll be at the church until after ten.”

  “I imagine Sauder is too smart to be there with them.”

  “If he’s not, then I don’t know how he was ever an accountant for a crime family.”

  Audrey laughed, couldn’t help herself. “You have a point.”

  En route to the Hoover home they drove past the Mennonite church, and there was quite the crowd of vehicles there. Some sort of meeting was certainly taking place tonight. The Hoover farm was on Walnut Grove Road. Like the Yoder place, this one had been in the family for several generations. Since the first Mennonites came to the area, actually.

  Colt followed Audrey across the yard and up the steps onto the porch. He took a position to one side of the door as she pulled open the screen door and knocked on the wood one beyond it. The lacy curtains in the window had moved twice. Jenny or one of her children already knew they had company. It was quiet inside. Audrey knocked again. Hearing the sound of footsteps inside, she allowed the screen door to close. Another day was all but gone and still no sign of Sauder. It seemed impossible that a fugitive could stay hidden like this in such a small town with every cop in the various law enforcement agencies looking for him.

  The door opened and Jenny peered through the screen door. “You’re Audrey Anderson.”

  Audrey smiled. “In the flesh.”

  Jenny glanced at Colt and her awed expression slipped. “Sheriff.”

  “I realize it’s really late but if you have time,” Audrey said quickly, not wanting to lose this chance because the woman got hung up on the idea that Colt was now standing next to her, “I would love to talk to you for a few minutes. Beth Yoder sent me.”

  Jenny’s attention rested on Audrey once more and that fangirl expression was back. “All right.” She stepped back, opening the door wider. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  Audrey gave her the brightest smile she could muster. “Tea would be lovely.”

  “The kitchen is this way,” she said, ushering Audrey across the room.

  Audrey heard the front door close and then the steady fall of Colt’s steps as he followed them into the large but simple kitchen.

  “How are your girls?” Audrey asked as Jenny put the teakettle on the stove and lit the burner under it. “I saw their artwork on the wall at the bakery. They’re both very talented.”

  Jenny blushed as she settled white cups into saucers. “They’re doing well. Ana is getting married this summer and Ruth is traveling to Virginia to spend the summer with her grandmother. It’s going to be an exciting summer for them, but certainly a long one for me without my girls.”

  Audrey kept her opinions to herself about how two such talented young ladies should be heading off to college. She had no right to judge and certainly no grounds upon which to suggest how anyone should raise her children.

  “I would love to do an article about the wedding, if you and your husband would permit me.”

  The other woman’s eyes danced with obvious delight. “I’ll ask him. He’ll be home later in an hour or so.”

  “I think it would be a lovely local life piece.”

  The kettle whistled and Jenny prepared the tea. When they had settled around the kitchen table, Jenny said, “I guess you came to ask me about Sarah’s husband.”

  Audrey nodded. “We’re really worried about him. More of those bad guys could show up at any moment—they may already be here—and we need to find him before they do. If you can help, you would be doing Sarah and her children a great favor. The truth is, they’re in danger, too. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that Sheriff Tanner find Wesley and help him. I really believe he’s the only one who can give Wesley a fair shake in this mess.”

  Jenny nodded. “I told Allan we should talk to Sheriff Tanner.” She glanced at him, her first concession to his presence since they gathered at the table. “But he wouldn’t listen.”

  “Men always think they know best.” Audrey shook her head. “I’ll never understand that mentality.”

  Jenny sighed. “It’s a burden at times.”

  “Do you know where Wesley is staying?” Audrey asked. “You have my word that Sheriff Tanner will protect him. Whatever you tell us will go no further than this room.”

  “Mine as well,” Colt offered. “Wesley Sauder is my responsibility to protect. But I can’t do my job if I don’t know where he is.”

  “The last I heard Allen say, he was staying at the Zimmerman place.” She looked from Audrey to Colt and back. “But he’s moved and no one is talking. I honestly don’t know where he is.”

  As disappointing as it was, Audrey believed her. “If you had to guess, where would you start your search for Wesley?”

  The other woman looked Audrey straight in the eye and said, “At his house.”

  Audrey was surprised by her answer, then the rationale behind it dawned on her. No one would be watching his house. They were all too busy looking everywhere else. “Thank you, Jenny. You’ve been a tremendous help.”

  They finished their tea in record time and Colt thanked Jenny as she walked them to the door. She nodded but said nothing else to him. To Audrey she said, “I love your newspaper, Ms. Anderson. A lot of us live vicariously through you and the introspections column you do about all the places you’ve visited and the things you’ve done.”

  Now that was a compliment. She’d only started that column because Brian insisted. She supposed he’d been right to encourage her in that direction. “Thank you, Jenny. It really was nice to see you again.”

  At the car Colt held the door for her, then shut it once she was behind the wheel. He rounded the hood and slid into the passenger seat. “There’s just one problem with her theory,” he said as he pulled the seat belt across his lap.

  “What’s that?” Audrey snapped her seat belt into place and started the engine. She looked at him and waited for an answer.

  “I’ve had a deputy watching the Sauder home since Sarah went back there.”

  Audrey guided the car down the drive and onto the dark road. “What if he was already back in the house before you assigned surveillance? What if...” She braked and looked at him across the dim glow of the dash. “What if he never left the house?”

  “I saw him running from the Zimmerman house.” Colt countered.

  “Did you, or did you see someone who looked like him?”

  His brow furrowed in concentration. “God Almighty, you could be right.” Colt shook his head. “I kept asking myself how any man could leave his wife and children
alone to save his own life. Maybe he didn’t.”

  Audrey drove as fast as she dared on the twisty back roads between the Hoover place and the Sauder home. Colt had a death grip on the armrest of the door but he didn’t caution her to slow down even once.

  The dark house looming at the end of the driveway was a huge disappointment. Colt got out and knocked anyway, but no one was home. Without a warrant he couldn’t go in, not since the house had been released and was no longer considered an official crime scene.

  Warrant or no, Colt walked around the house, checking the barn and the smokehouse. Both were open. Audrey followed along behind him, mostly because she had no desire to sit in the car in the dark all alone. He walked out to the road and spoke to the deputy in the cruiser watching over the house. Audrey stared at the dark windows. She couldn’t help wondering again if Wesley Sauder knew anything about the man who’d given her father trouble all those years ago.

  “Sarah and the kids haven’t been back over here tonight,” Colt said as he joined her at her car. “If you don’t mind, take me back to my truck and I’ll pay the Yoders a visit. See if Sarah and her kids are over there.”

  “I can take you there.” She was certainly in no hurry to get home to an empty house. When she put it that way it sounded so sad. For the past six months she’d lived alone in that old house without thinking too much about being lonely. Suddenly that was all she could think about.

  “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind. Really. It’s no problem. Besides, it’s already so late we should do this the most efficient way possible.”

  “Good point.”

  They rode in silence. Audrey couldn’t stop obsessing about the man, Jack Torrino, who had disappeared. What if Sauder couldn’t shed any light on why he had come to Winchester? Where did she go from there with her questions?

  There was always hypnosis therapy to see if anything could be excavated from her head. Did she really want to risk allowing a doctor, despite being bound by confidentiality, to hear what really happened that night? Would it be better just to leave the past in the past?