The Pastor's Wife

by Diane Fanning

  The other alternative is to return the girls to Mary. Do I believe Mary loves them? Absolutely. Do I think she will do the best she can for them? Without a doubt. Mary cherished those girls, and, like most every mother, wants to protect them from physical and emotional harm. I understand that.

  Yet, I still have questions. Was there really any danger to Breanna that morning? Or did Mary think there was? Did she lash out in a fury of enflamed maternal instincts? Was it over the alleged “suffocation,” or did Mary finally realize that by leading a life as a second-class citizen, she was a poor role model for her daughters—that she did not want them to follow in her footsteps as she followed her mother’s? I can understand how that would stir up maternal rage. I can feel the intensity of that emotion.

  But I am still left with a concern about what else Mary’s actions say about her. She demonstrated poor impulse control—to say the least—on March 22, 2006, when she pulled a gun on her husband while her children slept just feet away. She was not thinking of her girls when she took that action. Does she have the necessary skills and psychological stability to successfully guide those girls to adulthood? It is unclear.

  Regardless of whether or not it is in the best interests of the children, Mary now has custody of them. The dominant focus of the law in the state of Tennessee is the superior rights of the parent. A few years ago, it was the pre-eminent consideration in the neighboring state of Virginia, too. It took the death of a little girl at the hand of her parents to change the legislative priority to the best interests of the child.

  After closely considering the circumstances of the case, one can’t help but wonder: Where’s the justice?

  Is it justice when Dan and Diane Winkler watch the person responsible for their son’s death walk free to begin her life anew less than a year-and-a-half after that fatal confrontation? It doesn’t feel like it.

  Is it justice when a battered woman, driven to a violent act in a moment of desperation, is deprived of her freedom for the rest of her life? Hardly.

  But was Mary a victim, too? Only she and Matthew could have known with certainty.

  Often the truth evades us all. It shimmers in the corner of our eye but when we turn to capture its image, it is gone. Make it your mission to search for the light of truth every day and to use it to expose the deeds done in darkness.

  Justice can exist only where truth prevails.

  Other True Crime Accounts by Diane Fanning

  Out There

  Under the Knife

  Baby Be Mine

  Gone Forever

  Through the Window

  Into the Water

  Written in Blood

  AVAILABLE FROM ST. MARTIN’S TRUE CRIME LIBRARY

  Acknowledgments

  It is always useful when a true crime writer can count a private investigator among her friends. Dan Phillips of Mission Investigations in New Braunfels is mine. He’s terrific at digging up obscure information for me, but the best thing about Dan is that he is a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan.

  There are so many people in Selmer, Tennessee, who have been wonderful to me. I can’t say enough about Russell Ingle, reporter for the Independent Appeal in Selmer. He welcomed me warmly to his hometown and offered every professional courtesy. But Russell went beyond that. He didn’t just help me when I asked him; he offered his assistance at every opportunity. He’s a great guy and a dedicated journalist. Thank you, Russell, for everything.

  In the McNairy County Court Clerk’s Office, I always found a smiling face and willing assistance. Y’all are a great bunch of folks—you made me laugh and you kept me from crying. Thanks to everyone there including Court Clerk Ronnie Brooks, Jackie Cox, LeAnn Knight, Dana Seigler and Pam West.

  The state of Tennessee sent Sue Allison, public information officer for the Tennessee Supreme Court, down to Selmer, where she bridged the gap between the court and the media with stunning professionalism and cordiality. Thank you, Sue. And thanks to Judge Weber McCraw for creating a reporter-friendly environment, and to Judge Van McMahan, who gave up his courtroom for the use of hordes of journalists who landed in town for the trial. And thanks to District Attorney General Michael Dunavant for the post-trial interview.

  Thanks to all the law enforcement folks who added to my information base and my understanding, including Investigator Roger Rickman and Police Chief Neal Burks of the Selmer Police Department, Rodney Weaver of the West Tennessee Task Force and Theresa Hockabee and Sheriff Rick Roten of the McNairy County Sheriff’s Department.

  Around town, there were a lot of people who made my visits memorable or helped me with information, but I especially want to thank Patricia Templeton of The Book Shop, Pam Killingsworth and Dorothy Weatherford. And thanks to Fourth Street Church of Christ Elder Drew Eason who discussed theology with me on a Sunday evening after the service.

  And thanks to Pat’s Place, now I know what a Slug-Burger is, and actually ate one—and enjoyed it, too.

  In McMinnville, thanks to Alice Weddington of the McMinnville–Warren County Chamber of Commerce, for an overview of the community, and Mary Robbins, head librarian at the Magness Library, for historical background.

  Thanks to all the other people in McMinnville who spent a little time with me including Paul Pillow of Cleaners Express, Robert Harper, principal of Boyd Christian School, Evon Dennis and JoAn Cantrell.

  Thanks to all the members of the media I met while at that trial, but especially Emanuella Grinberg of Court TV, Tonya Smith-King with The Jackson Sun and It’s Your Call with Lynn Doyle. And thanks to Kerry Cobb and reference librarian Sharon Hoyt for answering far more questions than it was reasonable for me to ask.

  If you’ve read any of my books before, you’ll know what’s coming next—an expression of my gratitude to the two anchors in my writing life, my peerless agent Jane Dystel and St. Martin’s Press executive editor Charles Spicer.

  And I would be lost without my partner in crime, my talented and fantastic editor, Yaniv Soha.

  Finally, I send a bucketful of appreciation to my partner in life, Wayne Fanning. He’s stuck with me through every page of every book and he promised he will never leave—unless I buy a shotgun.

  THE PASTOR’S WIFE

  Copyright © 2008 by Diane Fanning.

  All rights reserved.

  For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

  ISBN: 978-0-312-94929-7

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.