Into the Night

by Debra Webb

  “We have to get out of here,” she whispered.

  He grabbed her up in his arms and started back in the direction from which they had come. The deputy who had stayed with Sierra escorted her while the third brought up the rear, keeping watch.

  When they reached the church, several more squad cars had arrived. Marcus had been arrested, as had the two followers who had been at the church with him.

  When Deacon lowered Cece to her feet, she turned to her sister. “Thank you.”

  Sierra nodded.

  Cece put her hand on her arm. “It’s time to tell the truth now.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Thursday, August 8

  Wednesday had passed in a blur of jurisdictional issues and frustration for Deacon. Marcus Winters had given Jack Kemp to these so-called others to ensure he never got the truth out of Sierra.

  According to Sierra, no one knew who the others were. Deacon figured the whole story was something Marcus had made up to keep his sister in line. The Bureau had authorized ground-penetrating radar since there was a strong possibility there would be more remains than Jack’s found somewhere on the Winters property.

  One of the followers who was in the church with Marcus when the warrant was served had decided to help with the investigation for a chance at immunity. It was too early to say how much help his assistance would prove to be.

  Cece had asked to stay with her sister while she gave her statement. Tanner had agreed. Which gave Deacon an opportunity to sit in on the questioning of Benton Syler, the follower who had agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

  “Mason kept a tight lid on how he operated. Marcus worked a little more loosely with a couple of us.”

  “Mr. Syler,” Tanner asked, “can we anticipate finding human remains buried on the church property?”

  Syler nodded. “There’s plenty. The killings go way back. As for Kemp, I don’t know anything about him. That was a personal matter between Marcus and Sierra. It wasn’t decided by the council.”

  Deacon wanted to reach across the interview table and shake the hell out of the man. They had learned that the council was a group of four followers who made decisions, with Marcus leading.

  “Did the council make life-and-death decisions on a regular basis?”

  Tanner didn’t do a very good job of hiding his disgust when he asked that question. Syler noticed.

  “I was only ever in on three. Not because I wanted to be but because I did as I was told, sheriff. I didn’t want my family to end up on the agenda.”

  “Are you suggesting Marcus would have harmed your family if you didn’t follow his lead?”

  “I’m not suggesting anything, sheriff. I’m telling you that’s the way it was. Don’t get me wrong. I worked hard to get this position. I figured my family and I were safer if I was in a higher position. No surprises that way.”

  It never ceased to amaze Deacon how far one man would go to please another when it came to societal hierarchy.

  “Most of our decisions were about who would be handed over to the others if they did wrong. I think the three who were stoned to death had something to do with a bad thing that happened to Marcus when he was a kid. But I don’t know for sure and I knew better than to ask.”

  Sierra had said that Cece was to be given to the others. “Who do you mean?” Deacon asked.

  Syler looked at him as if he wasn’t sure whether he should answer. Tanner gave him a nod and he proceeded.

  “The others are the most extreme wing of the Resurrection, an offshoot. Went off on their own years ago. We’re talking way over the edge. Human sacrifices. You name it. Back when Mason first started the church, we had a couple of members go missing. Their mangled or cleaned-to-the-bone remains would show up eventually. Mason sent men into the woods looking for what he expected to be wild animals. Bears or mountain lions. Something like that. What he found was this extreme group. He figured out the only way to keep them from hunting among his followers was to supply them with what they wanted.”

  “You can lead us to these others?” Tanner asked.

  “No one knows where they are. You mess around in those woods long enough and they’ll find you.”

  A knock at the door sounded before one of Tanner’s deputies came in. She whispered something in the sheriff’s ear and hurried back out of the room.

  Tanner stood. “Mr. Syler, we’ll need to continue this at a later time. I have an emergency to see to.”

  Deacon followed Tanner out of the interview room. “What’s going on?”

  “The second warrant, that allowed us a more liberal search,” he explained, “has found something I think your friends at the FBI and at the ATF will be interested in.”

  “Weapons?”

  Tanner nodded. “A whole load hidden in that tunnel. I’m guessing Marcus was using the church as a neutral holding ground between the dealers and the Resurrection members.”

  “Sheriff.” Another deputy hustled toward them. “You’re going to want to come and listen to what Sierra Winters is saying about her brother Levi.”

  Deacon and Tanner followed the deputy to the observation room.

  “Run that interview back,” Tanner ordered the technician who was recording the interview.

  “Right there,” the deputy said.

  The tech hit Play.

  “Levi was working with Jack. He was helping him get in with the Resurrection. Until Jack figured out I was his daughter and then he got distracted.”

  Deacon’s instincts moved to a higher level of alert.

  “I think Levi has lingered on the fringes of those crazy preppers all this time. He’s been very secretive about where he goes when he disappears for a few days. I believe that’s where he is now. I don’t know if they’ve figured out he’s trying to bring them down or if they like him and want him in deeper. Either way, he’s playing with fire. Those people don’t play games.”

  The worry on Cece’s face made Deacon’s gut clench. He walked out of the observation booth and made a phone call. There was only one way this could end even remotely well.

  He intended to do all he could to see that Levi was brought back alive.

  For Cece. For Jack’s family.

  Levi would know more about Jack’s last days than anyone else.

  * * *

  BY THE TIME the district attorney was finished interviewing Sierra, Cece was exhausted. Her head was still reeling at the idea of what her older brother had done. Dear God, what her father had done.

  He had killed their mother. He had castrated his own son.

  How the hell were any of them supposed to get past this?

  Sierra would be in protective custody for now, so Cece gave her a hug before parting ways.

  She had known her father was a cruel, evil man, but she had had no idea just how depraved he had been. The district attorney had assured Cece that the charge against her would be overturned. She could start her life over with a clean slate. She had been waiting to hear those words for most of her adult life.

  In the corridor outside the sheriff’s office, Deacon waited, one shoulder leaned against the wall as if he had been watching for her.

  She smiled. Thankful to see him again. There was so much she needed to say to him. So much she wanted to ask him.

  Mostly she wanted him to know she was very grateful.

  “Hey.” He searched her eyes as if unsure how to proceed.

  “Hey.” She smiled. “I am glad to see you.”

  His lips stretched into a matching smile. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that.”

  “We have a lot to talk about,” she confessed.

  He nodded. “We do.”

  “I’m really worried about Levi.”

  “You have every right to be,” he agreed. “The good news is, I made a call. The best retri
eval expert in the Bureau has agreed to help find Levi.”

  Hope lit in Cece’s chest. “That’s great news. How soon will the agent be here?”

  “She’s on the way. She’ll be here by morning. Her name is Sadie Buchanan. She’s the best extraction and recovery agent in this part of the country. If anyone can find him and bring him home, it’s Sadie.”

  “The district attorney says Sierra won’t be charged. It was self-defense. She’ll need therapy.” Cece laughed. “I guess we all will. We Winters are pretty screwed up.” She searched Deacon’s gaze. “I know Marcus has a lot to answer for and he’ll likely spend the rest of his life locked away somewhere, but he was a victim, too, and I’m sorry no one recognized it in time to save him.”

  Deacon touched her cheek. “At least he can’t hurt anyone else or himself. He’ll be on a different path now.”

  “I’m tired.” Another raw confession. “Will you take me home?”

  “I will.”

  Cece wrapped her arm around his and leaned against his shoulder. When they were outside and headed across the parking lot to his truck, she pulled him to a stop and stared up into his brown eyes. “I can’t leave Winchester until we find Levi and I know Sierra will be okay. But I want to know you better, Deacon Ross.”

  “I’ll be right here with you, Cece Winters. I can’t think of anything I would rather do than get better acquainted.”

  She went up on her tiptoes, put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. She had spent too long waiting for her life to begin again. She had no intention of wasting another minute.

  * * *

  Don’t miss the next Winchester,

  Tennessee Thriller, The Safest Lies,

  coming next month from Debra Webb and

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  The Safest Lies

  by Debra Webb

  Chapter One

  Winchester, Tennessee

  Friday, August 9

  Sadie Buchanan had never been to Winchester before. The closest she’d come was Tullahoma and that had been years ago when she was first assigned to the Nashville area. A joint task force conference at the Arnold Air Force Base had required her attendance for a day. Frankly, it was unusual for an agent to end up in this area, much less request a retrieval. The kind of trouble that required her participation rarely happened in small towns. Most of her assignments took her to the larger metropolitan areas around the state or deep in the desert or the mountains.

  In any event, whenever an agent was in trouble, she went in.

  She parked in front of the Franklin County sheriff’s office. Extracting agents from dangerous situations hadn’t exactly been a part of her plan when she started her career, but within two years of her first field assignment she found herself doing exactly that after one particular mission. The assignment, as well as the agent involved, had been high profile, garnering her the full attention of the powers that be. During that fateful mission she, as well as the Bureau, discovered her knack for getting in and out with particular ease. From that point forward, she had been focused on training for moments like this one. It wasn’t the sort of task just any agent felt comfortable doing. Success required a very particular skill set.

  Go in. Attain the target. Get out alive.

  Her father always said that everyone had a gift. Evidently, this was hers. It hadn’t failed her yet. She had no intention of allowing it to start today.

  Inside the brick building that housed the sheriff’s department and county jail, a female desk sergeant greeted her.

  “Special Agent Sadie Buchanan.” Sadie showed her credentials to the other woman. “I’m here to see Sheriff Tanner and Agent Ross.”

  “Good morning, Agent Buchanan. Down the hall and to the left,” Sergeant Rodriquez said with a gesture toward the long corridor beyond her desk. “They’re waiting for you in the conference room, ma’am.”

  Sadie thanked the sergeant and headed in the direction indicated. One thing she had noticed about Winchester already—and it was barely ten o’clock in the morning—it was a couple of degrees hotter than Nashville. The town was attractive in a quaint sort of way, on the shores of a lake and bordered by hills and woods. Most folks would see those hills and woods as nature’s perfect landscape. What Sadie saw in all that natural beauty were places to hide. Lots and lots of potential hiding places.

  Not a good thing when attempting to locate a target.

  She opened the door to the conference room and walked in. Four people waited for her but only one she recognized: Special Agent Deacon Ross. He, too, was assigned to Nashville. They’d only worked together on one occasion, but he had a stellar reputation. The last she’d heard he had taken an extended leave of absence.

  Maybe the rumors that he might not be coming back were just that—rumors. He certainly appeared to be involved in this case.

  “Agent Buchanan,” a tall, dark-haired man at the head of the table said as he stood, “I’m Sheriff Colt Tanner. We’re glad you could come.” He extended his hand.

  Sadie gave his hand a shake. “Happy to help, sheriff.”

  “This is Chief of Police Billy Brannigan.” Tanner gestured to another man; this one had brown hair and eyes and looked as much like a cowboy as the sheriff did.

  Brannigan extended his hand across the conference table. “Good to meet you, Agent Buchanan.”

  “Likewise, chief.” Sadie accepted the gesture and turned to the next man in the room. “Agent Ross.” She offered her hand.

  Ross gave her hand a shake and then turned to the woman at his side. “This is Cecelia Winters.”

  Sadie reached her hand out once more, this time toward the petite woman with the fiery mane of red hair. “Ms. Winters.”

  Winters brushed her palm briefly against Sadie’s but didn’t speak. Since she had the same last name as the target, Sadie assumed she was a wife or other family member.

  “Why don’t we have a seat and get started?” Ross suggested.

  Sadie pulled out a chair and sat down as the others resumed their seats. A couple of files and a stack of maps lay on the table. Not exactly the typical setup for a tactical mission briefing, but she’d gotten the impression this one was different than her usual assignment. She didn’t have a problem with different. As long as it didn’t get anyone killed. Sadie had yet to lose a target once she had identified him or her.

  “I imagine,” Ross said
, “you were briefed on the situation we have.”

  “I only just returned to Nashville late last night from an assignment in Memphis. I’m afraid the details I received are sketchy, at best. I was under the impression I would be fully briefed when I arrived.”

  This would certainly be her first briefing with a civilian present who was totally unrelated to the official aspects of the investigation. She had a feeling this assignment was going to become more and more unusual.

  “A particular group of extremists in the Franklin County area was pinpointed more than two decades ago. Gunrunning was suspected to be a major part of this group’s activities. Over the past few years suspicions of their involvement with kidnapping, possibly related to human trafficking, have surfaced. My former partner, Jack Kemp, investigated this group when it was first discovered but at the time there was not enough substantial evidence that the members were involved in anything criminal or illegal to warrant any sort of operation. Just over nine years ago that status changed, and Jack came back for a second look. During the course of that assignment he disappeared. Recently, new information about what happened to him has come to light. In part, that information was obtained through a civilian informant. Like most of us, Jack worked with a number of civilians.”

  “One of those informants was Levi Winters,” Sheriff Tanner added. “Levi has recently gone missing and we suspect this group may be involved.”

  Brannigan didn’t add anything. Sadie was undecided as to whether his continued silence was a good thing. Perhaps his involvement was only for informational purposes. The target was likely outside his official jurisdiction.

  “Is the Bureau opening a new case in the area?” Seemed a no-brainer. But Sadie was not up to speed on the happenings in Franklin County. The more Ross talked, the more she understood that he had friends in high places and that was why she was here. “Or is this one off the record?”

  The men in the room exchanged a look, which answered the question without anyone having to say a word.