Sanctuary Lost WITSEC Town Series Book 1 by Lisa Phillips Page A

until the kid
shifted his head from under his hand. “Let’s go see about the
sleeping arrangements, yeah? It’s been a long day.”
    “Can’t we stay for the movie?”
    “Not tonight. It’s late and we still need to
unpack.”
    They stepped outside, waving to those who
called goodnight to them. John took Pat’s hand and they walked
across the street. To the right of the Meeting House the doctor and
his wife stood together, both looking up the street. A quarter mile
up where the street ended, Andra walked along with a flashlight in
one hand lighting her way as she stepped off the road toward the
trees.
    A second later, she was gone.

Chapter 5
    Just after nine the next morning John stood
in the sheriff’s office with his second cup of coffee. He stared at
the map of the town tacked to the wall. Sanctuary was shaped like a
wrapped piece of candy. The buildings and houses in the middle were
an oval and the sides fanned out—the ranch on one side and the farm
on the other.
    He stepped closer and looked in the direction
he’d seen Andra walk last night. The map showed nothing but trees,
although a broken line delineated a path running from that corner
of the town up into the foothills. It was possible a structure had
been built but never added to the map. The previous sheriff must
have known something, but John couldn’t exactly call him and
ask.
    The bell over the door rang and Deputy Palmer
strode in. “You’re up. I figured you’d be getting settled.”
    “Just getting a feel for the place.” He
didn’t intend on working his first day. But there was a lot to this
job he felt didn’t have much to do with office hours or procedure.
Too much of it was human interaction and dealing with people
co-existing alongside one another. He needed to do that in a way it
would last.
    With Pat still sleeping, John had pulled on
jeans and a t-shirt and dug up some clean socks before he slipped
his sneakers on and came down for a look around. The apartment door
was open, in case Pat called out. Especially since in the middle of
the night he’d burrowed into John’s side. Again.
    Deputy Palmer sat at his desk and fired up
his computer. “Questions?”
    John sat at his desk. The chair was huge and
the stuffing had been squished into submission buy someone whose
frame was considerably larger than his. “Sure. Was most everyone at
the dinner last night?”
    “Far as I could tell. I think old man Jenkins
is still at the medical center but he might have been sent home
before the dinner. He has the flu but he’s like ninety.” Palmer
grinned.
    There was a lot about him that reminded John
more of a little boy playing dress-up than a man in uniform
protecting his town.
    “You’re probably sick to death of shaking
hands. I know I’d never remember all their names if I learned them
in one night.” Palmer clicked his mouse and typed, his eyes scanned
the screen and then he logged it off again.
    “The files are all back here?” John motioned
to the wall of cupboards behind him. Each was locked with a
padlock, the keys for which were in John’s safe. “For everyone in
town?”
    “Families are grouped together, so you can
find out who testified and who they brought into the program with
them. They’re more like case files than personnel files and there
are one hundred thirty-two which cover all the residents’ cases.
Families are in one file, so there are more than that many people.
Still, it’ll probably take a year to get through all of them.”
    John glanced at the cupboard doors. If he
started with Andra’s, would it be obvious why? “And the reports
filed by the sheriff’s office?”
    “All that’s computerized now, so you’ll find
it on your desktop although Chandler liked paper so mostly he had
Dotty type up his reports even though that’s not part of her job.
She’ll be in on Monday.”
    Palmer filled a hot cup from the pot John had
brewed and set his hat back on his head. Was John going to have to
wear one