Vane continued.
"Don't make the same mistake."
Catherine lifted the rifle.
"Samuel."
"Yes?"
"Take Caleb."
"Where?"
"Tunnel."
Samuel looked surprised.
"What tunnel?"
Catherine smiled faintly.
"The one Thomas built."
She moved a crate.
Beneath it was a wooden hatch.
Samuel opened it.
A narrow tunnel descended into darkness.
"Go."
Samuel helped Caleb down.
Then Catherine handed him the second rifle.
"You'll need this."
"What are you going to do?"
"Make sure they follow me."
"Catherine—"
"Go."
Samuel disappeared into the tunnel.
Catherine closed the hatch.
Then she opened the front door.
Vane stood outside with six men.
His smile appeared.
"There you are."
Catherine stepped into the moonlight.
"You've been looking for me."
"For a long time."
"You killed my husband."
Vane's smile faded.
"I didn't."
"You poisoned him."
"Careful."
"You sent men to my land."
"Careful."
"You killed Ruth Mallory."
His eyes narrowed.
Catherine smiled.
"Thank you."
Vane realized too late.
She had wanted him to admit it.
But there was something else.
A small metal object hidden inside her coat.
Thomas's old pocket watch.
Inside it was a folded piece of paper.
A list.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Thomas had discovered everything before he died.
And he had hidden the evidence.
Catherine had found it only two weeks earlier.
That was why she had come to Redemption Creek.
Not to sell hides.
Not merely for supplies.
She had come to find someone willing to testify.
Samuel had been that person.
Now the trap was closing.
Vane raised his pistol.
"You should have sold."
Catherine looked at him.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because this was never about the land."
She lifted the rifle.
"It was about making sure men like you couldn't own everything simply because nobody dared oppose you."
Vane laughed.
"You're alone."
A gunshot sounded behind him.
One of his men fell.
Samuel appeared on the ridge.
Then two more shots.
Vane turned.
Catherine fired.
The rifle exploded through the night.
Chaos followed.
Men scattered.
Horses bolted.
Samuel fired from the ridge.
Catherine moved from cover to cover.
Vane disappeared behind the barn.
She followed.
They reached the eastern ridge.
The underground spring ran beneath them.
Vane turned.
His pistol was raised.
Catherine's rifle was empty.
He smiled.
"Now you're out of bullets."
She dropped the rifle.
"Maybe."
He fired.
The bullet struck the rock beside her.
Catherine rolled.
She pulled the revolver.
Vane fired again.
She returned fire.
His pistol fell.
He staggered backward.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Vane looked toward the river.
"You don't understand."
"I understand enough."
"That land will make someone rich."
"Not you."
He lunged.
Catherine stepped aside.
He fell hard against the rocks.
Samuel arrived moments later.
He looked at Vane.
Then at Catherine.
"You all right?"
Catherine nodded.
"Are you?"
"Ask me tomorrow."
Behind them, the remaining men were surrendering.
Caleb emerged from the tunnel.
The dawn was beginning.
Pink light appeared above the hills.
Redemption Creek would wake soon.
But it would wake to a different story.
By sunrise, Sheriff Reddick was under arrest.
By noon, the town knew about Ruth Mallory.
By evening, two more families had come forward.
Within a week, investigators arrived from the territorial capital.