Land parcels.
He turned several pages.
“This is Vane's operation.”
“Yes.”
“What did your husband do?”
“Accounting.”
“He found these numbers?”
“He discovered that Vane was buying cattle that had already been paid for.”
Ethan frowned.
“Explain.”
“Vane has been stealing cattle from small ranchers. But that's only the beginning.”
She pointed at the ledger.
“These payments were made to the county land office.”
Ethan stared.
“Bribes?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“Land.”
She turned another page.
“Vane plans to force thirty-seven ranch families off their land.”
Ethan looked up.
“How?”
“He's been arranging fraudulent debts. Once the ranchers can't pay, Vane buys the properties through intermediaries.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“Whose name is on the final contracts?”
Clara hesitated.
“Judge Hollis.”
Ethan leaned back.
Judge Hollis was the most powerful man in Cedar Ridge County.
If Clara was telling the truth, the entire town government was involved.
“Why didn't you take this to the sheriff?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He told me to stop asking questions.”
Ethan closed the ledger.
“Your husband?”
“Dead.”
“Sheriff?”
“Paid.”
“Vane?”
“Untouchable.”
Ethan looked toward the window.
Night had fallen.
Somewhere beyond the darkness, riders were moving through his country.
He handed the ledger back.
“You can stay here tonight.”
Clara looked at him.
“And tomorrow?”
“We'll decide.”
She shook her head.
“No. Tomorrow I leave.”
“Where?”
“South.”
“Vane will be watching the road.”
“Then east.”
“Same problem.”
“Then west.”
“Same.”
Clara stared at him.
“You have an answer for everything.”
“No.”
Ethan stood.
“I just know this country.”
He walked toward the door.
Clara called after him.
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
Then he stepped outside.
He did not see the figure watching the ranch from the darkness.
But the figure saw him.
And smiled.
A Man Named Vane
Silas Vane arrived in Cedar Ridge the next morning.
He wore a black coat despite the heat.
His silver watch chain glinted across his vest.
Two armed men rode behind him.
Vane stopped outside the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Amos Reed came out.
“You're early.”
“I'm impatient.”
“Bennett still missing?”
Vane smiled.
“Not missing.”
“No?”
“Found.”
Reed's expression changed.
“Where?”
Vane looked toward the northern hills.
“At Ethan Cole's ranch.”
The sheriff swore quietly.
“You sure?”
“Very.”
“You want me to arrest Cole?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because Cole isn't the problem.”
Vane adjusted his gloves.
“The woman is.”
Back at the ranch, Ethan watched Clara saddle the bay mare.
“You're really leaving.”
“Yes.”
“You'll be dead before sundown.”
She tightened the cinch.
“You have a talent for encouragement.”
“You don't understand what Vane owns.”
“I understand exactly.”
She mounted.
Ethan stood in front of the horse.
“Wait.”
Clara sighed.
“What?”
“Look.”
He pointed toward the eastern ridge.
Three riders.
Too far to identify.
But watching.
Clara slowly dismounted.
“You see them?”
“Yes.”
“They followed us.”
“Probably.”
“What do we do?”
Ethan walked toward the barn.
“We make them think you left.”
An hour later, Clara rode out wearing Ethan's old coat and hat.
Tom accompanied her.
They took the northern trail.
From a distance, anyone watching would assume Ethan had sent one of his ranch hands away.
Meanwhile Clara remained hidden inside the ranch house.
That night, Ethan received a message.
A stone had been thrown through the kitchen window.
Attached to it was a piece of paper.
RETURN THE LEDGER OR THE RANCH BURNS.
Ethan read it twice.
Then placed it beside the lamp.
Clara watched him.
“You should give it to them.”
“No.”
“They'll kill you.”
“They already threatened to burn my ranch.”
“Exactly.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I've spent twelve years building this place.”
“And you're willing to lose it for me?”
“No.”
Clara looked relieved.
Ethan continued.
“I'm willing to lose it because Vane thinks he can take it.”
She stared at him.
For the first time, something changed between them.
Not trust.
Not yet.
Something smaller.
Respect.
The Ambush
They left before dawn.
Ethan, Clara, Tom, and the ranch hand named Will rode east toward an abandoned mining road.
The plan was simple.
Take Clara to a federal marshal stationed eighty miles away.
If the marshal saw the ledger, Vane's reach might finally end.