Then he closed the door.
"Give me two hours."
They waited.
Two hours later, the presses began running.
Pages rolled through the machine.
Hale's crimes were printed in black ink.
Land theft.
Bribery.
Murder.
Fraud.
The truth spread through Mercy Falls.
People gathered in the streets.
Ranchers who had lost their land came forward.
Families who had lost loved ones began speaking.
For the first time, Hale's power began to crack.
Then the church bell rang.
A rider came through town.
"Hale's men are coming!"
Elias stepped outside.
Dozens of riders were approaching.
Anna stood beside him.
"You can't fight all of them."
"No."
Elias looked around.
"But I don't have to."
One rancher stepped forward.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon, more than fifty armed citizens stood in the street.
An old farmer raised his rifle.
"My land was stolen."
A woman beside him said:
"My husband was murdered."
Another man stepped forward.
"My son disappeared."
Elias looked at them.
"Hale wanted us alone."
He raised his rifle.
"So we stop being alone."
The first gunshot rang out.
Then Mercy Falls erupted.
The Man Behind the Curtain
The battle ended before sunset.
Hale's men fled.
Some surrendered.
Others disappeared into the countryside.
But Victor Hale was gone.
Elias knew where he would go.
Blackwater Ranch.
They rode there that night.
The main house was empty.
But the barn wasn't.
They found Caleb Rusk tied to a chair.
Someone had beaten him badly.
Elias cut the ropes.
"Who did this?"
Rusk laughed weakly.
"Hale."
"Where is he?"
"Mexico."
Elias frowned.
"You expect me to believe that?"
Rusk shook his head.
"He wants you to."
He pointed toward the floor.
"There's a tunnel."
They opened it.
The tunnel led beneath the ranch.
At the end was a hidden room.
Inside was a desk.
On it were dozens of letters.
And one photograph.
Elias picked it up.
His father.
Standing beside Victor Hale.
And Thomas Reed.
All three men were young.
Anna stared.
"They knew each other."
Elias found another document.
It explained everything.
Years earlier, Elias's father and Thomas Reed had worked together to stop Hale.
But Hale had framed Elias's father as a criminal.
Reed had been forced out of office.
Elias's father stayed silent to protect his family.
Reed continued investigating.
And Hale spent years eliminating everyone who knew the truth.
Anna looked at Elias.
"There's one more thing."
She pointed to a letter.
It was from Hale.
"To whoever finds this: the original evidence is not at Morgan Ranch."
Elias read the final line.
"It is beneath the courthouse."