HE GAVE WATER TO A WOUNDED APACHE WOMAN—BY SUNRISE 300 RIDERS SURROUNDED HIS RANCH, AND THE BUNDLE SHE CARRIED THREATENED TO DESTROY HIS FAMILY NAME

By nightfall, Jonah was at Torne Ranch.

He had resisted until Corvin told him the alternative was staying alone in an office where someone had already put a bullet through the wall.

Three hundred Apache riders remained around the valley, but their formation had changed.

Small camps burned along the ridges.

Mara's people were not preparing to attack.

They were preparing to stay.

Inside the ranch house, Helena's documents covered the dining table.

Jonah read silently for nearly an hour.

Mara watched him.

Finally she asked, "Do you believe us now?"

Jonah rubbed his eyes.

"I believe my mother was better at hiding things than I remembered."

Corvin pointed to the covenant.

"Is it enforceable?"

"Possibly."

"Possibly isn't useful."

"This is territorial law, Corvin, not arithmetic."

Jonah examined the seal.

"If this was properly recorded, there's a copy somewhere."

"Where?"

"County books. Territorial archive. Maybe a federal land office."

Mara placed a finger beside a notation.

"Helena wrote 'duplicate filed with C.M.'"

Jonah frowned.

"C.M."

Corvin thought.

Then both brothers spoke at once.

"Caleb Mercer."

Mara waited.

Jonah explained.

"Mercer was a circuit preacher who also worked as a translator and witness for land agreements. He died years ago."

"Family?"

"A daughter," Corvin said. "Rebecca Mercer. Runs the schoolhouse outside Carrick."

Jonah stood.

"We need to see her."

Mara shook her head.

"Not tonight."

"Why?"

She pointed toward the dark windows.

"Because the men who followed me yesterday know you have the box."

Jonah gave Corvin a grim look.

"For once I agree with her."

The elder entered carrying a small metal object.

He set it on the table.

A bullet.

Mara translated his explanation.

"Found near where I was attacked."

Corvin examined the flattened base.

A tiny marking had been stamped into the brass.

Jonah frowned.

"Army?"

"No," Corvin said. "Rourke orders ammunition in bulk for his deputies."

Mara nodded.

"I saw one man clearly."

"Rourke?"

"No."

"Who?"

She looked at Jonah.

"The man who fired at me had a scar under his left ear."

Jonah went still.

Corvin noticed.

"You know him."

Jonah poured himself water.

"Maybe."

"Name."

"Calder Voss."

Corvin knew the reputation.

Voss was a former cavalry scout turned private security contractor. He worked for rail companies when they needed workers frightened, strikers broken, or landowners convinced to move.

"Vane hired him?"

Jonah swallowed.

"I did."

Corvin stared.

Mara's eyes narrowed.

"You hired the man who tried to kill me."

"No."

Jonah raised both hands.

"I hired him six months ago to provide security for survey crews. I didn't authorize violence."

Mara moved toward him.

At six feet two, she made Jonah look smaller.

"Men who sell violence rarely wait for permission."

Jonah accepted the rebuke.

Corvin leaned against the table.

"How many men?"

"Twenty, perhaps thirty."

"Where?"

"I terminated the contract two months ago."

"Why?"

"One rancher complained Voss threatened his family."

Corvin laughed bitterly.

"And you suddenly discovered a conscience?"

Jonah looked at him.

"No. I discovered he had copied confidential maps from my office."

That changed the room.

"What maps?"

"Rail surveys. Water tables. Mineral assessments."

"Black Ridge?"

Jonah nodded.

Corvin looked at Mara.

Voss had known exactly what he was chasing.

Jonah reached for Helena's map.

Under lamplight, faint writing became visible near the lower edge.

Not ink.

Indentations.

Mara brought the lamp closer.

Corvin laid a blank sheet over the map and rubbed charcoal lightly across it.

Letters emerged.

Helena had written on another sheet while the map lay beneath it.

The pressure had left an impression.

Jonah read slowly:

GIDEON BELIEVES THE VEIN RUNS DEEPER THAN PIKE REPORTED. SILAS'S FATHER OFFERED ELIAS $40,000 FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTROL. ELIAS REFUSED AFTER LEARNING WHAT GIDEON DID AT DRY CREEK.

Corvin looked at Jonah.

"Dry Creek?"

Jonah's face had changed.

"What?"

"I've heard that name."

"Where?"

"When I was a boy. Father and Gideon argued about it."

Mara asked, "What happened there?"

Jonah shook his head.

"I don't know."

The elder suddenly spoke.

Mara's expression became grave.