Chapter 6 - The Ledger

The next morning, Elias and Nia searched the ranch.

They found nothing.

Not in the barn.

Not beneath the house.

Not in the cellar.

Then Nia noticed the old fireplace.

"Your father rebuilt this."

Elias looked closer.

"He did."

"Why?"

"I never asked."

Nia tapped one brick.

It sounded hollow.

Elias removed it.

Behind it was a narrow compartment.

Inside rested a leather ledger.

Elias opened it.

Names filled the pages.

Landowners.

Officials.

Bankers.

Judges.

Payments.

Dates.

Amounts.

At the bottom of several pages appeared the same initials.

S.V.

Elias looked at Nia.

"Silas Vane."

She shook her head.

"No."

"What?"

"Those aren't his initials."

She pointed to a name.

"Samuel Vane."

Elias stared.

"His father?"

"Yes."

The ledger was older than Elias.

Some entries dated back thirty years.

One page listed a payment to a territorial clerk.

Another showed land transfers involving ranches that had mysteriously changed ownership.

Then Elias saw something unexpected.

Thomas Carter's name.

Next to it was a payment.

Elias's face tightened.

"My father took money."

Nia shook her head.

"Look at the column."

Elias did.

The entry read:

Refused.

Below it:

Threatened.

Then:

Protected evidence.

Elias closed his eyes.

His father hadn't participated.

He had resisted.

But there was another entry.

Mateo's name.

Beside it:

Dead if he speaks.

Nia's breathing stopped.

Elias looked at her.

"Your father knew."

"He knew they would kill him."

A sound came from outside.

Horse hooves.

Elias closed the ledger.

Too late.

Three men surrounded the house.

Then came Vane's voice.

"Carter!"

Elias raised his rifle.

"What?"

"Give me the ledger."

Nia whispered:

"Don't."

Vane continued.

"You don't understand what you're holding."

Elias looked at the pages.

"Apparently, neither do you."

A shot struck the wall.

Vane shouted:

"Last warning!"

Elias moved toward the back door.

Nia stopped him.

"There's another way."

"Where?"

She pointed toward the cellar.

"My father showed me once."

They descended.

Behind the shelves was a narrow tunnel.

Elias stared.

"Where does this lead?"

Nia smiled grimly.

"To the place your father didn't want anyone to find."

A second later, something exploded upstairs.

The house shook.

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Elias grabbed the ledger.

"Then we move."