Chapter 14 - The Book in the House
Caleb wanted to break into Hargrove's ranch that night.
Eleanor Shaw refused.
“You're already accused of cattle theft.”
“Which you disproved.”
“Not yet in court.”
“Silas could be dead.”
“And if you trespass on Hargrove property carrying a rifle, Reeves gets to kill you and call it defense.”
Kalisa nodded.
Caleb glared at both women.
“I don't enjoy being the least patient person in every room.”
Eleanor almost smiled.
“Then improve.”
They needed legal access.
Eleanor sent a telegram to Deputy U.S. Marshal Nathan Cole in Prescott, attaching allegations involving stolen army ammunition and forged federal land records.
That bought them nothing immediately.
So they searched another way.
Mary's copied list named twenty-two people.
One was still alive and reachable.
Daniel Voss.
Former army quartermaster.
Former Hargrove cattle manager.
He now owned a feed store in Tucson.
Caleb and Kalisa rode south.
Voss tried to close the store when he saw them.
Caleb blocked the door.
“Captain Ward.”
Voss froze.
Kalisa added, “Nantan.”
Voss went white.
They entered.
Voss poured himself a drink.
“You people are five years too late.”
“That doesn't make us wrong,” Caleb said.
Voss laughed bitterly.
“No. Just unlucky.”
“Did you sell ammunition to Hargrove?”
“Yes.”
“For money?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
“Because he owned me.”
“How?”
Voss stared into the glass.
“I gambled. Owed men in Tucson. Reeves paid the debt.”
Kalisa asked, “Did he order attacks?”
Voss looked at her.
“He never said ‘attack Apache.’ He said move cattle. Leave tracks. Fire where no one gets hit.”
“But people got hit.”
“Because once fear started, everyone brought guns.”
Caleb leaned closer.
“And Mary?”
Voss's eyes dropped.
“She found the ledger.”
“The black book.”
“Yes.”
“What was in it?”
“Payments. Dates. Supplies. Men.”
“Why did Reeves keep that?”
“Because Reeves trusts numbers more than people.”
Caleb thought of Hargrove's meticulous ranch records.
“Silas says the book is still in his house.”
Voss nodded.
“Probably.”
“Where?”
“Reeves had a hidden wall compartment behind the portrait of Colonel Hargrove.”
“His father?”
“Yes.”
Kalisa's eyes narrowed.
“You knew about San Aurelio?”
Voss shook his head.
“No.”
“Did you kill Nantan?”
Voss looked sick.
“No.”
“Who did?”
“I don't know.”
Caleb slammed his palm on the counter.
“Everyone doesn't know.”
Voss flinched.
“I know Silas brought his body to Price. I know Reeves was angry because Nantan had followed our ammunition wagon.”
“Was he alive when Silas found him?”
Voss looked at Caleb.
“I never asked.”
Cowardice again.
Different shapes.
Same cost.
Before they left, Voss caught Caleb's sleeve.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“The day Mary died, Reeves came back after midnight.”
“From where?”
“He never said.”
“What did he look like?”
Voss hesitated.
“Like he'd been in a fight.”
Caleb's pulse quickened.
“And?”
“There was red cloth caught on his saddle buckle.”
Kalisa touched the scarf at her wrist.
Caleb went cold.
Voss continued.
“I asked him if he was hurt.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Not my blood.’”
Caleb stepped outside before he did something violent.
Kalisa followed.
He stood in the Tucson street breathing hard.
“Mary asked me not to become him.”
Kalisa said nothing.
“I understand why she wrote it now.”
They returned two days later.
Deputy Marshal Nathan Cole was waiting at Caleb's ranch.
So was Eleanor.
Cole held a federal warrant.
Caleb felt the first real hope he had experienced in years.
Then Eleanor spoke.
“The warrant is not for Hargrove's house.”
Caleb frowned.
“Why?”
Cole removed another document.
“Because Reeves Hargrove filed a complaint before we arrived.”
“For what?”
Cole looked directly at Kalisa.
“The theft of military property and conspiracy to incite violence.”
Caleb stared.
“Against who?”
Cole's expression was grim.
“Tokala.”
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
Hargrove was not defending himself anymore.
He was trying to put the old lie into a courtroom before Caleb could put the truth there first.
