Chapter 10 - The Man Who Made Lies Legal
Everett Crane occupied the finest office in Fort Garrett.
That alone told Elias something.
Crane had spent twenty years describing himself as a public servant.
Public servants rarely owned mahogany desks imported from St. Louis.
Elias entered on crutches.
Jonah stayed outside.
Sani waited across the street.
Crane looked up from his paperwork.
He was sixty, thin and silver-haired, with carefully trimmed whiskers.
His eyes dropped to Elias’s leg.
“I heard about your accident.”
“I heard about my house.”
Crane’s expression did not change.
“Terrible.”
“Men mentioned your name while burning it.”
“That seems careless of them.”
Elias almost smiled.
“So you’re not denying it.”
“I’m not dignifying it.”
Elias sat without permission.
Crane folded his hands.
“You resemble Caleb.”
“So everybody keeps telling me.”
“Your father was intelligent.”
“Did you help kill him?”
Crane sighed.
“You inherited his lack of patience too.”
Elias placed a copy of the forged 1876 deed on the desk.
Crane glanced at it.
“You notarized this.”
“Yes.”
“I never signed it.”
“Then perhaps your memory is poor.”
“I was in Kansas.”
“People travel.”
“I can prove where I was.”
“Can you?”
Elias leaned forward.
“You’re comfortable because most men I know settle arguments with guns.”
Crane smiled.
“And you intend something more sophisticated?”
“I intend to bore you.”
The smile faded.
“With receipts. Dates. witnesses. Land records. Bank stamps. The sort of things men like you use because you think poor people don’t keep them.”
Crane leaned back.
“Do you know why Harlan Voss will win?”
“Because you help him cheat?”
“Because he understands ownership.”
Crane gestured toward the window.
“The West is changing, Mister Boone. Railroads. mines. towns. Courts. A piece of land without a clear title is not sacred. It is inefficient.”
Elias felt anger rise.
“People live on that inefficient land.”
“People live everywhere until somebody builds something valuable.”
“You forged my signature.”
Crane’s voice cooled.
“Be careful what you accuse a federal officer of doing.”
“You’re not federal anymore.”
A flicker.
Jonah had told him Crane resigned from government service two years earlier but continued presenting himself as an adviser.
Crane smiled again.
“Very good.”
Elias opened Ruth’s Bible.
He removed Mara’s letter.
Crane’s eyes changed.
Tiny.
But enough.
“You recognize this handwriting.”
“No.”
“You knew Mara.”
“I processed several petitions involving her community.”
“Did you know Caleb?”
“Yes.”
“Silas?”
“Yes.”
“Harlan Voss?”
“Obviously.”
Elias placed the ledger on his lap without opening it.
Crane watched.
“What would happen if this book reached the territorial land commissioner?”
“Probably nothing.”
“What if Silas testified?”
“A confessed forger?”
“What if I brought the original mortgage receipts?”
Crane’s expression remained calm.
“What original receipts?”
Elias knew then.
Crane did not know whether they survived.
Good.
“My house burned before I could find them.”
Crane relaxed slightly.
There.
Elias had what he needed.
“You’re a bad liar,” Crane said.
“I’ve had poor teachers.”
Crane stood.
“This conversation is finished.”
Elias remained seated.
“One question.”
“No.”
“Why did Voss want me to find the bracelet?”
Crane stopped.
Elias continued.
“You thought the bag contained only the ledger.”
Crane turned slowly.
“Who told you that?”
Nobody had.
Elias had guessed.
Crane’s reaction confirmed it.
“So Voss didn’t know about the pouch either.”
Crane’s face went blank.
Elias stood awkwardly on the crutches.
“That means Silas put it there without telling either of you.”
“Leave.”
“And Tavan knew enough to chase me.”
Crane stepped around the desk.
“You have no idea what you’ve walked into.”
Elias smiled coldly.
“Neither did you.”
He headed for the door.
Crane said behind him:
“Ask Tavan about the original survey.”
Elias stopped.
“What about it?”
“Your father did not merely survey Cedar Basin.”
Crane’s voice was almost gentle.
“He changed the boundary.”
Elias turned.
“To protect the land?”
Crane smiled.
“To steal it.”
Elias stared.
Crane continued.
“Caleb Boone made himself trustee over land that never belonged to him.”
“That’s your version.”
“It is written in the original survey.”
“Which is missing.”
Crane’s smile widened.
“Exactly.”
Elias left.
Jonah waited outside.
“What happened?”
“He wanted me angry at Tavan.”
“That means?”
“It means we’re getting close to something.”
Sani approached.
“A rider came.”
“From Tavan?”
“Yes.”
He handed Elias a message.
Only six words.
SILAS IS GONE. CRANE HAS HIM.
Elias looked back at the office window.
Everett Crane was standing behind the glass.
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Watching him.
And smiling.
