Elias asked:
“What was he doing with Ryland?”
Hanley shrugged.
“Land business.”
Lara felt cold.
A pattern emerging.
Caleb.
Thomas.
Forged marriage contract.
Boundary fraud.
Not random.
Elias looked toward her.
“This started before you.”
She nodded slowly.
“Maybe not.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father.”
Elias frowned.
“What about him?”
“He invested.”
“In what?”
“Railroads.”
“Mining.”
“Cattle companies.”
“Most failed.”
“Some didn't.”
She looked toward the survey.
“I never saw the full estate.”
“Thomas handled it.”
Elias’s eyes narrowed.
“Was there Dakota property?”
“I don't know.”
They searched probate records.
Not in Deadwood.
Then county land liens.
One document.
Higgins Mercantile Trust.
Boston.
Loan to C. Ryland Cattle Company.
Amount:
$18,000.
Collateral:
South River grazing interests adjacent to Whispering Pines.
Dated seven years earlier.
Before Elias’s father died.
Before the feud.
Lara stared.
“My father lent Caleb money.”
Elias whispered:
“Against land he didn't own.”
“Or thought he would own.”
A third document changed everything.
Assignment of collateral rights.
Transferred one year later.
From Higgins Mercantile Trust.
To Thomas Higgins personally.
Lara’s face went white.
“My brother owns Caleb’s debt.”
Elias stared.
Which meant Caleb Ryland had not merely hired Thomas for a marriage prank.
Thomas had financial leverage over him.
Maybe the entire scheme came from Boston.
Lara whispered:
“Why send me here?”
Elias looked at the forged contract.
“Maybe you're not the weapon Caleb chose.”
Lara looked at him.
“Maybe Thomas did.”
They returned to Whispering Pines after dark.
Neither spoke much.
Lara sat near the stove.
Elias poured coffee.
“Tell me about your father.”
She looked toward him.
“Why?”
“He made the original loan.”
Lara thought.
“Richard Higgins.”
“Merchant.”
“Investments.”
“Strict.”
“Not cruel like Thomas.”
“But…”
She stopped.
“But?”
“He believed family reputation was everything.”
“Mother?”
“Gentler.”
“She died first.”
“Father eight months later.”
“Did he have lawyers?”
“Several.”
“Who handled estate?”
“Thomas.”
“You never asked?”
Lara’s face hardened.
“I did.”
“What happened?”
“He showed me the will.”
“House and business to him.”
“Trust income to me.”
“Enough for clothing.”
“Medical care.”
“Small expenses.”
“Could you access principal?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Father said Thomas should administer it.”
Elias cursed under his breath.
Lara almost smiled.
“I said worse.”
“How much was the trust?”
“Thomas said twelve thousand.”
Elias’s eyes widened.
“That is not small.”
“No.”
“But he controlled disbursements.”
“Yes.”
“Could Thomas send you west because marriage ends the trust?”
Lara froze.
“What?”
“In some arrangements.”