Clara reached into her portfolio.
She removed a folded copy of the field-book page.
Her fingers trembled as she handed it over.
Caleb leaned toward the lantern.
There, beneath a series of measurements, was a short handwritten reference.
Hart — northern quarry approach — old marker.
Caleb stared.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he looked toward Clara.
"How long have you had this?"
"Since my father died."
He swallowed.
"Why didn't you show me?"
She looked down.
"I didn't know whether I could trust you."
The answer hurt.
But he understood it.
He looked at the page again.
The northern quarry.
The old marker.
His name.
Five years of unanswered questions suddenly rose inside him.
"Did your father ever mention Thomas Hart?"
Clara frowned.
"Thomas?"
"My brother."
She shook her head slowly.
"Not that I remember."
Caleb stared at the page.
For a moment, he seemed to be somewhere far away.
Then he spoke.
"My brother died near that quarry."
Clara went still.
Her lips parted.
"When?"
"Five years ago."
She looked toward the map.
Then back at Caleb.
"Was he a surveyor?"
"A guide."
He swallowed.
"Worked with a survey party."
For a moment, Clara couldn't speak.
Then she whispered, "For Gideon Voss?"
Caleb looked up sharply.
Their eyes met.
Neither answered.
Neither needed to.
The possibility hung between them.
Samuel Whitmore had found suspicious changes in land records.
Thomas Hart had died while guiding surveyors through the same region.
And the man now sending riders after Clara was connected to both.
Caleb looked toward the window.
For years, he'd believed his brother died during a confrontation with rustlers.
But what if the rustlers weren't the reason Thomas had been killed?
What if the survey party had discovered something worth hiding?
And what if the truth he'd searched for so desperately had been sitting inside a young woman's traveling case all along?
He turned back.
"Clara."
She looked up.
His voice was low.
"I need to see everything your father left."
She nodded.
"All right."
He hesitated.
Then added, "And I need you to understand something."
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
He leaned closer.
"If those records connect to Thomas's death, Voss may have more to hide than a stolen water claim."
Clara looked toward the door.
For a moment, fear returned.
Then she turned toward Caleb.