Inside were copies of ranch ledgers, a survey, a deed, and several letters bearing the signatures of men she didn't recognize.
But one document immediately caught her attention.
A receipt dated October 1883.
Received from Henry Hart, $6,800 in final settlement of the secured note held against Willow Creek Ranch.
Beneath it was a signature.
Victor Harrow.
Evelyn stared.
Then looked toward Caleb.
“He signed it.”
Caleb leaned closer.
For a moment, his expression hardened.
“Yes.”
She looked toward the date.
Then toward the account she'd copied in March.
The numbers matched.
The timing matched.
And the notation corresponded to the same payment that Victor's books continued treating as outstanding security.
Evelyn's mind began moving faster.
She turned another page.
There was a copy of the original mortgage.
Then an acknowledgment of satisfaction prepared for filing.
The acknowledgment lacked the county recorder's final notation.
She frowned.
“Why wasn't this recorded?”
Caleb hesitated.
“I don't know.”
She looked toward the bundle.
Then opened a letter written by her father to an attorney in Granite Falls.
The letter asked the attorney to investigate why Victor refused to deliver the original note and execute the final release.
Evelyn swallowed.
Then she found another letter.
This one came from Victor.
It stated that additional charges remained due because of an alleged modification to the loan.
But the modification wasn't included.
Evelyn examined the figures.
For several minutes, she worked silently.
Then she looked up.
“Caleb.”
“Yes?”
“He's charging the ranch twice.”
Caleb frowned.
“What?”
She pointed toward two entries.
“The same freight advance was added to the original note and then carried into the supposed modification. These charges don't reconcile.”
He leaned closer.
She continued.
“And if Father paid the settlement amount, Victor had to account for that payment before claiming the debt remained outstanding.”
Caleb studied the page.
For a moment, he seemed astonished.
Then whispered, “Good Lord.”
Evelyn looked toward him.
“What?”
He shook his head.
“Your father told me you were clever.”
Her cheeks grew warm.
Caleb continued.
“He didn't tell me you could find a crooked number faster than I can find a broken fence.”
She laughed through tears.
For a moment, the tension eased.
Then she looked toward the rest of the documents.
“There must be more.”
Caleb nodded.
“There is.”
He pointed toward a folded survey.