Evelyn looked toward Caleb.
He seemed furious.
Whitcomb added quietly.
“Pike said something strange in that letter.”
Evelyn looked back.
“What?”
“He said he had seen the money accepted.”
The room fell silent.
Then Whitcomb continued.
“And he believed the person who claimed otherwise was lying.”
Evelyn felt tears gather.
For years, she'd been told her father was irresponsible.
That he'd borrowed more than he could repay.
That he lost everything through pride.
Now a living witness might be able to confirm he'd settled the debt.
She took a slow breath.
“Then we find him.”
Caleb nodded.
“Yes.”
Whitcomb studied her.
For a moment, his expression softened.
“You sound very much like your father.”
Evelyn smiled through tears.
“I hope so.”
The attorney reached for her hand.
Then said something she'd remember long afterward.
“Miss Hart, if your father was wronged, then the truth deserves to be established, no matter how powerful the man responsible has become.”
Amos Whitcomb placed his spectacles on the table and looked directly into Evelyn's tear-filled green eyes. For the first time since Henry Hart's death, she heard a lawyer speak about her father's property without treating the matter as hopeless. Caleb stood beside her, his massive shoulders tense beneath his weathered linen shirt, watching the old attorney with an intensity that made him seem almost dangerous.
Evelyn drew a slow breath. “Then help me prove it. I don't care how long it takes, Mr. Whitcomb. I want to know what happened to my father, and I want Victor Harrow to explain every dollar he claimed we owed.”
Whitcomb nodded. “We'll begin with Samuel Pike. If he carried that payment and witnessed its acceptance, his testimony could establish something these books alone cannot. But we must also find out precisely what was recorded against the property, because a payment receipt doesn't automatically undo a later conveyance.”
Caleb stepped forward. “I'll find him.”
Evelyn turned sharply. “We'll find him.”
For a moment, Caleb looked surprised. Then he saw the determination in her face and gave a small, almost embarrassed smile.
“Yes,” he answered. “We will.”