"He kept records."
"So did we."
"Then show them."
Silence.
Thomas folded his arms.
Charles looked toward the door.
Anna suddenly understood.
"You took money from the farm sale too."
"Be quiet."
Thomas's voice became dangerous.
"Don't speak to her like that."
Charles ignored him.
"Anna, give me the papers."
"No."
"This can end."
"It already ended."
"I can withdraw the complaint."
Thomas laughed once.
It was not friendly.
Anna's eyes narrowed.
"There it is."
Charles realized his mistake.
"If I stole your money, why would you withdraw anything?"
"I am offering mercy."
"No."
Anna stood.
"You're offering a bargain because you're afraid of what I have."
Charles's face changed.
He walked toward her.
Thomas moved between them.
"You're leaving."
Charles glared.
"This is none of your concern."
Thomas opened the door.
"Anything that comes through my front door becomes my concern."
For a moment Anna thought Charles might strike him.
He didn't.
Men like Charles preferred conflict when they controlled the consequences.
He picked up his hat.
At the door he looked back at Anna.
"You have no idea what you're doing."
For the first time in years, she answered him without fear.
"Neither did you when you followed me here."
He left.
Thomas watched the buggy disappear.
Then he closed the door.
Lily's voice came from the staircase.
"I don't like him."
Thomas looked upward.
"You were told to stay in your room."
"I did. The door was open."
"Lily."
"What? Sound travels."
Anna began laughing.
She couldn't stop.
The tension of the previous twenty minutes broke inside her.
Soon she was crying and laughing at the same time.
Thomas stared.
Lily came downstairs.
"Is she all right?"
Anna wiped her face.
"I think so."
That afternoon they examined every paper in Anna's suitcase.
Her father's notes revealed a pattern.
Three payments to Whitmore Mercantile did not appear on the final settlement statement Charles had given Anna.
Total missing credit:
$810.
Then Thomas found something else.
A note regarding a cattle sale.
Payment received by C.W. for deposit.
$275.
Anna stared.
"C.W."
"Charles Whitmore."
"He told me those cattle sold for less than that."
"If these numbers are right, he skimmed money before the farm was even sold."
Anna sat back.
The accusation against her now made sense.
Charles had stolen from the Millers.
Perhaps from his own family too.
Once his father's mercantile discovered missing cash, Charles needed someone convenient to blame.
Anna was poor.
Alone.
Already leaving.
And because she had been engaged to him, everyone knew she had visited the mercantile office many times.
Thomas said, "We need originals from Missouri."
"How?"
"Telegraph."
They went into Willow Creek the following morning.
Samuel Price was waiting for them before they even entered the station office.
"I have news."
Anna froze.
The old stationmaster lifted a telegram.