Jasper had torn the sleeve from his expensive coat.
Charles claimed Lily had followed him voluntarily.
Nobody believed him.
By afternoon, Josiah Whitmore arrived in Willow Creek.
He was not what Anna expected.
Charles's father had once seemed enormous to her.
A wealthy merchant.
A respected man.
Someone whose approval could determine whether the Miller family received credit through winter.
Now he looked old.
He entered the station office with shoulders bent and eyes exhausted.
A bank representative named Mr. Lewis accompanied him.
Thomas stood beside Anna.
Deputy Harris stood near the door.
Samuel Price sat behind his desk.
Charles was brought in last.
His face changed when he saw his father.
Josiah did not greet him.
Mr. Lewis placed several ledgers on the desk.
"We examined Whitmore Mercantile's accounts after receiving your telegram."
Anna held her breath.
He opened the first ledger.
"Mrs. Miller."
"Miss."
"My apologies. Miss Miller. Your father's account was overstated by eight hundred ten dollars at settlement."
Anna closed her eyes.
Exactly the amount shown in her father's notes.
Lewis continued.
"Three cash payments were received but never credited."
"Who received them?"
Lewis looked toward Charles.
"Charles Whitmore signed two receipts."
Charles said, "That proves nothing."
His father finally looked at him.
"Be quiet."
Charles stared.
Josiah had apparently never spoken to his son that way before.
Mr. Lewis opened another book.
"After the Miller property sale, four hundred twelve dollars should have remained after verified debts and fees."
Anna's throat tightened.
Four hundred twelve dollars.
Enough to have changed everything.
Enough for a room.
Train fare.
Months of food.
A beginning that did not require arriving in Willow Creek with twelve cents.
"What happened to it?"
Lewis answered gently.
"It was transferred into a private account controlled by Charles Whitmore."
Anna stared at him.
Charles looked away.
Thomas's hand tightened at his side.
Lewis continued.
"The missing nine hundred forty dollars from the mercantile appears to be part of a larger pattern of unauthorized withdrawals over approximately fourteen months."
Deputy Harris asked, "Total?"
"More than thirty-one hundred dollars."
Even Thomas looked surprised.
That was a fortune.
Charles suddenly stood.
"My father knew."
Josiah's face changed.
"I knew nothing."
"You would've discovered it eventually."
"So you blamed Anna?"
Charles pointed toward her.
"She was leaving."
The room became silent.
Anna felt physically ill.
He said it as though that made the choice logical.
She was leaving.
She was alone.
She was convenient.
Charles continued, panic replacing control.
"Nobody was supposed to find her. She was supposed to disappear west."
Thomas moved.
Anna placed one hand against his arm.
He stopped.
Charles looked at her.
"You weren't supposed to have those papers."
Anna understood.
"My father's notes."
Charles said nothing.
"You searched my room before I left."
His eyes revealed the answer.
She remembered now.
One drawer had been open when she returned from church on her last Sunday in Missouri.
At the time she assumed she had forgotten to close it.
Charles had been looking for the records.
When he could not find them, he accused her of stealing.
Then followed her west because he feared she carried evidence.
The entire truth unfolded in the small railway office.
And suddenly Anna did not feel weak.
She felt tired.