I knew it was wrong.
I did it anyway.”
Then he looked at Gideon.
“And I nearly killed a man who had never done anything to me.”
Gideon read the confession after I wrote it down.
He said nothing.
But he did not turn away.
By morning, Coldwater was in turmoil.
The marshal’s men secured Saint Agnes.
Miriam examined Gideon and confirmed that the renewed bleeding was caused by irritation of the existing injury, not another leech.
The authorities recovered the ledger, the remaining records, and the blasting materials from the drainage chamber.
Isaac Moreno published an extraordinary account in his newspaper.
He included the medical evidence supporting Gideon’s competence, the old mine records, and the scheme to acquire North Fork.
For the first time, the town saw the so-called half-mad rancher as something other than a curiosity.
But the evidence against Vane created another problem.
My father had disappeared.
His house stood empty.
His horse was gone.
And the missing page of my mother’s statement remained missing.
Two mornings after Vane’s arrest, Merrick requested permission to speak with me.
He was being held in the county jail while the territorial authorities investigated his role.
I entered the small visiting room with Gideon beside me.
Merrick looked dreadful.
His face was swollen.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He did not seem to have slept.
When he saw me, he stood.
“Rosie.”
I remained near the door.
“What do you want?”
He looked at Gideon.
“I need to tell you something about Father.”
I folded my arms.
“Then tell me.”
Merrick swallowed.
“The night before your wedding, I heard him arguing with Vane.”
I waited.
“They said Gideon wouldn’t live through winter.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because they were going to keep making him sick.
