Truth Be Told

by Carol Cox

  Ben shook his head. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy. For one thing, I’m not planning to leave until Homer gets back and I know you have someone with you. In the second place, I won’t be going to the office in the morning. Or any other time, for that matter.” When he saw her startled glance, his lips twisted in a wry smile. “I quit my job today.”

  “Quit!” Amelia echoed. She clasped her hands together and squeezed until her knuckles turned white. “Why? Was it because of those papers you brought to show me?” Even as she asked, she felt sure of the answer. Not only had she treated Homer abominably the day before, but her obsession with investigating Great Western had nearly cost her Clara’s friendship . . . and now Ben’s job.

  He pursed his lips. “Let’s just say that when I asked Merrick about some of the things I found, I wasn’t satisfied with his answers.”

  She caught his sleeve in her hand. “Why? What did he say?”

  “It was more a matter of what he didn’t say. He was evasive, tried to fob me off until a more convenient time. I am more convinced than ever that we’re on to something here. I’m just not sure what’s behind it.”

  He ran his hand across the top of his head and gave her an apologetic look. “Maybe I shouldn’t have walked out like that. Now I won’t have access to the company files, and I’m sure there’s a lot more we don’t know yet.”

  Amelia’s lips trembled as the significance of what he had done struck home. “I’m sorry. I never intended for you to lose your job—your income.” What had she done? And would that mean he was going to leave? A deep emptiness filled her heart at the thought.

  “Right now, that’s the least of my worries. I haven’t had a lot of expenses here aside from paying for my room and board, so I have enough saved up to carry me over for a while. Actually, it may work in our favor.” His eyes lit up with a gleam that set her heart racing again. “Without any work responsibilities, I’m free to help you investigate. That is, if you still want me to.”

  Hope flickered within her. If Ben was offering his services, he couldn’t be planning to go back east anytime soon. “Why don’t you take a look at what I worked on yesterday. Maybe you’ll see something I didn’t. I have to admit I’m stumped.” She led him to the office and picked up a stack of papers from the corner of her desk. Then she hesitated and turned back to face him. “But first, I need to talk to you about something else. You and Homer both shared some painful things a few moments ago. Now it’s my turn.”

  Ben shot her a questioning look but remained silent.

  Walking to the farthest file cabinet, she opened the bottom drawer and pulled out the folded document that had shattered her perception of her father. Its weight lay heavy in her hand, and she wavered for a moment, trying to decide if she really wanted to reveal the ugly secret. As much as she needed a listening ear to which she could pour out her heart about Millie’s visit, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to place that burden upon Homer. His admiration for her father knew no bounds. She couldn’t believe he knew anything about this sordid partnership, and she couldn’t bear to put him through the same turmoil she felt.

  She studied Ben’s face, trying to gauge what his reaction might be. She’d asked him to trust her enough to look into the possibility of wrongdoing by the company he worked for. Was she bold enough to give him her trust when it came to her father’s reputation?

  The steady green gaze decided her. Breathing a quick prayer, she laid the document in his hand. “Up until a few days ago, I didn’t even know this existed. It was brought to my attention by—” she swallowed once and lifted her chin—“a woman named Millie Brown.”

  Ben’s eyebrows soared toward his hairline, but all he said was, “I’ve heard of her.”

  “Go ahead and read it.” Amelia clenched her hands and tried to keep her voice from cracking. “It’s easier than me trying to explain.”

  Ben unfolded the paper and began to read. Seconds later, his mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide. “But this is—”

  Amelia nodded, fighting back the misery that threatened to overwhelm her. “She told me she and my father had been in partnership for some time. Now that he’s gone, she wants to buy out my share.” The last two words came out in a bitter laugh. “Just a little while ago, Homer said my father was the godliest man he’d ever known. Before I saw this, I would have agreed with him wholeheartedly. But now . . .”

  Her throat tightened, and she struggled to choke out the rest of what needed to be said before she broke down completely. “What am I supposed to think? My father gave me the principles I live by, and those ideals of truth and integrity have been ingrained in me since I was old enough to understand what they mean. If my father wasn’t the man I thought he was, how can I trust anyone?

  “It’s impossible for me to accept that he could be involved in something like this, but there it is, in black and white, with his signature at the bottom.” She reached over and tapped the document. “And even worse . . .” She looked into Ben’s eyes, trying to bring his features into focus through the tears that clouded her vision. “I think Owen Merrick knows.”

  “Merrick!” Ben’s tone sharpened. “What does he have to do with this?”

  “I don’t know. I have no idea how he learned about it, but he’s made two comments to me lately that don’t make sense otherwise. One was about not digging into other people’s business, because I might not like what I turned up. Another time, he warned me that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” She fought back a sob as she gestured toward the paper. “I have no dark secrets, other than this. What else could he mean?”

  Ben pondered a moment, then said, “I’d like to take a closer look, if you don’t mind. Let’s light a lamp so I can see it clearly.” He bent over the desk in the pool of lamplight and studied the document again. When he straightened, a taut smile stretched his lips. “When was the last time you looked at this?”

  Amelia tilted her head and thought back. “I only read it one time, the day Millie told me where to find it in the file. After I realized what it was, I shoved it back in the drawer and left it there. I had no desire to see it again.”

  To her astonishment, Ben’s smile grew wider. “She told you where to find it?”

  She nodded. “Why?”

  Ben held the deed out to her. “Take another look—a close look, this time. Tell me what you see.”

  Mystified, Amelia held the paper under the lamp and read through the words that had turned her life upside down. Once again, she felt the bitter taste of bile rise in her throat. When she finished, she stared up at Ben. “What am I supposed to see here? Obviously, nothing has changed since the first time I read it.”

  He moved nearer and tapped the sheet. “How about the handwriting? Have you ever seen it before?”

  She studied the looping cursive without comprehending his meaning, then recognition blazed. She swung around to face him. “It can’t be.”

  Ben gave a grim nod. “I can’t be sure without comparing the documents side by side, but it certainly looks to me like the same handwriting we found on the purchase papers for the Rogers and Smith properties.”

  “The ones that were forged.” She stared at him and frowned. “But my father’s signature is on there. How do you explain that?”

  “Do you have something else here that bears his signature—one you know is genuine?”

  “Of course.” Going to one of the file cabinets, she pulled out a folder and extracted a paper. “Here’s the record of sale when he purchased some land from Virgil Sparks.” She handed it to Ben, who laid it alongside the first document.

  “Here.” He pointed to the signature at the bottom of the brothel deed. “See the way the W in Wagner is formed?”

  Amelia nodded slowly. “Yes, the points at the bottom of the letter aren’t really points at all. They’re rounded, with a bit of a loop to them.” A faint flutter of hope began to stir within her. “When my father signed his name, I used to t
ease him about how precisely he formed every letter. The points at the bottom of his W’s were so sharp they looked like pitchfork tines.”

  She bent over the papers again, feeling her excitement rise. “You’re right. Now that I know what to watch for, there are other differences, as well. Like the A in Andrew and the J he used for his middle initial. The differences are small, but they’re obvious when you examine them closely.” She straightened and rubbed the muscles in the small of her back. “I was so stunned when that woman came here and made those dreadful accusations, the idea of forgery never entered my mind. Once I saw that the signature appeared to be his, I never gave it a second glance.”

  “I’m sure she was counting on that. Not only would you be too shaken to examine it thoroughly, you wouldn’t be likely to take something like that anywhere to have it checked for authenticity, even if you did suspect.”

  “But she offered to pay me two thousand dollars.” Doubt reared its ugly head again. “She even showed me the cash, Ben. Why would she do that, unless there’s some truth to this? It doesn’t make a bit of sense.”

  “It does, if someone put her up to doing it.” When she stared at him with a blank expression, he went on. “Think about it. The handwriting on this so-called deed is the same as those other documents that were in the files at Great Western. And you said Merrick seemed to know about your father’s supposed alliance with Millie Brown.”

  Amelia gasped. “You mean he’s behind the whole thing?”

  “It certainly appears that way to me.” Ben strode across the office floor, then back again, warming to his subject. “If he was trying to keep you from going further in your investigation and discovering whatever Great Western is up to, what better way to distract you than with something so repugnant it would turn your focus away from the company and its dealings? If that didn’t work, those veiled threats of his were designed to keep you in line. And if you’d accepted that money from Millie, he would have been able to hold that over your head forever.”

  “You’re right.” Amelia’s chest felt so tight, she could hardly breathe. Ben’s explanation might only be speculation, but it had the ring of truth. “That would explain so many things. And if they’re trying so hard to cover things up, there has to be something they don’t want us to find.”

  The confirmation of her suspicions galvanized her into action. Folding the deed, she shoved it into its drawer and turned back to the folders on the desk. Opening the one on top of the stack, she laid the contents out for Ben to see. “See if you can make any connections here. I even made a sketch of the area, showing all the properties I could think of.” She pulled her handmade map from the desk drawer and spread it out before them.

  Leaning over the desk, she indicated a number of properties she’d marked. “I thought at first it had to be something related to the mining claims, but that doesn’t explain Great Western’s purchases over in these other areas. Why would they be interested in those properties? I thought of the railroad, too. Several of the parcels are near the established line, but there doesn’t seem to be any connection between those and the rest. Then”—she gestured at an area toward the top of her drawing—“there are these others out in the middle of the forest.”

  Stepping back, she folded her arms and shook her head. “I can’t make any sense of what Great Western could be up to. Try as I might, I can’t find anything these parcels all have in common.”

  While she spoke, Ben shuffled through the papers, sorting them into quick piles and arranging them along the perimeter of the map. A look of amazement crossed his face, and he let out a low whistle. “You’re right—they aren’t just interested in the mining. When I see it all laid out like this, it looks to me like their plans are far bigger than that.”

  Amelia stepped closer, her breath quickening. “What do you mean?”

  “They’ve set their sights a lot higher than the ore they can take out of the ground. Ownership of these areas would give them control of so much more: vast tracts of timber and key locations along the proposed railroad route to Phoenix. This isn’t just about mining, Amelia. They’re positioning themselves to become the land barons of Arizona.”

  Amelia let out her breath on a shaky sob, and his brow furrowed. He reached out to steady her with his hand. “Are you all right?”

  She hesitated, then gave a brief nod. “It’s just the idea of Thaddeus Grayson wielding that much power. I can’t bear to imagine what that might mean for the people in this area.” She rallied enough to give Ben a reassuring smile. “But it certainly explains why Merrick has been so dead-set against those articles my father printed. Neither of them wanted the public to figure out what was going on.”

  To her surprise, Ben shook his head. “It would definitely have repercussions for the people living here, but there’s nothing illegal about any of that, at least as far as what we can see. And that is what concerns me—Merrick had no reason to react the way he did unless there’s something more at stake.”

  Amelia nodded, catching his drift. “Legitimate businessmen don’t send thugs around to intimidate people. And then there’s that whole business with Millie Brown.”

  “That’s right. And it would also explain why Merrick was so bent on assigning me to spend time with you.” Ben snapped his fingers. “I haven’t told you yet what else I found while I was going through the financial records. It seems a company called Southwest—”

  Amelia raised her hand to cut him off. “Wait a minute. Merrick sent you to get acquainted with me?”

  Ben looked startled at her sharp tone, then he gave a small shrug and chuckled. “He had a plan for me to strike up a friendship with you to try to sway your opinion of the company and convince you to print a retraction of those articles your father wrote. If he had any idea you had access to all this and we might join forces to piece it together, a retraction would have been the least of his worries.”

  He went on speaking, but Amelia seemed locked in a moment where time stood still. She could hear Ben’s voice going on, but a loud buzz filled her head, and she couldn’t make out the words.

  She fought to fill her lungs with air. The deep breath cleared her head, and she turned on him, her eyes blazing. “Are you telling me the reason you started paying attention to me was because you were following Owen Merrick’s orders?”

  Cut off in midsentence, Ben snapped his mouth shut and stared at her. “That was his plan to begin with, but—”

  Her chest heaved, and her hands tightened into fists. “The invitation to the poetry reading the first time you approached me—was that your idea, or his?”

  His hunted expression was answer enough. Remembering Homer’s suspicions, she advanced on him and jabbed a finger at his chest. “Did you do something to disable that buggy so you’d be able to come along and be my valiant knight? So you could worm your way into my good graces?”

  Without waiting for him to respond, she turned on her heel and marched out into the printing office. He caught up with her near the Peerless press. Catching her arm, he turned her to face him. “Everything I already told you about what happened that evening was the truth. I saw you driving out of town and thought if I could catch up to you, it would give us a good opportunity to talk and get acquainted. But I had nothing to do with that buggy wheel coming off.”

  Amelia squeezed her eyes shut and felt a tear trickle down her right cheek. She dashed it away with an angry swipe of her hand. “So that’s all I was to you—a project? An assignment?”

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave them a gentle shake. “I’ll admit, our first encounter stemmed from my following orders. But once I got to know you—”

  She pushed his hands aside and backed away from him. “I stuck up for you with Homer and told him you were a man we could trust. I even thought—” Her mouth twisted as the memory of their near kiss played through her mind. She choked back a sob. “I think you’d better leave.”

  He spread his hands wide. “But, Amelia, I—”


  “Not now, Ben. Please, just go.”

  Chapter 27

  Ben handed the money for his fare to Thomas Rafferty, who slid a pasteboard ticket across the depot counter in return.

  “You won’t have long to wait,” the station agent told him. “The train’s due in just a few minutes.”

  Ben nodded his thanks and carried his satchel across to the lone bench on the platform, where he sank down onto the wooden seat. Just a few minutes, Rafferty had said. He glanced down the length of First Street. If he hurried, he could make a quick dash to the Gazette and tell Amelia good-bye.

  He got to his feet, hefted his satchel in his right hand, and trotted down the platform steps to the streets. It was unlikely she would welcome a visit from him after the way things had ended the night before. Still, he had to try.

  He strode along briskly past the false-fronted buildings that lined First Street. What had possessed him to drop that comment about Merrick’s assignment to him in such a casual manner? That slip of the tongue was almost as stupid as taking the duty on in the first place. But if he hadn’t done it, he might never have gotten to know Amelia.

  He had long ago discarded Merrick’s order as his reason for continuing to seek out her company, but Amelia had no way of knowing that. And considering the way he’d blurted out the information, he couldn’t blame her for the way she had reacted.

  As he passed the Great Western building, a blaze of anger rose within him. Owen Merrick had gotten him into this situation. By ordering Ben to finagle his way into Amelia’s good graces, the man had undermined any possibility of his relationship with Amelia beginning on a completely open footing.

  Be honest, Ben. He turned his anger toward its rightful target—himself. He could have said no to Merrick’s ill-advised scheme right from the start. It would have been the honorable thing to do. But he’d been too excited at the prospect of being hand-picked for an assignment that seemed sure to win Merrick’s favor and help him move forward in the company.