They Called The Widow “Poor” and Took Her Seat—Five Minutes Later,They Learned Whose Railroad It Was
Chapter 10
The salt springs lay beyond a ridge.
A small settlement had grown there.
Workers boiled saltwater in large iron kettles.
Crane arrived first.
He ordered his men to burn the storage sheds.
Clara and Samuel reached the settlement minutes later.
Smoke covered the valley.
“Water!” Clara shouted.
Workers ran.
Samuel organized them.
Clara entered the main shed.
Inside were barrels of salt.
And records.
Crane was holding a lantern.
“You are too late.”
Clara stepped forward.
“Put it down.”
He laughed.
“You still don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“If these records burn, no one can prove the land belongs to your estate.”
“I don’t need the records.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I brought copies.”
Crane stared.
Clara lifted a leather case.
Her husband’s duplicate surveys.
Crane’s face fell.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
She opened the case.
He saw the papers.
His hand lowered.
“You’ve lost.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You have.”
For the first time, Crane looked afraid.
Samuel’s men surrounded him.
Crane dropped the lantern.
Samuel kicked it away.
The fire was extinguished.
Crane was arrested.
The land surveys were saved.
The salt springs remained under lawful ownership.
The transport road remained Clara’s.
And the conspiracy collapsed.
But Clara still had one final question.
“Who ordered my husband killed?”
Crane refused to answer.
Samuel looked at him.
“Tell her.”
Crane smiled bitterly.
“You think I was the highest?”
Clara’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“You never were.”
“Who was?”
Crane looked toward the east.
“The governor’s adviser.”
Clara closed her eyes.
The corruption reached farther than she had imagined.
But now they had evidence.
