Chapter 5 - THE DOCTOR WHO REFUSED TO LEAVE
Eleanor arrived before sunrise.
Samuel had sent a ranch hand to fetch her.
She examined Martha's cut hand, checked Laya for injuries, and inspected the shattered window.
Then she turned toward Samuel.
“You need to leave.”
He shook his head.
“This is my home.”
“And someone is trying to kill you.”
Samuel looked toward Laya.
“She won't survive another abandonment.”
Eleanor stepped closer.
“Then take her somewhere safe.”
Samuel hesitated.
“Where?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“My house.”
Her home stood near the edge of town.
A small white building with a garden, a stable, and a medical office attached to the back.
Samuel frowned.
“That's not safe either.”
Eleanor smiled faintly.
“Neither is standing still.”
He studied her.
“Why are you helping us?”
She looked toward Laya.
“Because somebody should have helped her six months ago.”
By noon, they had moved Laya and Martha into Eleanor's home.
Samuel remained at the ranch with two trusted hands.
He wanted to catch whoever had threatened them.
But the more he investigated, the more disturbing the truth became.
The county records were incomplete.
The Blackwater accident report had been altered.
And the asylum ledger contained a suspicious entry.
Laya had been delivered by a man named Henry Voss.
A wealthy landowner.
A friend of Sheriff Reed.
And the owner of several silver mines.
Samuel visited the county clerk.
An elderly man named Joseph Finch.
Finch looked nervous when Samuel mentioned Voss.
“Best leave that name alone.”
Samuel leaned forward.
“Why?”
Finch swallowed.
“Because people who ask questions about Henry Voss tend to disappear.”
Samuel stared.
“Like Laya's parents?”
Finch looked away.
Then whispered, “Her father wasn't a poor traveler.”
Samuel frowned.
“What?”
Finch lowered his voice.
“His name was Elijah Morrison.”
Samuel nodded.
“I know.”
Finch shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
He leaned closer.
“Elijah Morrison owned the land beneath Voss's richest silver mine.”
Samuel went still.
“And when Elijah refused to sell, strange things began happening.”
Samuel's jaw tightened.
“Such as?”
Finch looked toward the door.
“Threats. Fires. Missing documents.”
He swallowed.
“Then Elijah died.”
Samuel left the courthouse with a terrible understanding.
Laya wasn't unwanted.
She was inconvenient.
As Elijah Morrison's surviving daughter, she might inherit land worth a fortune.
And someone had been trying to erase her.
That evening, Samuel rode to Eleanor's house.
He found her sitting beside Laya in the garden.
The little girl was placing stones in a circle.
Eleanor looked up.
“Any news?”
Samuel nodded.
“Her father owned the Blackwater silver tract.”
Eleanor's face changed.
“Henry Voss?”
“Yes.”
She stood slowly.
“Samuel, that man is dangerous.”
“I know.”
Eleanor glanced toward Laya.
Then whispered, “My husband investigated Voss before he died.”
Samuel stared.
“What?”
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“He found evidence of illegal mining claims.”
Samuel went still.
“How did your husband die?”
She looked at him.
May you like
Then said quietly:
“They told me it was an accident.”
