Chapter 6 - Thirty Missing CattleEthan wanted to ride immediately.
Margaret stopped him.
“In the dark?”
“They can’t have gone far.”
“They want you angry.”
“They stole thirty cows.”
“They want you to do something stupid.”
That sentence stopped him.
His father had once said the same thing about cattle thieves.
A thief could steal an animal.
An angry rancher could lose the whole ranch trying to recover it.
Sheriff Bell arrived with deputies.
They photographed the fence.
Tire marks.
Boot prints.
The note.
The cattle tracks showed the missing animals had been pushed toward trailers parked beyond the ranch boundary.
Professional.
Quick.
Planned.
Bell said:
“Wade’s going to say he repossessed collateral.”
“He had no court authority,” Ethan said.
“He doesn’t need to be right. He just needs to create another argument.”
Margaret understood.
Every new dispute cost time.
Every day without certainty weakened the ranch.
Bell sent the cattle brand numbers to livestock markets across the region.
If Wade tried selling them openly, someone might notice.
But cattle moved fast.
Brands could be obscured.
Animals could cross state lines.
The next morning, Margaret walked the herd herself.
She knew many cows individually.
Number 214.
Gone.
Red 76.
Gone.
Old June, one of Robert’s last breeding cows.
Gone.
Margaret touched the empty tag hook on the record board.
This was no longer paper.
It was personal.
Ethan found her.
“We’ll get them back.”
“Don’t promise things you can’t control.”
He nodded.
She had become harder in three days.
Or perhaps more precise.
Promises did not matter.
Evidence did.
A call came before noon.
A sale barn in New Mexico had received twenty-four cattle matching the Hale brand.
The seller listed was not Wade.
It was a company called Mesa Range Holdings.
Ethan frowned.
Never heard of it.
Sheriff Bell had.
Mesa Range Holdings had been created eight months earlier.
Registered agent:
Leon Dace.
Margaret stared.
“So Leon isn’t just the paperwork man.”
“Maybe not.”
Bell cautioned her.
“Or someone used his name too.”
The sale barn agreed to hold the cattle temporarily.
Six remained missing.
Wade publicly denied involvement.
He told local radio the Hale family was “inventing accusations to avoid legitimate debt.”
Margaret heard it in the kitchen.
She turned off the radio.
Ethan said:
“Let him talk.”
“He’s making us sound like thieves.”
“People know us.”
“People knew Samuel Reed too.”
Ethan had no answer.
That evening, a reporter called.
Margaret refused comment.
Ethan wanted to explain everything.
She stopped him.
“Wade wins if this becomes shouting.”
“So we say nothing?”
“We say what we can prove.”
That became their rule.
The loan is disputed.
The notarization date is inconsistent.
Cattle were removed without court authorization.
Investigation ongoing.
Nothing else.
Some neighbors supported them.
Others whispered.
Maybe Ethan really borrowed the money.
Maybe Margaret knew.
Maybe the cattle story was complicated.
Rumor did what Wade needed.
It blurred.
Then Bo Rusk appeared after midnight.
Alone.
No horse.
He parked an old truck behind the barn.
Ethan met him outside with a rifle lowered at his side.
“What do you want?”
“Put that down.”
“Give me a reason.”
Bo looked exhausted.
“Because I came to tell you where the other six cattle are.”
Margaret stepped onto the porch.
“Where?”
“Wade’s south holding pasture.”
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“Why tell us?”
Bo looked toward the darkness.
“Because Leon Dace is alive.”
Margaret froze.
“You saw him?”
“No.”
“He called me.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“What did he say?”
Bo rubbed his face.
“He’s scared.”
“Of Wade?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“What does Leon know?”
Bo swallowed.
“Everything.”
The forged contracts.
The shell companies.
The altered payment records.
The cattle sales.
Even the men who intercepted Ethan.
Margaret felt hope for the first time.
Then Bo added:
“But Wade knows Leon called me.”
“How?”
“I think my phone line is tapped.”
In 1990, rural party lines and simple extensions made privacy imperfect.
Margaret did not care how.
Only what it meant.
Bo looked at Ethan.
“If Leon tries to come in, Wade will stop him.”
“Then we get to him first.”
Bo shook his head.
“You still don’t understand.”
He looked toward the dark road.
“Wade isn’t alone in this.”
A vehicle appeared in the distance.
Headlights.
Coming fast.
May you like
Bo turned pale.
“That’s him.”
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