A narrow staircase led to a small office above the workshop.
James had built the room himself.
There was a desk, a filing cabinet, several shelves, and a photograph of Ruth standing beside a fishing boat.
Walter examined the desk.
"Your husband was organized."
Ruth smiled sadly.
"He was obsessed with paperwork."
Mara opened the filing cabinet.
Most of the folders contained ordinary household records.
Tax documents.
Insurance policies.
Farm receipts.
Old invoices.
Then Tommy, who had joined them, discovered a locked drawer.
"Does anyone know where the key is?"
Ruth shook her head.
"James kept it."
Tommy examined the lock.
"Don't worry. We won't force it."
He looked around the desk.
A small metal container sat beneath a stack of notebooks.
Inside were several keys.
One fitted the drawer.
It opened with a soft click.
The contents were surprising.
A collection of printed emails.
Two handwritten notes.
A small digital recorder.
And a photograph of Victor Hale standing beside Arthur Voss.
Walter picked up the recorder.
"Does this work?"
Tommy checked the battery compartment.
"Possibly."
Ruth stared at the photograph.
"That's the man who came here."
Gabriel looked at it.
"Arthur Voss."
Mara examined the printed emails.
The first appeared to be a discussion about a proposed land purchase.
The second contained a reference to an account number.
The third was more disturbing.
It included a message from Victor to an unidentified recipient.
The Miller property is becoming a problem. James refuses to cooperate. We need another route.
Below it was a reply.
Then make sure the paperwork is handled before the next review.
Nobody spoke.
Walter felt a chill move through him.
The message did not prove a crime.
But it showed that James had been considered an obstacle.
And now he was dead.
Ruth looked at the recorder.
"Could there be something on that?"
Tommy nodded.
"We can check it."
He carefully removed the device and placed it in a padded case.
Evelyn Carter would need to determine how it could be examined properly.
As they prepared to leave, Walter noticed something beneath the desk.
A small envelope had been taped to the underside.
He removed it.
Inside was a handwritten note.
It contained three words.
Ask about the bridge.
Walter read it twice.
Gabriel frowned.
"What bridge?"
Ruth shook her head.
"I don't know."
Tommy opened the property map on his laptop.
"There used to be an old railway bridge near the eastern boundary."
Walter looked at the map.
He knew exactly which one.
It was the iron bridge beyond the abandoned mill.
The same bridge his father had taken him to when he was a boy.
The same bridge where Eleanor had once photographed their daughter.
Walter looked toward Gabriel.
"I think we need to go there."
They arrived at the old railway bridge shortly before sunset.
The structure stood above a narrow creek, its iron supports covered in rust and climbing vines.
The railway line had been abandoned for decades.
Tall grass grew between the wooden sleepers.
A faded warning sign hung from one side.
Walter stepped out of the truck.
"I haven't been here in years."
Gabriel looked around.
"Why would James tell Ruth to ask about this place?"
Walter walked toward the bridge.
"Because this used to be the only crossing on the eastern side of the county."
Tommy studied the map.
"There's a road planned here."
Walter nodded.
"Exactly."
Mara looked toward the opposite bank.
"If they control the bridge, they control access to the railway corridor."
Gabriel approached one of the support pillars.
There was a small metal plate attached to it.
He wiped away the dirt.
A number was engraved beneath the rust.
"What's that?"
Tommy photographed it.
"Could be a survey marker."
Walter examined the surrounding area.
Then he noticed tire tracks.
Fresh ones.
"Someone's been here."
Gabriel crouched.
"Recent?"
"Very."
A branch snapped in the trees.
Everyone turned.
A man stood near the far end of the bridge.
He wore a dark jacket.
For one brief moment, Walter thought it was Victor Hale.
Then the man stepped backward and disappeared into the trees.
Gabriel started forward.
Walter grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
Gabriel looked at him.
"He's getting away."
"And you don't know what he's carrying."
Gabriel stopped.
Tommy called Sheriff Carter.
Within fifteen minutes, two patrol vehicles arrived.
The officers searched the surrounding area.
They found no one.
But they discovered something else.
A small metal access box had been installed near the bridge.
Inside were several survey documents.
One contained a preliminary development map.
Another listed the properties required for the planned road connection.
Walter's farm was marked in red.
So was Ruth Miller's.
And the land belonging to Dennis, the retired truck driver whose workshop had been burned.
The sheriff examined the documents.
"These are important."