Chapter 13 Sabotage #2
Richard Whitmore arrived only moments later.
Neither looked pleased.
Harold got straight to the point.
“We need to talk.”
Jax led them into the ranch office.
As soon as the door closed, Richard spoke.
“The sheriff questioned Eli.”
“I know.”
“The town knows too.”
“I know.”
Harold folded his hands.
“This situation is getting worse.”
“For who?”
“The ranch.”
Jax almost smiled.
“Everything always comes back to the ranch.”
“Because hundreds of people depend on it.”
“And Eli doesn’t?”
Richard sighed patiently.
“This isn’t about him.”
“It became about him the moment someone planted evidence.”
Harold leaned forward.
“Whether he’s guilty or innocent isn’t the only issue.”
Jax stared at him.
“Explain that.”
“The appearance of favoritism.”
“You’ve continued defending him publicly.”
“Because he’s innocent.”
“The investigation isn’t finished.”
“I don’t need it to be.”
Richard shook his head.
“Jax...”
“If the sheriff eventually arrests him...”
“He won’t.”
“...the ranch cannot appear connected.”
Jax stood up slowly.
“So what exactly are you asking me to do?”
Harold answered quietly.
“Distance yourself.”
“No.”
“At least until this is resolved.”
“No.”
“It would protect the ranch.”
“It would abandon an innocent man.”
Richard looked genuinely frustrated.
“You’re making this personal.”
“It is personal.”
The room became silent.
For the first time, neither board member attempted to argue.
Jax met their eyes one by one.
“I’ve spent my whole life choosing this ranch over everything else.”
“I know.”
“I’ve done it willingly.”
“But I’m done sacrificing people simply because fear makes everyone uncomfortable.”
Harold lowered his gaze.
“We’re trying to help.”
“I know.”
“But this time you’re wrong.”
The meeting ended without agreement.
Neither Harold nor Richard seemed angry.
Only worried.
As they drove away, Jax remained standing on the porch.
He understood why they feared another scandal.
He simply couldn’t allow that fear to dictate his choices anymore.
Sam joined him a few moments later.
“That went about how I expected.”
“You were listening.”
“I wasn’t trying to.”
Jax laughed softly.
“The walls in this office have always been thin.”
Sam nodded toward the machinery yard.
“You really believe someone framed Eli.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“I know it.”
“So what now?”
Jax looked toward the damaged tractor.
“Now I prove it.”
He returned to the equipment shed where deputies had already finished collecting evidence.
Most people assumed the investigation was over until forensic reports came back.
Jax wasn’t willing to wait.
He began exactly where the saboteur had started.
The damaged machinery.
He examined each cut hydraulic line again.
Every broken wire.
Every damaged engine component.
One detail continued bothering him.
Nothing had been stolen.
A thief would have taken expensive tools or spare parts.
The saboteur hadn’t.
Whoever did this wanted destruction.
Not profit.
He walked toward the western fence where the toolbox had supposedly been discovered.
The ground remained soft from recent rain.
Most footprints had already been trampled by deputies and ranch hands.
Still...
Near the fence line he noticed something unusual.
Deep impressions.
Boot prints.
Larger than average.
The tread pattern looked familiar.
Not cowboy boots.
Heavy work boots.
The kind often worn on construction sites.
He knelt carefully despite protesting ribs.
The sheriff’s team had photographed the prints but apparently dismissed them among dozens of others.
Jax sketched the pattern into his notebook.
“There you are.”
Sam approached carrying a dusty cardboard box.
“I found these in the storage shed.”
“What are they?”
“Security system manuals.”
Jax looked up.
“Security?”
“The previous owner installed cameras years ago.”
“I forgot all about them.”
“So did everyone else.”
Together they hurried toward the small maintenance office attached to the machinery shed.
The old surveillance monitor still sat beneath a layer of dust.
“I doubt this thing even works.”
Sam plugged the recorder into the wall.
To both their surprise, a small green light blinked.
“I’ll be...”
Jax quickly searched through the menu.
Most of the recordings had already overwritten themselves after several weeks.
Only one camera still held footage from the previous night.
The western equipment yard.
His pulse quickened.
“Come on...”
The grainy black-and-white recording appeared on the monitor.
Nothing happened for nearly twenty minutes.
Then, shortly after one-thirty in the morning, movement entered the frame.
A single figure dressed in dark clothing climbed through the western fence.
The person’s face remained hidden beneath a hood and mask.
They moved confidently.
Purposefully.
Like someone who already knew the layout of the ranch.
“There.”
Sam pointed toward the screen.
The figure crossed directly beneath one of the floodlights.
For only a second.
Just long enough.
Jax paused the recording.
The image blurred slightly.
Not enough to hide the boots.
Heavy black work boots with thick reinforced toes.
Reflective yellow stitching wrapped around the ankles.
Sam frowned.
“I’ve seen those before.”
“So have I.”
“They aren’t ranch boots.”
“No.”
“They’re safety boots.”
Jax zoomed in as far as the old recording allowed.
A small company logo appeared on the side.
Barely visible.
Still recognizable.
Ridgeway Construction.
The name struck him immediately.
Ridgeway Construction.
The company currently handling site preparation for the new commercial development east of town.
The same development financed by investors connected to land once owned by Redstone Development decades earlier.
Jax looked slowly toward Sam.
“That’s not a coincidence.”
Sam shook his head.
“I don’t think it is.”
Jax closed the recording and immediately reached for his phone.
For weeks he and Eli had suspected someone powerful wanted the truth buried.
Now they finally had something tangible.
Not enough to solve everything.
But enough to prove they had been looking in the right direction all along.
Whoever sabotaged the ranch hadn’t simply worn ordinary work boots.
They had unknowingly carried a piece of their employer’s identity straight onto Harlan Ranch.
And for the first time since discovering the locked trunk, Jax felt they were finally close enough to force someone into making a mistake.
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