Free Killing Halfbreed by Zack Mason Page B

do seem to point toward your brother."
    "My brother was no rustler."  My eyes thinned in annoyance.
    "Maybe, but the rustling did start up about the time he came to the area.  Aside from that, he owed this bank a firm mortgage on his property, and he was having trouble paying.  I gave him all the grace I could, but when he disappeared, I'd been just about ready to foreclose.  I figured he simply took his herd and left town to keep me from collecting.”
    "You don't know beans about my brother then!  Ben had more honor than that!"  Ben had more honor than that?  I was starting to talk about Ben in the past tense as if I were sure he was dead.  I couldn't allow myself to give up like that.
    "Do you have a copy of this mortgage document?"
    "Why sure, it's in one of the files somewhere.  I'll have to dig it out and show it to you later."
    I leaned forward and stared him straight in the eye.  "Andrews, let me be plain.  I don’t believe there ever was such a mortgage.  Seems like a mighty easy thing to claim when the man ain't here to defend himself.  I happen to know Ben came out here with a large amount of savings he intended to use to buy land and stock.  He did both, and he would have had more than enough to tide him over while he got started. Why would he need a mortgage?"
    "I don't know why, and I don't think I approve of what you're insinuating, Talbot.  I will produce the document shortly and you may inspect it to your heart's content."
    "Well, until you do, I'm claiming that ranch as my rightful property, at least until my brother is found.  I’m going to rebuild it for him, and I don’t want no interference."
    "No objections here.  Having that ranch be profitable would of course be more beneficial to me than empty land.  If you wish, I can give you an extra grace period to get things off the ground before I start requiring payment."
    "You're not getting a dime out of me, Andrews, until you produce that document showing my brother signed away his rights!"  Standing up abruptly, I turned for the door.  This had been a waste of time.
    Behind me, the portly financial agent called out, "I'll bring it by soon, Talbot.  In the meantime, good luck to you!”
     
    ***
     
    After Talbot left, the banker took a handkerchief from his desk and blotted drops of sweat from his forehead.
    That had been close.
    Carlton was impressed with himself that he'd been able to invent the deal about the mortgage on the spot like that.  Now, he'd have to come up with the fictional document and make it look real.
    It’d been quite a risk, but that property was too valuable to let some upstart take it over without any investment on his part.  There was too much to lose.  And if forgery didn't work, there was always Plan B.
     

 
         Meeting with the banker had not only been a waste of time, but had complicated matters even further.  I had very little doubt that Andrews was inventing the whole mortgage deal.  I knew my brother not only wouldn't have needed to go into debt, he would have been dead set against it, even if the need had been there.  We Halfbreeds had been raised to never be indebted to another man.
    I’d wait and see if he produced some document substantiating his claim.  I could be wrong, couldn't know for sure, but it’d have to be well-proven to me before I could believe it.  Instinct told me this was just some desperate money grab on his part.
    Once again, I found myself facing a dead end, not knowing which way to go.  The sheriff would never see me, and there probably weren't many other people in town who would either.  So, I turned to every man's last resort, the bartender.
    I remembered Red Jenkins had pulled a shotgun on me when I'd shot Tom.  I also remembered him as being a fair and decent sort, not one to choose sides in an argument.  I might be able to count on him for information.  If not, I'd better watch my words because I’d bet my last dollar he still had that shotgun out of