Hmm. If it exists? I wasn’t sure what to make of that comment, but I thanked her and waited until she’d left the room before I pulled the lid off the first box. Maps showed early plats of Mustang Mountain long before roads crisscrossed the area. There were ridges, creeks, and property lines drawn in faded ink. I laid the maps out on the table until it was covered, then started to compare them side by side.
At some point, they stopped lining up. The ridge line shifted. Not by much, but enough to be obvious, even to me. I picked up two maps and headed to the front of the library. Addy’s brows lifted as I approached.
“Can I get your take on something?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet. No need to draw unwanted attention from one of the few patrons nearby.
“Of course. But let’s go back to the Archives so we don’t disturb anyone.” She got up and led the way back to the small room.
I set the two maps down side by side. “Were the lines redrawn at some point? These don’t match up.”
“Yes.” Her voice came out small and quiet.
“Why?”
She pressed her lips together. “I’m not entirely sure. I just know that’s around the time when things stopped being straightforward.”
I scanned the margins of the plat history, my eyes catching on the names of Kincaid and Hollister. Sometimes they were listed separately. Other times they appeared on the same page. Once, surprisingly, both names were on the same line.
“This is interesting,” I murmured.
“Yes,” Addy agreed. “It sure is.”
I flipped to the year that matched the date on the marker Slade had found. The index jumped from one page to the next, skipping over the information I needed.
“This section is missing,” I said.
Addy frowned and reached for the box herself to double-check. “That shouldn’t be gone.”
“Is it common for records to disappear?”
She let out a frustrated breath. “Only when someone really doesn’t want questions asked.”
A chill crept up my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room.
“It might be best if you don’t mention to anyone that I stopped by today. At least until I have a chance to see if I can find some information about the missing records.” I hadn’t intended on asking a stranger to keep secrets for me, but under the circumstances, it seemed like it was for the best.
“I’ll look into it on my end as well and let you know if I find anything.” She nodded, more to herself than to me like she was trying to convince herself that’s what needed to be done.
“If you have time, that would be great.” Maybe I’d underestimated the local librarian. Maybe she could be an ally in a town that hadn’t exactly welcomed me with open arms. “I’m going to look through a few more boxes if you don’t mind me hanging around for a bit longer.”
“We close at four. Take all the time you need, just put everything back how you found it, please.”
“I will. Thank you so much for your help.”
She gave me a soft smile before disappearing through the doorway.
I spent the next half hour flipping through the other boxes but didn’t come up with anything else that looked off. So I copied what I could, put the boxes back on the shelf, and waved to Addy on my way out.
As I headed back toward town hall, the weight of what I’d uncovered pressed down on me. This wasn’t a clerical error or a misunderstanding. It looked like someone had edited history on purpose. I was determined to figure out what happened and why, even if it did stir up that nest of hornets Mayor Nelson warned me about. I’d watched men erase my work before. I wasn’t about to let history, or my own credibility, disappear quietly again.
But before I could dive into the map discrepancy, I needed to clear some time on my schedule. That shouldn’t be too hard since no one seemed to trust me yet with any important projects.
As I headed back to my office, an email notification buzzed on my phone. I glanced at the screen to find a formal notice for a meeting with attendance required.
Rodeo Committee Meeting — Tomorrow Morning
Agenda: Arena Site Review, Land Access, Environmental Impact
I’d heard rumblings about a few of the local ranchers wanting to set up a rodeo in town but was surprised I hadn’t received a head’s up before receiving a formal notice. Probably an oversight. I scrolled down the list of attendees until my gaze snagged on the name Slade Kincaid.
