Notary Public, Record Room – Day
Spencer sticks his head in and doesn't like what he sees. Gideon is amidst unbelievable disarray. Tables, shelves and baskets of unevenly piled documents. He looks on a shelf, confused and then goes to a table lifting papers mumbling. "Damn…damn…damn."
"Master Gideon…" Gideon turns and is a bit startled. "Perhaps, I could assist in finding them?"
"Well…that might be…helpful."
A few hours later Gideon is asleep in a chair, snoring and his blind eye open. Spencer and Derek face official looking documents, with Spencer focused on one will in hand.
"My father had farm land. It was the only thing we owned of any value." Derek tells him.
"And it now belongs to you, according to William. I heard him say it."
"Yes."
Spencer turns the will in his hand to Derek. "Then look here at your father's will, and tell me why you are not listed." Derek takes it confused and Spencer grabs another. "Van Garrett had denoted his elder son in his last wishes; the same son murdered along with him. But Van Garrett's wife and two infant children are not written…and they were spared." Spencer picks up another will. "Do you see? Rossi had no family to bestow his farm to. But here…" He picks up another. "Emily Prentiss was listed on her late husband's will. After her inheritance, she amended the document to include her unborn child. This is why the Horseman made absolutely certain to impale the unborn descendant." Spencer sits back. "Only the heirs were killed. Proof that the Horseman's slaughters by assignment."
"But, if the farm is not mine, who stole it away?"
"No one yet, far as I can tell. It has gone intestate."
"In test…what?"
"Intestate. Your farm…all the farms…they belong to no one."
"What does it mean?"
Spencer looks at him. "Often in such cases, property which has gone intestate legally passes to whomever the deceased was indebted to. And, who in this town is owed a great many debts?"
"William Archer."
"Did your father take a loan?"
"Yes. I rode with him on payment days."
Spencer stands grimly, gathers the wills and his ledger. "Tonight, we answer questions. And, to discover who moves about the Archer house after dark…all we need is a candle."
They hear a loud noise in the other room and Spencer looks. They burst in and no one is there. A chair has been knocked over and the front door is ajar and Spencer moves.
Outside the Notory building, Spencer and Derek look all around and the people in the square as before. They have no idea who it was who just fled.
Archer House, Spencer's Room – Day
Derek is sitting in a chair and extremely bored. Spencer writes in his ledger. There is a knock on the door and they both look up. "Constable…are you there? Spencer?" They hear Lila say. The knob is tried and found locked. At the bottom of the door, a red rose is passed under and this saddens Spencer.
Church – Night
It is a quiet night and the church is a sight, with a yard filled with tents and surrounded by crosses. Up in the belfry, two riflemen are on watch.
Archer House, Spencer's Room – Night
Spencer and Derek are in darkness and still are waiting. Spencer takes the cover off of a lantern and looks at the clock. It is midnight and he stands up and picks ap an unlit candle. "Midnight seems an appropriate time." They both go into the hallway and they look out cautious. They move to the nearest door. Spencer crouches and uses the candle to mark the seam of the door and the door frame. He's making a wax seal. If the door opens the seal will break. They move to a second door and quietly make another wax mark.
Archer House, Main Entrance – Night
Spencer and Derek come downstairs to the hall and Spencer continues to make wax markings at each door.
William's Office – Night
Spencer and Derek enter the room and shut the door. Spencer walks to shelves at William's desk, looks through ribbon bound documents and hands some to Derek. Derek pulls off the ribbon and pages through the loan agreement parchments and Spencer brings another pile.
"They are alphabetical." Spencer tells Derek.
Derek looks through the M documents and doesn't find the one that his father signed. "There is no Morgan here. My father's loan papers are missing."
"There are none for any of the victims."
They hear a floorboard creak. Spencer looks and blows out the lantern. They both stand frozen. Across the room a light comes under the door, stops and continues. A door is heard opening and shutting. Spencer crosses to follow and points back. "Keep looking. Then, hide in my room and bolt the door till I return."
The Forest
Spencer sees the lantern move far ahead and he follows. Further on in the forest, Spencer stops and hides. He can see the light ahead, but it is no longer in motion and he advances.
In the forest clearing a lantern sits on a rock. On a blanket, a semi-naked man and semi-naked woman are in the midst of rough sex. Spencer crawls to peer from the underbrush. The couple keep coupling, with the man on top. His grunts and gasps are particularly desperate. He's all over the woman who lays back. Spencer sees that it is Lady Isabella Archer. Spencer swallows and inches closer. Lady Archer pulls the man's shirt and exposes his flesh. She raises a small, sharp knife behind his back and Spencer's eyes widen. She brings the blad to her own hand, slicing deep in her palm. Blood flows and she rubs her cut hand over her partner's arching back and smears the blood. Lady Archer caresses the man's chest, neck and face…trailing the blood. The man lifts his head, in ecstacy and sucks the woman's bloody fingers and Spencer sees that it is Reverend Charles Hankel. Spencer backs away because he has seen enough.