Chapter 10: Finishing Touches

It was a happy trip back to the ranch. We were back in business again without the threat of our credit being withdrawn. We had immediate access to a full one-hundred-thousand-dollar line of credit, and Angus immediately drew on it to pay Tim Kleinhauser back. The relief after the tense moments of the past three days was plain for anyone to see. We were back on level ground.

At least I thought we were until we crested the rise just before the ranch came into view and the next thing I knew, Rance had hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. I couldn't figure out what had happened until I looked over to the South and saw what Rance had seen. Three very large trucks were slowly working their way across the range toward the foothills in the distance. I couldn't tell what they were, but they weren't road trucks by appearance.

"What the hell!" Angus spat as Rance climbed out of the cab.

"Pass me the binoculars, Dad," Rance said in a low voice. I could tell he was trying to control himself.

"There's a drillin' rig for sure," Angus said. I can see that from here."

"Yeah. And a big generator and what looks like a pump with a tank body. We better get the hell out there and see what's goin' on," Rance said, climbing quickly back into the truck and handing his father the binoculars.

Rance didn't take off at a crazy rate. He was mindful of his father's leg I'm sure, and he drove slowly by steadily in the tracks of the big machines, easily catching them. He began flashing his lights and honking the horn until we could see that the caravan was coming to a stop. Rance was out of the cab in seconds and I wasn't far behind him. I could see Angus was frustrated at being stuck in the cab, but Marion stayed behind to calm him down.

I caught up to Rance just as one of the truck drivers stepped down from his cab with some papers in his hand.

"You mind tellin' me who you are and what you're doin' on our land?" Rance said, still working hard to control himself.

"I'm Tony Graziano, and I'm here to drill for coal-bed gas as per this permit," he said, handing Rance the papers.

"How did you get this permit?"

"I didn't. We're contractors. I was given this at the office when CoalMeth contracted us to drill the test holes."

"Well, I can tell you for sure that we've never given CoalMeth or anyone else permission to drill on our land," Rance said strongly. "Not now, not in the past. Somethin' is wrong here. Don't you start until I get this cleared up. It may come to pass that we will allow drillin', but it will be done legally with our permission. You'll be makin' a big expensive mistake if you do it before that."

"I better call the office. As far as I know, this is all legal. I don't need a problem with the law. You sure about this?" he said, trying to get some kind of confirmation.

"I'm Rance Cameron, and over in that truck is my father and mother. This is my fiancée, Julie Sanchez. I can absolutely guarantee that we own the 3C Ranch and that we have never signed over any drillin' or exploration rights to anyone at any time. That clear enough?"

"Look, Mr. Cameron. I'm going to call CoalMeth now. They look after all the paperwork. Like I said, I'm just a contractor. You'll have to talk to them about this," Graziano said apologetically.

He pulled out cell phone and punched in a number.

"Harry, you better get Mr. Krenneman on the phone. We've got a problem out here at the 3C Ranch."

He waited for a couple of minutes before someone came on the line.

Mr. Krenneman, I'm out at the 3C Ranch and there's a guy here claiming to be the owner who says he never signed over any drilling rights to you. I better put him on the phone so you can talk directly."

He handed Rance the phone. I wish I could have heard the whole conversation.

"Mr. Krenneman, my name is Rance Cameron. My father is Angus Cameron. If either one of our names isn't on that document, you can't be drillin' on our property without permission."

A pause.

"That can't be. My father never signed anythin' that would permit exploration or drillin' on our property without talkin' to my mother or me."

Another pause.

"Mr. Krenneman, I guarantee that signature is a forgery. Where did you get that from?"

Another pause.

"I thought so. Mr. Krenneman, I know for a certainty now that that signature is a forgery. I'll be contactin' the police and laying charges against Mr. Prentice. We may decide to permit drillin' on our property if we can work out a proper agreement, but I can tell you for sure it would never be with Dexter Prentice, and you can take that to the bank.

"I'm just getting' home, so I'd appreciate if you told this crew to hold off until we can get this straightened out. I'm sure you don't want to be a party to a criminal act."

Another short pause.

"My father and I will be down at your office early this afternoon. Maybe we can get this straightened out then."

Another short pause.

"I'll see you as soon as we can get there. I'll ask the police to join us."

A still shorter pause.

"Thank you. I'll hand you back to your crew now."

He passed the phone to Graziano and moved toward me.

"That man has balls of brass," he said. "Let's go back to the truck and I can let Dad know what's goin' on."

We got back in the truck and Rance began to drive toward the house.

"Prentice gave CoalMeth a release with your signature on it, authorizin' them to explore and drill on the 3C," Rance said.

Angus exploded. "He did what. How the hell can he do that? I never signed anythin' allowin' that."

"I know that, Dad. It's a forgery. I'm callin' the police when we get to the house. I'm havin' them meet us at CoalMeth's office this afternoon and we'll get this straightened out. You'll be surprised that Prentice gave them the document last week on Thursday. He must have been pretty sure of himself that we'd settle when Crenshaw pulled our line of credit. This is goin' to be a nasty surprise for both of them."

"I'll see them two bastards in jail over this," Angus fumed.

"We can only hope. It would serve them right. All we have to do now is to prove the signature is a forgery," Rance growled.

"How hard will that be?" Marion asked.

"I don't know. One thing for certain, though, we're not goin' to let Prentice get away with this."

Rance called the police department and spoke to someone in charge, explaining that he believed a fraud had been committed with the use of a forged signature. After some discussion, the officer agreed to meet Rance at the CoalMeth office at two that afternoon.

"Rance, do you mind if I go with you? I think we should all be there for this."

"No ... I don't mind. In fact, I think you're right. It involves all of us, so we might as well let them know we're serious."

It was just before two when we walked into the CoalMeth office and asked for the manager. A man at the front desk picked up the phone and called someone, indicating there was a "delegation" here to see him. In a minute, a tall, forties-something man emerged from the office, dressed in field clothes rather than a suit.

"I'm Rance Cameron, and this is my family. I called you earlier about an attempted fraud."

"Yes," he acknowledged. "I'm Rich Krenneman, the area manager for CoalMeth. I'd certainly like to get this straightened out."

"I've asked the police to have someone here as well. This has all the earmarks of attempted fraud, and we want to put a stop to it," Rance continued.

"I understand and agree totally. The last thing we want is a conflict with the landowners."

"Then we're on the same wavelength," Rance agreed.

"You mentioned you weren't adverse to the idea of drilling on your property. Is that correct?"

"Yes, but if we were to make an agreement with CoalMeth, it would be done one-on-one, and not through some agent."

"I can understand that. We'd be happy to sit down and discuss an agreement with you once this problem is cleared up."

"Well, that will be our first order of business when we prove the signature you have is a forgery."

At that moment, the door opened and a uniformed officer entered the office.

"I'm Officer Hawthorne," he said. "I'm looking for a Mr. Rance Cameron."

"That's me," Rance responded, turning to us. "This is my father, mother, and fiancée."