She passed the red folder to the bailiff, who handed it up to the judge. Callaghan opened it. He expected crayon drawings. He expected a letter written in marker pleading for mercy.
What he found was a spreadsheet.
Page one.
“Work Logs,” Hope whispered from below. “My dad keeps a calendar on the fridge. He writes down every shift. Look.”
Callaghan adjusted his glasses. He looked at the photocopy of the shop’s official log (Exhibit A of the prosecution) and then at the page in the folder.
“August 12th,” Hope said. “The bad papers say my dad signed for a delivery of parts. But August 12th was a Sunday. The shop is closed on Sundays. And we were at the zoo. I have the ticket stubs.”
Callaghan turned the page. Taped to the back of the graph paper were two ticket stubs for the City Zoo, dated August 12th, timestamped 1:00 PM. The signature on the fraudulent invoice was timed at 1:15 PM.
Callaghan felt a cold prickle on the back of his neck.
Page two.
“The writing,” Hope said. “I asked my teacher, Ms. Patel, to help me trace. She says everyone presses the pen differently.”
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