The creation history raised a more serious question. The PDF had first appeared after Maya's department access was disabled, and the event was visible in the independent record alongside the personnel-system cutoff. Analysts checked the clocks used by the systems involved, then confirmed the relative order through a second administrative source. She had lost access before the acknowledgement file existed in its submitted form.
They did not yet know who assembled the document. A copied signature might be attached to a legitimate reconstruction if a verifiable signed original existed elsewhere, and a late-created electronic copy was not inherently fraudulent. But those possibilities required supporting records, and none had been supplied with Cole's referral. The inspector issued a preliminary authentication notice stating that the acknowledgement could not be verified as having been electronically signed by Maya Williams.
Evelyn Grant read the notice with Martin Hail seated beside her. The two had spent much of the day learning how many statements can be technically true and still give a misleading impression when removed from context. The notice did not accuse the sheriff of forgery, and Martin was careful to emphasize that point. Evelyn nevertheless recognized that the document could no longer bear the weight Cole had placed on it.
"So she didn't sign it," Evelyn said.
"We can't make that absolute finding yet," Martin replied. "We can say this file is not a validated electronic acknowledgement, that the signature image was copied from another record, and that this version was created after she lost access. If there's an original paper form, it hasn't been produced."
"Who had the ability to create this file?"
"A relatively small administrative group, depending on where the source documents were stored. The inspector has requested that history."
Evelyn set the report aside. "I want Captain Williams here with her attorney. And I want the preservation agreement on the table. I don't want to learn about another important clause after somebody acts on it."
Maya arrived at the administration building carrying a yellow legal pad and wearing a simple dark jacket over a pale blouse. Her attorney accompanied her, a folder of procedural correspondence under his arm, but neither brought county equipment or project records. Evelyn noticed the absence immediately and asked whether Maya had retained any Safe Communities material after her removal. Maya said she had not, then supplied the inventory showing exactly when her issued devices had been collected.
Martin placed the authentication notice before her. Maya studied the signature comparison, the creation time, and the record of her access cutoff. Her expression barely changed. She asked whether the disputed file had existed in the preserved project state created under Appendix K.
"No," Martin answered. "It appeared afterward."
"Was the source version preserved?"
"Yes. The current file and the previous state are both available to the inspector."
Maya nodded once. For the first time that afternoon, she felt the ground beneath the case becoming firmer, though she knew better than to confuse a flawed document with proof of who had created it. Evelyn watched her reaction and finally asked the question that had been troubling her since Thomas Keane's call.