Sutcliffe sat. The room had heard him describe a private loan from a bidder, but it had not yet heard the terms, the value, or who authorized it. Ingrid directed the city attorney to preserve the affidavit and registration record for an independent conflict review. She said the bid could not be awarded while that material question remained unresolved.
Clayton did not look triumphant. This was the first time a city official had taken his question seriously in public, and the relief was almost painful. But another issue remained: the active police investigation that had suspended his award. He had one more record to present, and this one had been sitting in the city's own cabinet for ten days.
"Madam Director," he said, "on October fifth at nine fourteen, I delivered the complete fleet camera burn-in data required by our contract. Your office signed for it. I have the receipt and the file-integrity manifest. I request that the city review a specific segment relevant to the factual basis for my suspension."
The city attorney stood again. The recording could contain material relevant to law enforcement, he argued, and a public bid meeting was not necessarily the place to play it. Rosa responded that the video was created on private dealership property as part of a contractually required reliability test, and she proposed a short recess for counsel and the director to determine whether the relevant segment could lawfully be reviewed in the open proceeding without exposing protected information.
Ingrid agreed. The camera continued recording while the officials conferred. Clayton waited beside Rosa, staring at a scratch on the floorboards. Sherman sat behind him with both hands on his walking stick, a recent addition he used when his knees were sore. He had not brought the leather installation book that morning because a lawyer had advised him to keep the original safe until investigators formally requested it.
After several minutes, Ingrid returned. She explained that the city possessed the complete archive as a contract record and that the segment concerned an encounter on Reed's publicly accessible lot. With the attorney's approval, the relevant portion could be reviewed for procurement eligibility, subject to preservation of the entire file and later independent examination. She warned the room that the video would not by itself determine criminal guilt.
"Proceed with unit seven," she told the records employee. "September twenty-sixth. Begin at seven oh nine."
The laptop screen displayed twelve numbered folders. The employee selected the seventh, then verified its recorded integrity value against the manifest received on October 5. The checksum matched the earlier archive record. Ingrid read the confirmation aloud, ensuring the audience understood that the city was reviewing the copy accepted before the police seizure of the shop server.
On the screen, the red sign appeared above the row of SUVs. Morning mist hung over the lot. Clayton, dressed in the green hoodie now famous among everyone who worked on Route 9, moved along the windshield of a silver vehicle with a yellow cloth. Jaylen's balloons stood beside the open bay, waiting to be tied beneath the sign.