Vance placed his briefcase on the table.
"I wasn't aware you were presiding today."
Whitmore looked at the docket.
"Neither was I."
Vance smiled nervously.
"Interesting."
"Very."
The hearing began.
Vance argued that the land acquisition had been completely legitimate.
The state attorney argued otherwise.
Whitmore listened.
He asked questions.
He requested documents.
And then he noticed something.
A page was missing.
"Where is Exhibit 17?"
The state attorney looked confused.
"I submitted it yesterday."
"It's not here."
Vance remained silent.
Whitmore looked toward Evelyn.
She checked the filing system.
"Exhibit 17 is listed as received."
"Where is the physical copy?"
"I don't know."
Whitmore looked around the courtroom.
Someone had removed the most important piece of evidence.
The document contained the original appraisal of the disputed land.
Without it, the state's case would become much harder to prove.
Whitmore closed the folder.
"We'll recess for twenty minutes."