The ink was perfectly flat.

It didn’t have the slightly raised feel of professional letterhead.

I looked at the bottom corner of the page.

A state contractor registration number was printed there in tiny gray type.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened the county business registry website.

Howard Finch had shown me the exact web address on Wednesday afternoon.

I held the invoice under the overhead light to read the small print clearly.

I typed the nine-digit registration number into the search bar and pressed enter.