Keith took a small stainless steel ruler out of his side drawer and laid it along the bottom of the scanned signature.

He tapped the magnifying glass with the eraser end of a wooden pencil.

“This loop on the C was made in three separate pen strokes,” Keith said.

“Is that normal for someone signing fast on a clipboard?” I asked.

“A real signature is made in one smooth motion,” Keith said.

He tilted his brass desk lamp.

“In this sample, the ink gets heavier at every curve.

The pen stopped, changed direction and started up again three times on the first letter alone.”