“Brenda told me the district takes intake reports through a formal compliance portal,” I said.

“If Caroline used her cousin’s template, it means they submitted an official document.”

“When will we find out what they wrote?” Evan asked.

“When the school calls us in for a meeting,” I said.

I gathered up the printed monthly bank ledger sheet, which showed exact dates and account numbers down to the penny.

I lined its edges up with the cover of the blue plastic binder.

On the morning of January second, a light snow dusted the pavement in the parking lot of Oak Ridge Elementary School.