The Signature Was His

For three years, federal overseer Kit has called Blackwood Hollow home. He knows his neighbors, trusts the depot manager, and takes pride in keeping the valley’s water safe. Then four pints of tightly controlled synthetic stabilizer disappear. The withdrawal carries Kit’s flawless signature and registered biometric seal. At the time, he was thirty miles away. Reporting the breach could shut down the depot and devastate the community. Kit decides to find the thief himself. But surveillance footage is corrupted, a hardware bypass points to a familiar face, and what looks like a straightforward theft becomes something far harder to explain. Someone used credentials only Kit should possess. Can he prove how they did it—and still trust the person helping him look?