Leonard Price's handwriting was careful but uneven.
He used capital letters for names and dates.
He underlined amounts he disputed.
He placed question marks beside statements he could not verify.
Naomi began by separating the documents into categories.
The original traffic stop.
The citations.
The towing authorization.
The storage invoices.
The court disposition.
The complaint correspondence.
Then she created a separate stack for information concerning other motorists.
Isaiah watched her work.
"You always did like organizing things."
Naomi smiled.
"I learned from somebody."
He looked pleased.
She began with Leonard's traffic stop.
The citation alleged that he had operated a vehicle without a valid driver's license.
The attached narrative said he presented an unacceptable photocopy.
But the motor vehicle agency confirmation, dated four days after the stop, showed that Leonard had possessed a valid temporary credential.
The traffic court had dismissed the license allegation after the agency confirmed his status.
Naomi read the dismissal carefully.
It did not automatically prove every part of Leonard's complaint.
But it established one important fact.
The accusation that he lacked valid driving privileges had not survived verification.
She looked at the towing authorization.
Then at the invoice.
"One hundred eighty-five dollars for the tow," she said.
Isaiah nodded.
"That's what he told me."
"Seventy-five dollars for an after-hours release."
"He said the office wasn't open when he got there."
"Daily storage charges."
"Yes."
Naomi turned another page.
The total had climbed quickly.
There were administrative fees.
Processing fees.
Additional charges labeled with descriptions too vague to explain what services had been performed.
She looked toward Isaiah.
"Did he challenge these?"
"Repeatedly."
"Did the company respond?"
"Mostly with statements saying the charges were authorized by the contract."
Naomi frowned.
"Where's the contract?"
Isaiah pointed toward the bottom of the pile.
"That's the problem."
She found a copy of an agreement between the county and Cedar Valley Recovery.
It was dated several years earlier.
The contract listed certain towing and storage charges.
But some fees appearing on Leonard's invoices were not clearly described in the schedule.
Naomi drew a line beneath one entry.
"There's a discrepancy."
Isaiah leaned forward.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning the invoice lists a charge I can't identify in this contract."
"Is that illegal?"