The preservation order was going through at 9:00. Denise Chow had confirmed it at 7:45 that morning in a message to Patricia who relayed it to Marcus. The forensic team had spent the night pulling shadow copies. Everything they could access from the documentation Evelyn provided was already secured in a federal system that Gerald Pruitt had no reach into. The moment the preservation order landed on the company's registered legal counsel, the clock changed for everyone.
What Marcus was calculating right now was the 18 minutes between 8:47 and 9:00. 18 minutes in which Gerald Pruitt was drinking his $18 coffee and checking his calendar cornered and having no idea that the world he'd built on six years of stolen money and buried lives was about to hit a wall at full speed. He got out of his truck. He clocked in. He went to work.
He was under the rear axle of a 40-ft bus when his phone buzzed at 9:14. He rolled out on the creeper, checked the screen. Patricia. He called her back immediately. "It's in."
she said. Preservation order served at 9:03. The company's legal team called Evelyn directly at 9:11. How did she handle it? Apparently, she listened to the attorney explain it, asked two clarifying questions, said she understood, and ended the call.
Patricia paused. The attorney also called Gerald Pruitt as required. He's been informed. How long before he moves? If he's smart, he already has.
Marcus sat up on the creeper. What does that mean? It means the preservation order covers records on company servers, in company filing systems, in company controlled storage, Patricia said. Anything that was off those systems, personal accounts, external drives, private email, anything Pruitt may have been keeping outside the official infrastructure, is not covered. Not until we get a broader warrant, which we're pushing for, but takes time.
He had 6 years to set this up, Marcus said. He's got copies somewhere. Personal backups. Almost certainly, Patricia said. Which is why Denise Chao's team is filing for the expanded warrant this morning.
But Marcus, there's something else. Her voice shifted slightly. That was the tell. Patricia Odom did not shift vocal registers casually. When her voice moved, something real had moved.
What? He said. The forensic team found something in the shadow copies last night, she said. Something beyond the Meridian transfers and the falsified fund reports. I need you and Evelyn in this office at noon.