A vanished record lets Caro imply a corrupt bargain through juxtaposition alone.

Evidence

But in late 1925, the dream all but dead, Moses held a series of private meetings with Doughty. There is, of course, no record of what transpired at these meetings, and no proof that any deal was entered into. But certain developments ensued: … Moses announced that future planning for Jones Beach would be conducted in conjunction with a delegation from Hempstead Township, which would, of course, have access to commission plans showing the precise location of the proposed Meadowbrook Causeway to Jones Beach, and the chairman of the Hempstead delegation turned out to be Assemblyman Thomas A. McWhinney. And Moses was soon meeting regularly with “the creature of the machine” on an extremely friendly basis. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 916

Categorization

• SEED: Caro’s tacit method here — declaring ‘no proof’ then listing incriminating developments — is itself a watchable narrative technique worth excerpting for writers of investigative nonfiction.