Over the past month I had four interviews with a major corporation.  The first two interviews were by phone, and they loved me.  I submitted an online ' assessment' prior to my third (first in-person) interview. 

This interview went amazingly well.  The interviewer loved me and told me I would have no problems with the 4th and 5th interview in the process. 

I got jerked around a little on a time and date for the 4th interview, it kept changing, but once set that went just as well as the rest. 

Ideas I brought forth were well received and I was even told that of all the years this interviewing manager and all the others on his level had, no one had ever thought of these things and he loved them.  This interviewer even went so far as to tell me what to expect at the next interview, even about events which I would participate in after completing their corporate training course.  He even said that he wanted someone with certain skills, which he said I had, and the ability to work independently, which I had done in my last position and he stated ' which you have done in the past' .

I was told I would be called two days later on a Friday.  It didn' t happen.  The next Monday was a holiday.  I did not receive a call on Tuesday so on Wednesday I called the HR person (with which I had a prior telephone interview).  She told me not to panic yet, that with the holiday she was a little behind and would make some calls and get back to me by the end of the day.  She never called me.

I check my e-mail several times a day and later that night before going to bed I checked my e-mail again and found an e-mail from the HR person, dated for the day prior, stating that I did not get the position.  That e-mail was not there all day.  And if she had sent the e-mail the day before I would have thought she would have told me so over the telephone. 

It is quite easy to back date an e-mail by setting the time of your computer back to a date and time you wish to use.  That will be the time and date which will be stamped on the e-mail as having been sent.  (I have done this before and know it works).

After all of that my question is...?  Can I, or should I, call this HR person, or the last person I interviewed with and ask them why I did not get the position? 

The e-mail stated "While I appreciate the skills and talents you would bring to our company, we do not have an appropriate management opening at this time"

The only reason I can see for not getting the job was either I did not do well on my online assessment, but they had that prior to any in-person interview, or that they called my former employer for a reference and he lied-as one person who still works at my former employ told me that this manager told her that I would be coming back to work there.