JJ
Mrs. Taylor answered on the first ring.
“They took it.”
I stepped into the little office and shut the door behind me, leaving Nixx and Benny arguing about shelf brackets in the main shop.
“The missing-person report?”
“Yes.” Her relief lasted less than a second. “But I swear to God, JJ, if one more person tells me my daughter is an adult, I’m going to lose my mind.”
I sat behind the old desk.
“What happened?”
“I went in with everything you told me to bring. Her picture. The plate number. The dates she stopped calling, stopped working, stopped posting. I told them about her tattoo equipment still being at the shop and everything she left at her apartment.”
“That’s good.”
“I thought so.”
The bitterness in her voice made my stomach sink.
“They took the report,” she continued. “B
