Nixx
The words killed whatever was left of Millie’s excitement about Benny failing third-grade math.
JJ stood slowly from the kitchen table while Benny closed the laptop in front of him. Jarek stayed near the door, and I glanced toward the living room before saying anything else.
Millie had already gone back to her reading assignment with headphones over her ears, completely absorbed in the tablet.
Good.
JJ looked between Jarek and me. “Where?”
“Motel on the west side of Middletown. Marcus and Smitty found it after working backward from the gas-station footage.”
Her arms folded over her stomach. “Are they still there?”
“No. They checked out around seven this morning.”
Disappointment crossed her face first, followed closely by relief.
“So you didn’t actually find them.”
“We found
