Now, with the Lyft driver waiting for me outside—I might have compelled him to wait for me, I didn’t, after all, want to lose him—I found my daughter in Sherbet’s office, sitting before his desk with her head buried in her arms, as a female officer stroked her hair. Sherbet himself sat back in his desk and didn’t look too happy. Then again, I couldn’t remember the last time Detective Sherbet looked too happy. “We found her in Hillcrest Park, drinking with her buddies.” “Who found her?” “One of our boys. We got a report of some kids drinking and smoking and making general asses of themselves. Turned out to be true. The others scattered like frightened fish. This one tried to scatter. Turned out she was too drunk to scatter, and instead, fell flat on her face. Don’t worry, she’s okay. Just a few scrapes.” Tammy moaned, her face still buried in her arms. I thanked the female officer, who gave Tammy a final pat, and gave me a consoling smile, then got up and left.
