n enthusiasm dampened by a shroud of unease. Joe greeted her with a practiced smile, the ch

eavy curtain. There, she found a workspace equipped for dry cleaning, with rows

dn't shake off Joe's cryptic words. What were these "unusual items" he'd mentioned? A shiv

opened the machine to find a tangled mess of clothing, the source of the racket. Among the

ar too real to be accidental. A sudden image of Joe's veiled warning fl

y. As she examined the stain more closely, a metallic glint caught her eye.