Sitting in my office, the familiar surroundings now felt like a cage. My mind raced with worry and fear. It had been 24 hours since I last saw Elena, and the police were proving to be disappointingly ineffective.
"Ma'am, please calm down," the officer said, his tone annoyingly placating. He was young, probably fresh out of the academy, and he had no idea what kind of urgency this situation held for me.
"Calm down?" I hissed, my voice low and dangerous. "My girlfriend is missing, and all you can tell me is to calm down? I want every available officer searching for her!"
"Ms. Steele, we are doing everything we can," he insisted, but his words felt hollow. "These things take time. We'll find her."