Tata Town is located near the border between Texas and Oklahoma. To the east and west of the small town are patches of woodland, and to the north a small lake, not far from the Red River that marks the border between the two states. There is only one road that connects the town from the southwest to the main road nearby.

Jimmy drove along the highway to this road leading to Tata Town, which was a single-lane paved road in one direction. Occasionally, patches of woods would appear on both sides of the road. It was clear that the locals maintained the environment well; despite the many forests, there was no overgrowth of weeds beside the road, a sign of careful control.

The road wasn't long, and after about 2 kilometers Jimmy arrived at the outskirts of Tata Town. He opened his briefcase, which had a business card clipped to the file inside—it was the phone number of Chad, the sheriff of Tata Town. He dialed the number.

Jimmy: "Sheriff Chad, this is FBI agent Jimmy Yang."

Chad: "Welcome, Agent Yang, please wait there for a moment, I'll be right there."

Chad hung up the phone, grabbed his keys from the desk, and left the police station office to drive out to the outskirts of town to meet Jimmy.

Chad drove an F150 pickup with a black base color, decorated with the emblem of the Tata Town Sheriff's Office and the white word 'sheriff,' very conspicuous. When he saw the unmarked Victoria Crown parked by the roadside, he made a U-turn in the road and gestured to Jimmy through the window to follow him.

Jimmy followed Chad's vehicle to the police station near the town center, a not-so-large building, a two-story structure with a small plaza in front that also served as a parking lot, next to which was a tiny gas station.

Jimmy parked his car and took his briefcase out of the vehicle. He was still dressed casually in jeans, a jacket, and a cowboy hat. He walked up to Chad, shook his hand, and then took out his FBI badge from his pocket and flashed it: "Sheriff Chad, FBI agent Jimmy Yang, just call me Jimmy."

Chad was not too tall, roughly 175 centimeters, noticeably shorter than Jimmy, but his build was very Southern, somewhat chubby, filling out his khaki uniform nicely.

Chad looked at Jimmy, then at his car, and frowned, "Welcome, Agent Yang. Are you alone?"

Jimmy nodded: "Yes, just me."

Chad: "Did you change your policies?"

Jimmy smiled and said, "No, no, I'm just a special case. I always handle cases alone."

Jimmy took a business card holder out of his pocket, drew out a card, and then took a pen from the inner pocket of his jacket to write down a phone number. "You can contact Supervisor Lambert at the Dallas office to confirm my identity."

Chad took the business card from Jimmy, glanced at it, "It's alright, I trust there's a reason they have you working alone. Let's go inside."

Chad led the way with Jimmy following him into the police headquarters. The place was indeed small, with 'sheriff' labeled on the door of a room to the left as they entered the lobby, and three desks on the right. At the back of the lobby, there was a temporary detention room with iron doors, and next to it, a storage room and staircase, likely with equipment rooms, finance office and such on the second floor.

Jimmy followed Chad to his office, "Take a seat." Chad sat down at his desk while Jimmy took a seat on a sofa against the wall.

Chad: "Agent Yang, is this about that missing person case?"

Jimmy: "Yes, Sheriff Chad, the State Police transferred the files, and I assume your station would have the original records, I'd like to have a look at them."

Chad: "No problem, we've got all the files. But are you starting today?"

Jimmy looked at Chad: "Yes, this case may not be that easy to clear up, let's start with the files. Is there a hotel nearby? I might need to stay for a few days."

Chad: "There's a motel on the way here, the only one, with a restaurant next door."

Jimmy: "That's great, it's more convenient."

Chad turned to a bookshelf beside him, took out several file folders, and handed them to Jimmy.

Jimmy took the files and asked, "Sheriff, how many people do you have here? Is there a spare desk outside that I could use for a few days?"

Chad: "Three, including me, Hayden, and Nora. Nora is off today; Hayden is out on patrol. There's an empty desk outside you can use."

Jimmy stood up with the files in his arms, "Then I'll start with these files."

Jimmy went into the hall and found the empty desk on the right. Thankfully, although unused, it had been regularly cleaned, and there appeared to be no dust on it.

Jimmy placed the files on the desk and took out the materials that Lambert had given him from his briefcase, comparing the contents of the files from both sides.

Jimmy hadn't directly reviewed the files at the Dallas office because there was no place for him to comfortably examine the materials, so he had planned to find a hotel to stay after meeting with the sheriff and then take his time with the information. However, seeing the environment in the police station, it seemed better to examine the files there.

Chad peered through the window at Jimmy, uncertain about the situation. This was somewhat abnormal; it had been a long time since the FBI's policy of two-person teams, and now the appearance of someone working alone raised questions.

Chad took out a directory from his drawer and found the number for the FBI Dallas office, picked up his cell phone, and dialed.

Chad: "This is Sheriff Chad from Tata Town, could you please connect me to Supervisor Lambert?" Chad dialed the office's main number; reaching Lambert through the switchboard would be more reliable than calling the mobile number on Jimmy's card.

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