Simplify this by dividing both sides by 3. The result is |x + 12| = 2. There are actually two correct results. If it happens that x + 12 is already positive, then x + 12 = 2 and x must be -10. If it happens that x + 12 is negative, then the equation becomes -(x + 12) = 2, or -x - 12 = 2, or x = -14.
