“And what about Joe Potter? What is his fear?”
“He’s actually one of the men that was present when you came to the meeting—the gentleman that was afraid of the very idea of death. I think he and Heather had hoped that their relationship might help in getting over their fears.”
“And has Joe ever shown any reason for you to maybe find him violent or in any way suspicious?”
“Not at all.”
“I do have one more question for you,” Avery said. “How long, exactly, have you been leading the group we attended yesterday?”
“Seven months,” she answered. “Though I’ve led countless other small groups just like it over the last five years or so.”
“And was there a preexisting position for it when you started with this group, or was it one of your own making?”
“There was a counselor who had been operating it for about a year or so before me, I believe. A nice albeit cocky gentleman named Barry Kechner. He was more in favor of a tough love approach than I am.”
“Do you know why he left?”
“I never spoke with him about it,” Moon said. “In fact, out paths only ever crossed once during the transition process. A few of the group members that were around when he was there claim that he was often short on patience.”
“Do you know where he might be now?” Avery asked.
“No idea. Actually, I can’t recall the last time I heard his name. If I remember correctly, he had worked as a counselor at a rehabilitation facility somewhere in the city for a few years. He may have gone back to that.”
“Thanks for the information,” Avery said. “Please…would you mind another call should I need more information?”
“Of course…whatever I can do to help.”
Avery ended the call and looked over at Kellaway. “Sorry for the early start to the day, but things suddenly just got a lot more interesting.”
“I gathered that. Where to now?”
It was a good question. While the initial call about Heather Ellis had come from Joe Potter, Avery didn’t think paying him an immediate visit would be worthwhile—especially not if there was a chance that Heather was in trouble and might still be out there, alive somewhere.
Maybe being tortured via her fear, Avery thought.
Avery picked her phone back up, calling up Finley. He answered right away with a tone of sleepiness but his usual good cheer. “What can I do for you, Avery?”
“I need you to get a team ready for me. A few, maybe. I need someone to pull anything and everything we might have on file for a man named Barry Kechner. I need that done right away. I also need you to send me the address for Heather Ellis; that’s apparently Joe Potter’s girlfriend.”
“The potential butt-dial?” Finley said.
“It’s looking that way. If the call did come from Heather’s cell and she’s the killer’s next potential victim, I think a visit to her place might be worth more than trying to talk to Joe Potter. That being said, I think someone should go visit with him just to make sure he isn’t sitting on some information.”
“Got it. And this Kechner guy…who is he?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Avery said. “Maybe our killer. But keep that quiet until you know if he’s even in the system. Thanks, Finley. Just get me an address for Heather Ellis as soon as you can.”
“You’ll have it within five minutes.”
When Avery ended the call, the silence in the car seemed to have a weight to it. To break it, Avery filled Kellaway in on the bits she had missed.
“So you think this Barry Kechner might be the guy?” Kellaway asked.
“I don’t know,” Avery said. “Based on the things Moon told me, it feels right. If that makes sense.”
“Good old police intuition?” Kellaway asked.
“Something like that.”
As it turned out, Avery didn’t even have to wait five minutes. Her phone rang again before three minutes had passed. This time, she was surprised to see that it was a line coming from the A1 rather than Finley’s cell.
“Finley?”
“No, this is Connelly. I just happened to be passing by Finley’s office when he got this information on Barry Kechner for you. Avery…I think this might be it. There’s a record here that’s not very long but hints at some bad stuff. There’s a cruelty to animals charge from way back twenty years ago. And there’s a restraining order against him, placed by an old coworker from when he worked at Center Field Rehab Center.”
“Got an address? Kellaway and I can head over there right now.”
“Yeah, I’ve got it. And I think me and Finley will meet you over there, too. If this is our guy and he might have the next victim, there’s no sense in taking chances.”
While she hated the idea of Connelly out on the scene, she knew it was pointless to argue it. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was his way of making sure she was still operating at full capacity. Maybe he wanted to see for himself if the last few months had made her rusty.
He gave her the address and Kellaway put it into her phone. “We can be there in about ten minutes,” Avery said.
“You’ll beat us by a few,” Connelly said. “Don’t do anything until we get there.”
She hung up before responding. It was just a habit that she apparently had not grown out of. And so what if it pissed him off? What was he going to do…fire her?
With an address and a potential suspect ten minutes away, the sun finally started to paint the first rays of gold across the horizon. The city was just now starting to wake up as Avery sped ahead of morning traffic.
It might have been the first time she’d felt truly alive since she’d watched Ramirez’s casket lowered into the ground.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Avery and Kellaway did indeed arrive at Barry Kechner’s residence before Connelly and Finley. She didn’t get there much sooner, though; she could already see the glare of headlights coming around the corner behind them, likely a single car occupied by Connelly and Finley. The house itself was located in the cul de sac of a side street off to the edge of an upper-class neighborhood. The porch light was on and the garage was closed, making it impossible to tell if anyone was home.
“You ready?” Avery asked.
Kellaway nodded, looking to the house. “You don’t know much about me,” Kellaway said. “So now might be a good time to let you know that when I was in New York, I had to fire my weapon for the very first time in a situation like this.”
“Self-defense?”
“Yeah. My shot went low, though. I was going for the shoulder and somehow ended up clipping him at the top of the lung. He survived, but it was bad.”
“You getting the jitters?” Avery asked.
“No, just some bad memories. I’ll be fine.”
The headlights that had been approaching from behind settled to a stop behind them. The doors to the car opened right away as Connelly and Finley stepped out. Avery and Kellaway joined them and for a moment, they stood in front of the house. The first true light of dawn etched their shadows along Kechner’s sidewalk, as if pushing them forward.
They hurried to the front door quietly. Connelly took the lead, ringing the doorbell. When there was no answer after ten seconds, he rang again and followed it with a hefty knock on the door. His response was more silence.
“You think there’s enough probable cause for us to storm in anyway?” Avery asked. If it were up to her, she’d break in without question. But with Connelly here, things were different. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t wanted him to come along.
“I honestly don’t know,” Connelly said. “But given that we have a fourth probable victim and this guy seems to be our one solid lead, I’ll allow it.”