Too Far Gone, page 12
“What about Beth Schultz’s house?” Morgan asked.
“I’ll check with crime scene about it,” Sheehan said. “But I bet it’ll be much the same. We know her security system had been taken offline too. I bet we’ll find similar marks on some lock or another. Most likely that back door into her kitchen.”
Morgan looked back and forth between the two of them. “You’re saying whoever it is knew their locks.”
“Exactly.” It was one more little detail to add to the emerging picture of their killer. The picture was far from clear, but each bit of information brought it more and more into focus.
“How does that help us?” Morgan asked.
Danielle grimaced. “I’m not sure yet. One thing I am sure of, though, is this has something to do with that drug. It has to.” She just wasn’t sure what.
Morgan didn’t disagree. “So what now?”
“Let’s go see what Mr. Reggie Avery has to say for himself and find out where he was this morning.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Morgan returned to the SUV as Danielle said a longer good-bye to Sheehan.
They looked good together. Both with their sleek dark hair and tawny skin. Danielle’s stance was more ramrod straight than Sheehan’s, but they had the same attentive way of watching their surroundings and striding through their day. They’d be a good match.
“All set?” Danielle asked as she got in the vehicle.
“Yes.” Physically, yes. Mentally, he had questions. “So how do you think any of this might relate to Avery?”
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe he had resentments of some kind toward higher-ups at work. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen that. Someone feels passed over or undervalued and eventually snaps.” She pulled out onto the road with a wave to the security guard.
While the drive to Avery’s was relatively short, his neighborhood was a lot different than the one where his boss lived. Maybe Danielle had a point about Avery being resentful. Morgan had seen Sower’s home and photos of Schultz’s. He hadn’t seen Hatton’s home, but based on what Divinia said, it was likely pretty grand.
Avery, the guy who would have been in the lab actually discovering and making the drug that all these other people were getting rich on, lived in a rundown one-story ranch with a yard that was somehow both overgrown and desiccated at the same time.
Morgan started up the sidewalk, but Danielle stuck out a hand to hold him back.
“What?”
She pointed to a spot over the door where a camera was mounted. Morgan wasn’t sure how much that mattered. A lot of people had doorbell cameras and other home security options installed in their home.
“That’s not a standard door, either.” She frowned. “Or standard locks.”
It looked like a fairly standard door to Morgan. “What’s not standard about it?”
“First of all, that door is reinforced steel. You don’t see those on homes often. They’re heavy as hell and hard to install.” Her gaze roamed over the front of the house.
“Okay.” It was a good thing to note, but he still didn’t understand its significance.
“There are three locks too. All of them deadbolts.” She pointed to the three keyholes descending down the door.
Morgan noted that each one looked like it was exactly equidistant from the last. Someone had been very careful and precise with their placement. “What do you think that all means?”
Danielle shot him a look. “It means our friend in there either has something he wants to hide, something he wants to protect, or he’s very, very paranoid. It also means that he apparently knows a lot about locks and security systems.”
Now Morgan got it. Would this turn out to be their murderer? He felt that little jolt of excitement, that burst of adrenaline that coursed through him when it felt like the case was starting to come together. Morgan turned back to the door. It did look a little intimidating. “Does that mean we’re not knocking?”
“Oh, we’re knocking.” Danielle pushed up the sleeves of her blazer. “We might need more than that, though. Somebody this paranoid isn’t likely to welcome us with open arms. Especially not if he had anything to do with these deaths.”
“So what’s our play?”
Danielle pulled out her phone and sent a text. “I’ll have Divinia and Henry get started on a search warrant, but we’re going to try to do this the easy way first. Knock. Ask to be let in. I just wanted you to be prepared that we might have to resort to other tactics.”
Morgan wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be prepared for as he marched up to the door behind Danielle. She knocked, then stepped back so she could look directly into the camera over the door.
A staticky voice came over the intercom next to the door. “Who are you? What do you want?”
She held her shield up to the camera, not bothering to pretend she hadn’t seen it. “Special Agent Danielle Hernandez and FBI Consultant Dr. Morgan Stark. We’re hoping you’ll help us with an inquiry.”
That was indeed a nice way to say it, considerably more friendly than Morgan imagined Danielle actually felt at the moment.
“What kind of inquiry?”
“One you probably don’t want me shouting to you about at your front door.” She glared up at the camera.
“Yeah. I don’t care what the neighbors think.”
Morgan looked around at the unkempt yard and figured that was probably an understatement.
Avery continued. “If you want to come in, I suggest you get a warrant.”
Danielle heaved a big theatrical sigh. “If that’s the way you want it, Mr. Avery, that’s how we’ll do it. A warrant is already in the works, but I don’t think you’re going to like how it gets served.”
“What do you mean?”
Danielle ran her finger down the edge of the door and turned away to talk to Morgan. “You ever see a battering ram go through a steel door like this one?”
Morgan shook his head. “No. I haven’t.” He was playing along, but the truth was that he hadn’t ever witnessed anything like that in person.
“It’ll leave this thing in shreds.” She shrugged and turned back to the door. “Too bad. These things are expensive, and it’s not like the Bureau will pay to replace it if they were forced to knock it down.”
Morgan understood where she was going and chimed in. “Plus I imagine it would take a while to get it replaced. It’s not like you can pick it up from Home Depot and install it yourself.”
Danielle snorted. “True that.” She turned to walk away.
“Wait!” The voice squawked from the intercom. “Just hold on a goddamn minute.”
It was more than a minute, but eventually Morgan heard the series of locks being turned and what sounded like a metal bar being moved. What on earth did this guy have in his house that required this kind of security? A slight chill ran down Morgan’s spine. What were they walking into? He looked over at Danielle. She looked calm, but her hand was on her hip, very close to where her weapon was holstered.
Morgan’s hand brushed against his own hip. He had no weapon. Nothing to use to fight back with if they were walking into trouble. He felt that thrum in his chest that he got when he knew that he was walking into something that might be over his head. Maybe that was another reason he liked working with Danielle. It had been a long time since he’d felt that kind of challenge at the hospital.
Danielle deserved better backup than he could provide. He should at least get enough training that he could be useful as more than an observer and medical consultant if he was going to go out on cases with her.
The door opened and Reggie Avery peered out from around the door. He was a decent looking white guy. He had a striking combination of dark hair and blue eyes. His skin was pale and pasty, though, as if he didn’t get out in the sun often.
“May we come in?” Danielle asked.
“I guess so.” Avery opened the door the rest of the way and stood aside.
Morgan followed Danielle in. Avery slammed the door behind them and turned the knobs to lock the three deadbolts, then replaced the door security bar.
He was a tall man, lanky in build, but also somehow strangely awkward. His movements were slightly jerky as if he didn’t quite know how to make them move or where he was in space. Poor proprioception. That’s what the neurologists would have said watching the way Avery bumped into several boxes that were stacked against the wall of the hallway.
The inside of the house was dark and smelled like dirty dishes and unwashed clothes. It could definitely use an airing out, but Morgan figured that would be out of the question for this guy. He’d bet this guy had some issues with obsessive-compulsive disorder and possibly was somewhere on the autism spectrum. Morgan had seen a lot of very fine scientists with that set of issues. They were detail-oriented and able to focus in on a specific problem and shut out everything else. They didn’t notice, much less care, if they irritated their coworkers or if anyone thought they were strange. Their brains just didn’t process life that way.
“So what do you want?” Avery stood behind them in the hallway.
Danielle sauntered down the dark hall, stopping to look at a framed photo on the wall and frowning. “Is there a place we can sit?” She didn’t wait for an answer and instead kept walking down the hall.
Morgan stopped to look at the photo of a very photogenic couple laughing in a field of flowers. He was pretty sure it was the one that came with the frame. There were several others that gave off the same vibe.
“What?” Avery squeaked. “Where are you going?”
“Just down here.” Danielle gave him a bland smile, but Morgan could see her eyes taking everything in and cataloging it. Her memory might not be eidetic, but it was damn good. She also knew how to pick out the details that mattered. She pointed to another one of the photos as she walked past. “Are these friends of yours?”
“Maybe,” Avery said, sounding defensive.
Morgan felt overwhelmed trying to analyze the clutter around him. In an exam room, he’d be able to discern what he needed to pay attention to and what didn’t require his focus in a matter of seconds. He still didn’t know how to do that always in the field, especially in a field that was this crowded and chaotic.
One more thing that he should learn if he was going to keep helping Danielle on cases.
Morgan followed after her into the kitchen. Yep. That had been the source of the slightly rancid smell. It wasn’t actually dirty. The windows were tightly covered here, too, making the room dark and leaving the corners in shadows and also keeping any fresh air from getting in. Morgan wished he could pull his shirt up over his mouth and nose, but he thought that might be too insulting, and he wasn’t sure what direction Danielle was planning to go with this interview.
The table was covered with papers and books. Morgan tried to reconcile the mess in this room with the precisely placed locks on the front door. Something wasn’t adding up. Clearly, Reggie Avery saw the world in a very different way than Morgan did.
Danielle picked up one of the books from the table.
“Hey! Put that down!” Reggie rushed into the kitchen.
Danielle held up a hand to stop him. “Careful there, Mr. Avery.”
The man stopped, breathing hard as if he’d been running. “Please,” he said. “Leave that stuff alone.”
Danielle set down the book she was holding and picked up a magazine. Then she got very, very still. She pulled a pair of gloves from her pocket and picked an item up off the table and turned around. “Mr. Avery, do you want to explain to me why you have Beth Schultz’s name tag sitting on your kitchen table?”
Avery turned on his heel and raced for the front door. Morgan started to sprint after him, but Danielle put a hand on his arm and sauntered past him, pulling her handcuffs out as she went.
Avery was still trying to move the security bar when she got to him and read him his rights while she cuffed his hands behind his back.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Morgan watched Avery in the rearview mirror as they drove to headquarters.
Avery had to tap the car door three times before he’d get in. He’d nearly had a melt down at the thought of leaving his house unlocked, but seemed somehow reassured when he learned that the police would be arriving soon to search it.
He’d become oddly calm after Danielle had gotten him in the car, kind of the opposite of the way Lee had behaved. Did that mean something? Morgan wasn’t sure. Avery was clearly neurodivergent. His reactions to stimuli would likely be atypical. This might be one of those instances where the idea that people who were guilty became calm when they were arrested didn’t apply.
Avery remained docile as Danielle led him upstairs to the conference room that Henry had already readied for them. She uncuffed one of his hands and then looped the chain through the bar in the center of the table and rebuffed him. Avery gazed down on it with a look that spoke more of curiosity than fear or guilt.
Danielle placed an autopsy photo of Beth on the table in front of Avery.
His reaction to that was immediate and violent. He flung himself backwards, pulling hard against the cuffs.
“Is this your work, Reggie?” Danielle asked in a conversational tone, almost as if she was asking about a painting or a nice meal.
“Oh, God! No!” Avery’s eyes filled with tears. “No! What happened to Beth?”
Morgan looked over at Danielle. Was it okay to give that information to this man? They’d been holding back the method of killing from the press, hoping that they could use that information when they found a suspect. She gave him a nod.
“Someone injected a lethal dose of HepataNix directly into her neck. It triggered an allergic reaction that sent her into anaphylactic shock.” Morgan traced the outline of Beth’s face in the photo. “See how terribly swollen she is? Someone knew what an overdose of that drug would do to her. Maybe someone who worked in one of the SowerMed labs?”
“No! I would never hurt Beth!” Avery pounded his handcuffed fists on the table. “Never! You’ve got this all wrong!”
“Do you always get this angry when you’re thwarted in some way, Reggie?” Danielle asked with a sweet smile on her face that didn’t fool Morgan one bit. “Is that what happened with Beth? Did she turn you down after you followed her home? Did she not like the feeling of being stalked?”
Sweat broke out on Avery’s forehead despite the room being relatively cool. “No, no, no, no! I wasn’t stalking her. I wouldn’t. I would never want to frighten her or make her uncomfortable. You don’t understand.”
It sounded like Avery might start to cry.
“I understand that someone broke into her house, stole HepataNix samples from her supply, and then injected an overdose of it into her neck.” Danielle’s tone had gone flat. The fake smile was gone.
“That’s horrible,” Avery whispered. “Who would do something like that to Beth?”
“What about to these men?” Danielle turned over photos of Tom Hatton and Gil Sower. “Would you want to frighten them? Make them uncomfortable? Punish them with something they helped make? Were you jealous of their money? Of the attention they received?”
Avery stared at the photos. “Who—? Oh, my God. Is that Mr. Hatton and Mr. Sower? Someone killed them too? Also with HepataNix?”
“Was that someone you, Reggie?” Morgan asked, keeping his voice soft. “Did you do this?”
Avery shook his head. “No. Never. I could never. I wouldn’t kill anything. I don’t even eat meat. Tom and Gil are nice guys. I liked them. I would never do something like that to them.”
Danielle watched him for a moment and then flipped the photos over. “Then help us out. What were you doing with Beth’s badge? Why did you follow her as she left that night? We saw you on the surveillance footage from the parking lot. We know that you waited outside until she came out and then followed her as she left. Then someone killed her. You can see why we want to talk to you, don’t you?”
Avery dropped his face down into his hands. “You never met Beth, did you? Never got to talk to her or see her in real life.” He mumbled into the table.
“No. The first time I saw Beth Schultz she looked like this.” Danielle turned the photo of Beth as she was found behind the wheel of her car in her garage back over.
Avery turned away as if he couldn’t bear to look at it. Then slowly returned his gaze to the photo, brow furrowed. Morgan could practically hear the click as the man’s mind went into analytical mode.
Avery leaned forward to brush away the tears that had started to fall and then straightened again. He stared at the photo for a moment. He’d gone quite still. “HepataNix?” he asked. “They did that with HepataNix? How unfair. That was her baby. She’d worked so hard on the roll out, getting everyone all the promo materials they’d need and making sure the ad was ready to go, sending out press releases, coordinating with all her reps all over the country. Someone killed her with it?”
“Yes,” Danielle said.
Avery sat back in his chair, calmer now. “I suppose it makes sense. It wouldn’t take much for someone to know what she did for a living and who she did it for. You could find that on LinkedIn. From there, it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what drug she was working on and that she’d have it in her sample case. A rudimentary understanding of how the drug worked could easily lead someone with an average intellect to understand how it could also be used to kill.”
Okay. Avery might be a bit of a weirdo with the social graces of a frog, but he was definitely smart. He’d figured out that chain of events with very little prompting.
Morgan knew the type. The sciences were full of them. People who were shy or awkward. They might seem dangerous because they were different, but they were essentially harmless. They always seemed to say the wrong thing at the wrong time or to say it too loudly. They stood too close or not close enough and freaked out when someone touched them. They didn’t know when to drop a topic and could send a room into a near coma if you got them on a subject they knew about. Too often, they were also the smartest people in the room, heads so full of information and primed for quick analyses that they didn’t know how to connect with other people even if they longed to.
