Chapter Four

Avery and Hunter were both at a cafe restaurant eating lunch during the middle of their shift. Avery and Hunter were sitting in a booth across from each other's seats facing each other while sitting in the same booth together, and Avery was talking about how Emelia Joy's mother, Mrs. Joy, had a hard time trying to get Emelia to understand that she was being aggressive and trying to hurt her family by stabbing her mother with a knife.

Avery told Hunter that it didn't make sense how two girls like Emelia Joy and Mackenna Dexter would be two girls who had been diagnosed with mental disorders. Avery also told Hunter that he found out from Mackenna's case file that his mother, Emma, never told Avery, as Mackenna's brother, that she had also been sent to a mental institution for a mental disorder when Mackenna was only five years old.

"Well, maybe she didn't want you to know," answered Hunter, after chewing and swallowing his food.

"I don't know. Something is definitely going on here. All I know so far is that two girls were murdered in cold blood, and I think this killer may have something to do with kids who have mental illnesses and deserve to die," Avery said.

"So you think Emelia Joy and Mackenna were murdered because they have a mental illness?" Hunter wondered.

"Yeah," Avery said, after this time he chewed and swallowed his food.

Avery sighed and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"I need to talk to my mother. I need for her to explain to me why she never told me about my little sister being sent to a mental institution," Avery said.

"Look, I think it's best if you just let her go easy. Let her recover from all the trauma she endured from you being sexually assaulted and your sister being killed," Hunter said.

Hunter wiped his mouth with his napkin this time.

Avery sighed and said, "Yeah, you're right. I'm just under a lot of pressure."

"Well, then take deep breaths and relax. I'm sure your mom had a good reason to hide your sister's mental health from you," Hunter explained.

Avery nodded his head.

"When did you know about Mackenna's mental health?" Hunter wondered.

"Uh, the day we gave a subpoena to Dr. Joe Hilton. I'm just trying to understand why this killer would kill Emelia Joy the same way Mackenna did," Avery explained.

"I don't know. But as I said many times, we will continue to investigate the case," Hunter said.

Avery nodded his head and heard his work cell phone ringing. Avery pulled out his work phone from his pocket and answered the phone call from Captain Jonson.

"Hey, Captain," Avery answered.

While Hunter continued to eat his food, he heard Avery talking over the phone.

"Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right, we're on it, Captain," Avery said, talking over the phone.

Avery sighed and said, "Okay. Bye."

Avery hung up the phone.

"What's up?" Hunter wondered.

"Um, Captain Jonson wants us down at the station. She said that the Facial Recognition System has a part of a facial recognition of a man who was last seen in the woods at Central Park where Emelia Joy was murdered," Avery said.

"Okay," Hunter said.

Avery and Hunter stood up from their seats and left the restaurant. They headed to the unmarked police car and entered the car. After leaving the restaurant, they drove away from the parking lot and headed to the police station.

At the police station, Captain Jonson was explaining to Avery and Hunter that there was a part of footage of a man who was standing outside in the woods. He stood beside Emelia Joy's deceased body, and at the same time, Avery and Hunter were watching footage of the man who walked around Emelia's body. He knelt down on the ground and watched Emelia Joy lying dead on the ground.

FBI Special Agent Logan Banner was standing next to Captain Jonson, watching the footage on the monitor. He had been working with Avery and Hunter on the investigation and wanted to examine the new evidence himself.

Banner folded his arms together as he watched the man kneeling beside Emelia Joy's deceased body.

"Agent Banner, what do you make of this?" Avery asked.

Banner leaned closer to the monitor, studying the man's movements.

"He's spending time beside the body instead of immediately leaving the scene. That could mean he's examining his work or making sure the victim is dead. We can't determine his motive from this footage alone, but I want to know whether he took anything from the crime scene," Banner explained.

Avery sighed and folded his arms together.

Then the man stood up from the ground after ten seconds and walked away from Emelia Joy's body. The video shut off.

"So this guy was standing there for about ten seconds, and he left her lying there on the cold, wet ground," Avery said.

"Yeah. And so facial recognition shows that he's a possible Caucasian and early-forties guy," Captain Jonson said.

Avery nodded his head and said, "So we may have another possible suspect? If Mr. Piper is not our suspect, who could this person be?"

"That's why I wanted you to come back to the station. Not only did facial recognition show that this guy left Emelia Joy's body, but he also knew Dr. Joe Hilton," Captain Jonson said.

"Wait? The guy who tried to avoid giving us Emelia Joy's medical records? He knows this guy in the video?" Avery wondered.

"Yeah. But not so fast. Mr. Hilton did come down to the station earlier, and I had to ask him if he could recognize the guy in the footage, but he said no. So I could tell in his eyes that I think I knew he was lying about it," Captain Jonson said.

Banner looked at Captain Jonson.

"Did Dr. Hilton explain how he knew the man, or did he deny knowing him altogether?" Banner asked.

"He denied knowing him," Captain Jonson answered.

Banner nodded.

"Then we need to establish whether they're connected through the hospital or whether they knew each other outside of it. If Hilton is lying, there may be a reason, but we shouldn't assume that makes him the murderer."

Avery sighed.

"Well, it's odd that Mr. Hilton came down to the station. What did he want to say to you before you asked him about the guy in the video?" Hunter asked.

"He wanted to talk to you about the fact that Emelia Joy was also neglected by her mother and her father," Captain Jonson said.

"What? Her parents seemed like good people. But since I'm their neighbor, I never once saw them hit their daughter. I didn't see any marks on her," Avery said.

"And this Hilton doctor could only be telling you this because he's accusing the parents," Hunter said.

"No. And he was telling the truth. I saw a video on Mr. Hilton's phone where Mrs. Joy was talking back to Emelia. She was yelling at her and then getting angry at her," Captain Jonson said.

"How did Dr. Hilton not get caught recording this video? I mean, isn't that a violation of privacy?" Avery asked.

Captain Jonson sighed and said, "Yeah. But the thing is, none of the staff at the mental institution noticed he was recording Mrs. Joy yelling at their daughter."

Avery nodded his head no.

"First she's bullied by Mr. Piper, then being sent to a mental institution and being yelled at by her mother, then getting killed. This girl has gone through a lot. She's only eight years old," Avery said, sighing.

Banner looked down at the floor for a moment before looking back at Avery.

"That could explain some of Emelia's behavior, but we still need to understand what happened inside that household. We shouldn't assume that her mental-health history explains why someone murdered her. We need evidence connecting the suspect to the crime," Banner explained.

"So shall we question Mrs. Joy again, see if it's true if she was yelling at her daughter?" Hunter wondered.

"It is true. As I said, Mr. Hilton recorded it. Now we just need to know who this guy is, and also see what Mrs. Joy has to say about her yelling at her daughter," Captain Jonson said.

"Wish us luck," Avery said.

Avery and Hunter stood up from their seats and grabbed their stuff once again before leaving the squad room. Agent Banner followed them.

Avery knocked on the door and heard footsteps approaching the door. The door opened, and Mrs. Joy was the one who opened it.

"Detectives. What can I do for you?" Mrs. Joy asked.

"Can we talk in private?" Avery wondered, furiously.

"Uh, yeah. Come in," Mrs. Joy said, before Avery and Hunter both walked into the house and then Mrs. Joy shut the door.

Agent Banner walked into the house behind Avery and Hunter, showing Mrs. Joy his FBI credentials.

"Mrs. Joy, I'm FBI Special Agent Logan Banner. I'm assisting the detectives with the investigation into your daughter's murder," Banner explained.

Mrs. Joy looked at his credentials before looking back at Avery.

"Why is the FBI involved in my daughter's case?" Mrs. Joy asked.

"We believe Emelia's murder may be connected to other unsolved murders involving young girls," Banner explained. "We're trying to establish whether there's a connection between those cases and what happened to your daughter."

Mrs. Joy sighed.

"I see."

Mrs. Joy turned around and folded her arms together.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Joy asked.

Avery said, "What can you tell us about you having a relationship with Emelia?" Avery wondered.

"Um, I loved my daughter. She is the light of my life," Mrs. Joy said.

"Really?" Avery wondered, furiously.

"May I ask what this is about?" Mrs. Joy asked.

"Well, you tell us. Why didn't you tell us that Emelia Joy was sent to a mental institution? And why did you tell Dr. Joe Hilton to cover the whole story about you abusing your daughter?" Avery wondered.

"I don't know what you're implying," Mrs. Joy said.

"Uh, I think you do," Avery said.

"I don't know what you're implying," Mrs. Joy said, getting a bit annoyed.

"Really? Because unfortunately, there was footage of you being hard on Emelia Joy. You were yelling at her. This was around the time Emelia was being released from the hospital, and Mr. Hilton had recorded you. He showed it to my Captain," Avery said.

"Listen, we just need to know why you were giving Emelia a hard time," Hunter said this time.

"I didn't know he recorded me. Isn't that a violation of privacy?" Mrs. Joy asked.

Avery sighed and said, "Oh, so it is true."

Mrs. Joy sighed in a bit of a frustrated tone of voice as she looked at Avery.

"Okay, you know what, I did. Maybe because she would just follow my rules and be a good girl. I'd just hit her. It's not like I—"

Avery interrupted Mrs. Joy.

"Okay, so I'm asking you this. Why did you hit her? Was it because she would act up sometimes?" Avery wondered.

"Yes," Mrs. Joy answered angrily.

Banner watched Mrs. Joy carefully.

"Mrs. Joy, regardless of your daughter's behavior, she was an eight-year-old child. We need to understand whether anyone else was involved in the abuse and whether her treatment at home had anything to do with the events leading up to her death," Banner explained.

Mrs. Joy looked at Banner.

"I don't see what that has to do with someone murdering my daughter."

"That's precisely what we're trying to determine," Banner replied. "We need to establish the facts before we can understand what happened to Emelia."

Avery looked at Mrs. Joy.

"Okay? Maybe because she was just an eight-year-old girl who would act up, but it has nothing to do with her being mentally unstable?" Avery asked.

"How. Dare. You," Mrs. Joy said angrily.

"How dare me? You do realize that I could arrest you for this," Avery said angrily, walking up to Mrs. Joy.

"I know how to discipline my children. Don't tell me how to teach my children," Mrs. Joy said.

"Oh, I'll tell you how to teach your daughter. You don't hit little girls," Avery said angrily.

Mrs. Joy scoffed.

"You don't know me or my family."

"Yeah. But I do know this, you're a real piece of work, aren't you? You just had to hit her because Emelia was just a little girl who would get on your nerves, and I guess hitting her was your way to discipline her," Avery said.

"Get out of my house," Mrs. Joy said angrily, in a soft tone of voice.

Avery was furiously looking at Mrs. Joy while standing in front of her.

"Get. Out." Mrs. Joy said.

Avery nodded his head and didn't say a word. Avery turned around and walked away. Hunter sighed and followed Avery to the car after Avery and Hunter exited Mrs. Joy's home.

Agent Banner remained near the doorway for a moment, looking at Mrs. Joy.

"Mrs. Joy, if you remember anything about the man in the surveillance footage or anyone who might have been around Emelia before she died, please contact us. We need every piece of information you can provide," Banner said.

Mrs. Joy didn't answer.

Banner nodded before following Avery and Hunter outside.

Avery angrily continued walking to the car.

After sitting inside the car, Avery slammed the door of the driver's side, and he was so angry he was panting a little bit. Avery finding out about Emelia getting abused by her mother really upset him.

Once Hunter opened the door of the passenger's side and sat in the car, he shut the door. Hunter didn't say a word before looking at Avery, and Avery was staring out the window of the driver's door.

Avery angrily and furiously turned on the car with the keys and pulled the gear into drive before driving away.

Hunter didn't know what to say to Avery, though, the whole time as he and Avery rode back to the police station.

Hunter could tell Avery was really bothered by what Mrs. Joy did to Emelia. Avery was not only bothered by it, but he imagined Mackenna as Emelia being abused.

Agent Banner watched the unmarked police car drive away before returning to his own vehicle. He needed to review the evidence and determine whether the unidentified man in the footage could be connected to the older murders.

After Avery had returned home once again, he sat down on his living-room couch and sighed as he took his hands and rubbed his face in frustration. He was so angry at Mrs. Joy that he lost his temper.

Avery sighed once again after rubbing his eyes and his face, and then he leaned over, facing the floor, and lifted his head up.

After Avery lifted his head up, he saw a picture frame of his little sister Mackenna smiling while standing next to Avery and his other brother Alex.

He remembered the picture being taken on the day of Mackenna's eighth birthday party. Alex looked unhappy, and Avery and Mackenna were the only ones smiling.

Avery swallowed as he continued to look at the photo, and he thought for a minute.

After having another flashback of Mackenna, in his flashback he saw Mackenna laughing and smiling at Avery while they were playing in the park together. They were chasing after each other. They were playing hide-and-seek.

After the flashback was over, Avery heard his cell phone ringing, and he pulled out his cell phone from the pocket of his black leather jacket. He took a deep breath before looking at the phone screen and noticing it was his mother calling.

Avery hadn't spoken to his mother in a while. Now his mother, Emma, was calling him after not speaking to him for a while.

Avery didn't know how to ask his mother about Mackenna's mental state, and so he answered the phone and said hello.

"Hey, baby, it's me. Your mom," Emma said.

"Mom. You are calling me after you haven't spoken to me in a while," Avery said.

Emma sighed and said, "Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that."

Avery didn't say another word, and Emma went ahead and explained to Avery why she hadn't spoken to her son in a while.

"I hope you know that your sister's death wasn't your fault," Emma said.

"Is that all you got to say?" Avery asked.

Emma didn't say a word for about a second, and she went ahead with the conversation.

"No. I just wanted to know I'm so sorry about how I treated you after you know what happened to you and then finding out your sister was killed shortly afterwards. I owe you a huge apology. I know you must be angry at me," Emma said.

Avery sighed and said, "I don't know, Mom. I don't think I'm ready to hear the apology from you yet."

Emma nodded her head as she understood what Avery said to her.

"I'm so sorry," Emma said.

Avery, in frustration, rubbed his eyes with his fingers using his left hand and nodded his head without saying a word for about a minute.

"I'm sorry too, Mom. I'm sorry you didn't believe me when I told you it was true that my own father abused me," Avery said.

"Honey, I really am sorry," Emma said in a soft tone of voice.

Avery said, "Well, you can tell me this. How come you never told me about Mackenna being sent to a mental institution?" Avery wondered.

"Wait. How did you know that?" Emma asked.

"So it is true. My sister was sent to a mental institution," Avery said.

"It is kind of a long story. But, honey, Mackenna was not who you thought she was," Emma said.

"No. I don't think you understand. Why did Mackenna go to the mental hospital? What was wrong with her?" Avery said.

Emma sighed and said, "She became really upset. She was always angry. She was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder," Emma said.

Avery scoffed and held back his tears. Avery sniffled and said, "She seemed normal to me, Mom."

"I know. It was because I didn't want to tell you what happened to Mackenna because you were already going through your father's trial, and I didn't think you could handle any bad news," Emma said.

Avery closed his eyes and didn't say another word once again.

"I just want you to know that Mackenna asked me if you would ever forgive her for telling you about what your father did to you when you were fifteen. I told her that you were too angry at her, and Mackenna started crying over it," Emma said.

Avery shed a tear, and Emma could hear her son crying over the phone.

"Please don't cry. Your sister being gone was not your responsibility," Emma said.

"So you're telling me this after years of not talking to me. After you also blamed me for Dad being sent to prison," Avery said.

"I was upset, and I was grieving," Emma said.

"So was I, Mom!" Avery lost his temper once again.

Emma nodded her head as she understood Avery. She knew she had upset her son and regretted that Avery refused to talk to her.

"I have to go," Avery said before hanging up the phone.

Avery continued sitting on the couch and started to cry. Avery sighed and sniffled.

Avery angrily stood up from his living-room couch before grabbing his car keys once again and storming out of his house. He slammed the door after exiting his home.

Avery had gone to the bar and was having shots of vodka. Avery was so angry he started drinking. He was also drinking so much alcohol that it was his way of coping and getting drunk.

"Hit me," Avery said to the bartender.

The bartender poured more vodka into the shot glass before Avery drank his feelings away.

Avery was so drunk he left the bar severely drunk.

Until the next morning, Avery had come to work hungover. He had a headache and was feeling like he was going to throw up.

Avery was wearing black shades to cover his bloodshot eyes with his glasses, and he walked into the squad room while heading to his assigned desk. He put down a to-go cup of Starbucks coffee onto his desk before taking off his glasses.

As he sat down on his chair behind his desk, Hunter walked up to Avery while heading back to his desk, and he saw Avery put aside his glasses.

Avery leaned forward into his desk at the precinct and buried his face in a heavy, desperate facepalm, the fluorescent lights sharpening the throb of a hangover that left him feeling both sick and deeply nauseous, until Detective Hunter Connor leaned over with a concerned frown to see if his partner was actually going to make it through the shift.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked, while taking a few files together and piling them up before setting them aside on his desk.

Avery removed his hand from his eyes and said, "Yeah."

Hunter could tell Avery was not looking well at all.

"You look a little peaked," Hunter said.

Avery nodded his head no and said, "I'm fine."

Hunter nodded his head this time as he understood Avery.

"Just a headache, and I feel like I'm gonna puke," Avery said, sighing.

"Oh," Hunter said.

FBI Special Agent Logan Banner was in the squad room reviewing the case files when he noticed Avery sitting at his desk.

Banner looked at Avery and frowned.

"Detective Dexter, you look like you haven't slept at all," Banner said.

Avery glanced at him.

"I'm fine, Agent Banner."

Banner didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure? We've got a witness to locate, and we need to be able to concentrate when we question him."

Avery sighed.

"I'm just going to lie down in the bunk room."

Avery told Hunter he was gonna go lie down in the bunk room. Avery stood up from his chair and walked away from his work desk before heading to the bunk room all alone.

Hunter decided to go check on his partner.

Hunter stood up from his chair before heading toward the bunk room. He needed to discuss the case with Avery.

Avery had already walked into the bunk room and sighed as he lay down on one of the bunk beds. It was dark in the room.

Hunter came walking into the bunk room to check on Avery. He realized he should leave Avery alone since Avery wasn't feeling so well, but he needed to discuss the case of Emelia Joy's death to tell Avery that they'd had a few leads.

"We got another lead on the case, Dex. Apparently, another witness saw a man who was walking down West 4th Street, close to where you live. They said that they spotted a man wearing black pants and a collared shirt, just exactly like the guy spotted in the woods where Emelia Joy was killed," Hunter explained.

Avery had his eyes closed as he listened to Hunter. His head continued to pound, and Avery felt like he was gonna die. The hangover was so bad that he regretted coming to work.

"Dex? Did you hear me?" Hunter said.

"Yes, Hunter," Avery said.

"So we need to go ahead and have a chat with this person. I don't have his exact name yet, but I'm still trying to locate our witness," Hunter said.

"Okay, so if this witness said he thinks he witnessed the same person wearing the same clothes, and a mask covering his face, who may be the same suspect that was spotted in the video footage, then why didn't he come forward until now?" Avery replied.

"I don't know. But they're saying that this person they saw walking down the street in the same neighborhood where Emelia Joy was living may be the one who killed your sister, too," Hunter said.

"What?" Avery said, opening his eyes slowly.

His pounding headache was making it impossible for Avery to think clearly about the case.

"Yeah. Remember when you told me the other day that Mackenna died when you were fifteen? He was located in yours and your sister's neighborhood as well a few years ago. I think this killer has returned to kill more children, even though the detectives before us were never able to identify him," Hunter replied.

Avery sighed and stared at the ceiling, trying to think clearly.

"I don't know. But, Av, this guy may be our answer. But as I said before, I need to track down the second witness who decided to come forward a bit later, and we can take it from there," Hunter explained, continuing the conversation.

Avery didn't say another word.

"Av?" Hunter replied.

"Uh, yeah. Okay," Avery said, closing his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked.

Avery immediately propped himself up from the bunk bed and sat on the side of the bed. He rubbed his face with his hands as he let out another sigh.

Once Avery removed his hands from his face, he looked at Hunter. Then Avery looked down at the floor and stroked his hair out of his face.

He put his baseball cap back onto his head before standing up from the bunk bed. He then lost his balance and sat back down on his bed.

"Av? You okay, brother?" Hunter said.

Avery immediately grabbed the trash can that was standing beside his bed and began to throw up. He coughed, retched, gagged, coughed once again, and sighed.

Avery was breathing hard as soon as he finished getting sick.

"Here, I'll get you some water," Hunter said.

"No, no. Seriously, Hunter, if you think this witness of ours thinks that they saw the same guy, then he should have told us sooner. I don't know why he waited so long to tell us this," Avery said, sighing.

Avery spat in the trash can and rubbed his face once again, just using his one hand this time.

"Let's go have a talk with him. I'll drive us to his place once we are able to locate him," Hunter said.

"Go without me. I'm too sick," Avery said.

"You might want to come with me. Or go home before Cap sees that you're hungover," Hunter said.

Avery nodded and said, "Okay."

Avery stood from his bed slowly before he was able to walk up to Hunter and eventually left the bunk room.

Hunter shut the door before following Avery to the squad room.

Banner was standing beside his desk when Avery and Hunter returned.

"Have you found the witness's name yet?" Banner asked Hunter.

"Not yet. I'm still trying to locate him," Hunter answered.

Banner nodded.

"Once you have his name and address, let me know. I'll help you question him. If this man is connected to the murders of Emelia Joy and Mackenna Dexter, we need to establish that through evidence."

Avery sighed.

"I need to find out who killed my sister."

Banner looked at Avery.

"I understand, Detective Dexter. But we need to be careful. We can't let our personal feelings interfere with the evidence, especially when we're dealing with a cold case."

Avery nodded without saying another word.

Eventually, Avery and Hunter left the police station once again and went to question their second witness.