As Avery and Ramirez staked out the block surrounding Allen Haggerty's address, she received Haggerty's file via email. She was surprised to find little on it. He had three speeding tickets since the age of seventeen and had been briefly arrested at a mostly non-violent protest in New York City four years ago, but nothing serious.
Maybe he just went a little nuts when Patty tried leaving him, she thought. She knew it happened from time to time. It was, in fact, one of the most prominent excuses given by violent husbands who beat their wives. It came down to jealousy, a lack of control, and feeling vulnerable.
No one was home, so within an hour and a half of informing the Dearbornes that their daughter was dead, there was an APB out for him. While canvassing the neighborhood, Ramirez once again showed Avery just how in tune he was with her. "This whole thing is making you think of Rose, isn't it?" he asked.
"It is," she admitted. "How did you figure that out?"
He smiled. "Because I know your face very well. I know when you're pissed, I know when you're embarrassed, uneasy, and happy. I also noticed how you quickly looked away from the pictures of Patty in the Dearborne house. Patty wasn't much older than Rose. I get it. Is that why you insisted on breaking the news to her parents?"
"Yes. Good catch."
"It happens from time to time," he said.
It wasn't until 10:08 that Avery's phone rang. Connelly was on the line, sounding both tired and excited. "We've located Allen Haggerty coming out of a bar in the Leather District," he said. "We've got two of our guys holding him for you. How soon can you be there?"
The Leather District, she thought. That's where Rose and I were earlier today, thinking how good our lives were and how timidly we were repairing our relationship. And now there's a potential killer in that same location. It feels…weird. Like coming full circle in some strange way.
"Black?"
"Ten minutes," she answered. "What's the bar?"
She took down the information and just like that, Ramirez drove them into the very same area of the city where she had, less than twelve hours ago, been enjoying time with her daughter.
Knowing that was something that Wendy Dearborne would never again get to do sat heavy on her heart. It also made her a little angry.
Quite frankly, she couldn't wait to grill this little sonofabitch.
***
The two officers who had located Allen Haggerty seemed happy to hand him off. One of the officers was a guy Avery had gotten to know fairly well-an older man who would likely be retiring within a few years. His name was Andy Liu and he always seemed to have a smile on his face. But not now. Now, he seemed irritated.
The four of them met outside of Andy Liu's patrol car. In the back seat, Allen Haggerty peered out at them, confused and clearly pissed off. A few people passing by to bar-hop on a Friday night tried to see what was going on without being too obvious.
"He give you any problems?" Ramirez asked.
"Not really," Andy's partner said. "He's just a little drunk. We were almost ready to take him to the precinct and give him a nice interrogation room, but O'Malley said he wanted you to talk to him before we made that sort of decision."
"Does he know why you want to speak with him?" Avery asked.
"We told him about Patty Dearborne's death," Andy said. "That's when he really lost his mind. I tried to keep it civil in the bar but in the end, I had to cuff him."
"That's fine," Avery said. She looked into the back of the patrol car and frowned. "Do you mind if we borrow your car for a second?"
"Help yourself," Andy said.
Avery took the driver's side while Ramirez slid into the passenger seat. They angled themselves to the side to peer easily into the back at Allen.
"So how did it happen?" Allen asked. "How did she die?"
"That's still not clear," Avery said, not seeing any reason to be vague with him. She'd learned a long time ago that honesty was always the best approach if you wanted to get a proper read on a potential suspect. "Her body was discovered in a frozen river, under the ice. We don't have sufficient information to know if that was what killed her or if she was killed before being thrown into the river."
That might have been a little harsh, Avery thought as she watched a soft shock fill Allen's face. Still, seeing that genuine expression on his face was all she needed to have a good feeling that Allen Haggerty had nothing to do with Patty's death.
"When was the last time you saw her?" Avery asked.
It was clear that he was having to struggle to think about it. Avery was pretty sure that by the time the night was over, Allen would shed more than a few years over his now-deceased lost love.
"A little over a year ago, I guess," he finally answered. "And that was purely coincidental. I ran into her as she was coming out of a grocery store. We looked at each other for like two seconds and then she hurried off. And I don't blame her. I was an asshole to her. I got pretty obsessed."
"And there has been no contact since then?" Avery asked.
"None. I faced the facts. She was done with me. And being obsessed with someone really isn't the way to win them over, you know?"
"Do you know of anyone in her life that might be capable of doing something like this to her?" Ramirez asked.
Again, there was a struggle behind Allen's eyes as he tried to piece it all together. As he thought about this, Avery's phone rang. She glanced at the display and saw that it was O'Malley.
"Yeah?" she asked, answering quickly.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Speaking with the ex-boyfriend."
"Any chance he might be the one we're looking for?"
"Highly doubtful," she said, continuing to watch the sorrow overtake Allen's face in the back seat.
"Good. I need you back at the station on the double."
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"That depends on how you look at it," O'Malley replied. "We just got a letter from the killer."