Reluctantly, or so it seemed to Avery, Collins stepped back and admitted him into a living room that had been smashed to smithereens. Mirrors, lamps, the television... Nothing had been spared. A wooden baseball bat leaned against the wall, leading Avery to conclude it had been used to inflict maximum damage.

Avery turned to Collins. “What the hell happened here?”

“I was kind of... frustrated when I got home a little while ago.”

“So you smashed the shit out of your own home?”

“Better than going after the people who put me in the mood to smash things, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

“What happened to Willie?”

“He was stabbed in the chest. That’s all we’re saying at this time. Did you see him after the game last night?”

“I did not.” This was said through tight lips, and it didn’t take much to deduce that Willie’s error had led to the smash-fest.

“Had you spoken to him?”

“No.”

“Did you try to reach him?”

Avery followed Collins deeper into the townhouse to the kitchen where he went about the motions of making coffee. He held up the can, asking Avery if he wanted some.

“I won’t say no to a caffeine boost.”

“I didn’t try to call him because I didn’t have anything to say to him. Sixteen million dollars a year, and all he had to do was catch the goddamned ball.” Collins turned to Avery. “How could he miss an easy fly ball? The guy is a future Hall of Famer, for crying out loud.”

“Was.”

“Excuse me?”

“He was a future Hall of Famer.”

“Yes,” Collins said with a sigh. “He was. He needed a few more seasons to get there.” He started the coffeemaker and turned to Avery. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m sorry he’s dead. He was a nice guy. I liked him. I respected what he brought to the game and the clubhouse. But I’m pissed off that he missed that easy catch. I’ll never get how that could’ve happened.”

“Did you know of any problems he was having on or off the field?”

“He’d grappled with hamstring issues all season, but that was under control. Did you talk to Jamie?”

“Earlier. She was extremely broken up when she heard the news about Willie. Her reaction led us to wonder if there wasn’t something more to their relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

“Was there anything romantic between them?”

“I don’t know. They spent a lot of time together. People talked, because that’s what people do.”

“Any other issues or problems in Willie’s life that you knew about?”

“I don’t get why you’re asking questions like this when it’s obvious a disgruntled fan took him out.”