Ava approved.

The receptionist greeted her and told her she’d let the director know she’d arrived. Ava had barely sat down when Scott Heuser entered the waiting room and held out his hand. She took it, slightly surprised at his youth. He looked like a fraternity pledge. Mason had spoken highly of Scott Heuser in the past, saying he’d infused the organization with fresh blood and optimism.

He introduced himself and invited her back to his office. The back area of the business was as bare as the front. No frills here. He ushered her into a small office and gestured for her to take a seat. “I’ve found what I can on those two officers.” Candid brown eyes met hers. “You understand we try to keep track of who does what, but we have so many volunteer events it’s nearly impossible to track everyone. People are supposed to sign in and they don’t. Others promise to attend and then don’t show up.” He held up a hand as she opened her mouth. “I’m not criticizing. We’re all very busy and either forget or overextend ourselves. Even I don’t follow through on all my promises.”

Scott flipped through a few sheets of paper on his desk. “Captain Schefte volunteered for almost twenty years. I’m impressed.”

“I can see him doing that,” Ava said. “He was very active outside of his job. What did he do for you?”

“He mostly coached our sports teams. Basketball for ages five through high school. Boys and girls. He also did one-on-one mentorships a few times. He hasn’t done any for the past several years.”

“That’s where you pair a cop with a child who needs another adult influence, right?” Ava asked.

“Yes. Over two-thirds of the kids we work with come from single-parent homes . . . most of those are missing a father. The organization has more male volunteers than female, so it’s worked well to pair up men with high-risk children over the decades.”

“But what about proper training for these volunteers?” Ava asked. “They aren’t experts in child psychology.” She’d volunteered only at the big fund-raisers, which didn’t have child involvement. She hadn’t helped out on the true front lines.

“We have classes for the volunteers before we pair them up. We’re very frank about some of the situations they might be walking into. A child might have an addict in the family or have been abused.” Scott’s face was stone-cold serious. “We tell them to use common sense and understand that most of the kids simply need positive attention. If they see signs of the child needing medical or psychological help, we have resources. The majority of our volunteers have been patrol cops at one point or another; they’re already used to looking for the signs.”

“Very true,” said Ava. “They’ve learned on the job.”

“It makes for an excellent pool of volunteers,” said Scott. “Cops 4 Kidz wasn’t originally intended to rely on police officer expertise; it was started because cops saw a need. Every day. Most police officers picked that profession because they want to help people. Our organization adds another opportunity to provide that help. Often on a more personal level.”

“Most police officers?” Ava questioned.

Scott sighed. “You know as well as I do that some are more about their own egos. Once they realize that we don’t pat them on the back for their service and that this can be heartbreaking work, they leave. We need people who have a deep desire to give and give.”

“Are you saying some of them cause problems?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that at all. There’s a level of quitting that we completely expect. We know it will happen. We try to screen our one-on-one volunteers very carefully so we don’t let a child down when the volunteer decides this isn’t the right fit for them. It’s not for everyone.” He looked at his papers again. “Captain Schefte was a very popular one-on-one volunteer. I wonder what made him step away?”

“How long ago did he quit doing that?”

“The last time he was paired up with a child was three years ago. I see he was assigned to fifteen different children over two decades. That’s a lot of wonderful service.”

“What about Louis Samuelson?” she asked.

Scott studied his second sheet. “Trooper Samuelson helped in one of the after-school homework clubs. Looks like he’s good with middle school math.”

“No, thank you,” said Ava.

“Me neither,” added Scott. “He also did mentoring. Looks like he was currently working with a fifteen-year-old boy.” His mouth turned down. “I wonder if the boy has heard of his death yet. I think I better reach out to the mom and see what kind of support they need. Fifteen is a tough age for boys.”

“Girls, too. All those teen years can really be difficult,” Ava said. She was impressed with the director’s level of personal involvement and hoped it was genuine. “You don’t have Vance Weldon in your database as a volunteer?”

“I don’t. That name doesn’t come up anywhere. But it doesn’t mean he hasn’t helped out. There’ve been plenty of events where officers recruit their friends to come help. We don’t care who shows up at the fund-raising events . . . the goal is to get out the word about our organization to struggling families. The more helpers the better. We keep precise records for the mentoring. We’re very particular when we link an adult with a child.”

“As you should be,” Ava said. “I’ll ask Vance’s wife if he ever helped out. We’re searching for a common thread between the three men, but this seems to only include two of them.”