The 6:20 Man

Chapter 63

Devine would not be taking the 6:20 in that morning. He knew that as soon as he saw Detectives Shoemaker and Ekman waiting for him at the Mount Kisco train station. Shoemaker tapped out a smoke and both men came forward.

“Pretty early for you guys to be all the way out here.”

“Come on, we’ll drive you to work this morning, Devine, courtesy of NYPD,” said Ekman.

His tone was friendlier, which bothered Devine greatly. Was it just a façade before the hammer came down?

They started off, Devine in the rear seat. He was waiting for the question and it wasn’t long in coming. He just needed to pull off the surprised part.

“Fred and Ellen Ewes are dead.” Before Devine could reply in a shocked manner, Ekman turned and looked at him. “We know you already know.”

Devine nearly swallowed his tongue on that one.

“And we know you got an alibi. We talked to your ‘friend’ Helen Speers. You were with her at the town house during the time in question.”

“You talked to Helen? When?”

“That’s none of your concern,” pointed out Shoemaker. “I thought you’d be thrilled she’d provided an alibi.”

“So is that when they were killed?” he asked.

Ekman nodded. “Between eleven and one that night, yeah. Stabs to the heart. Died pretty quickly. But whoever it was just kept right on stabbing them. It was damn vicious. I’ve been doing this job a long time. It was one of the worst I’ve seen.”

Shoemaker said, “You have friends in high places. You should have told us.”

“I would if I could have.”

“So three people dead who were connected to Sara Ewes, who was also murdered. And what was her sin?”

“She was connected to Brad Cowl, who has disappeared.”

“So, he killed her?”

“He was probably in the building that night. He got a call that I believe was from Stamos on the night she was killed. He headed out in time to murder her. Her phone records should show that.”

“And why would he do that?”

“My friends in high places didn’t enlighten you?”

“The only message we got was that you were a good guy on a government mission and to have your back.”

Ekman added, “So, what’s so special about Cowl?”

“Some things have come to light. But I can’t share them with you. Not that I don’t want to, but fruit-of-a-tainted-tree sort of thing. If I infect the cops with it, the case is dead and the man walks.”

Ekman nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. So, Cowl is a bad guy. Is his money dirty, is that what this is about?”

“It’s not his money. It belongs to other people. People from outside this country. And that’s really all I can say. If the folks above me want to say more, that’s up to them.”

Ekman and Shoemaker exchanged a look. Ekman said, “Okay, but we’re homicide. Financial crimes are another division. We just want whoever killed these people. And it looks like it’s Cowl to you?”

“Or someone working for him. Rich guys don’t usually do the deed, do they? They hire others to do it. Like that Hancock guy. Speaking of, why would he focus on me out of all people?”

“We don’t know,” said Ekman.

“And he also knew before it was made public that Sara had not killed herself. That it was murder. Did you give someone a heads-up on that?”

Shoemaker said, “Brad Cowl is a very important guy in this town. He’s been very generous with certain people at NYPD and City Hall. I’m not saying any heads-up came from there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.”

Ekman interjected, “But from what you said, Cowl might have done Stamos himself.”

“He might have. There might not have been time to hire a gun. By the way, how did she die?”

Ekman glanced at Shoemaker. “It goes no further, Devine.”

“It won’t.”

“The killer drugged her, then tied her to her bed, and then carved the word bitch on her belly. She bled out.”

Devine felt the little breakfast he’d eaten start to come back up on him. He bent forward and stared at the floorboard, his breathing short and choppy. After about thirty seconds he sat up straight and looked at the two men.

Shoemaker almost appeared sympathetic. “Yeah, I know,” he said quietly. “Pretty sick.”

“Was Stamos pregnant?”

“No, that’s what we thought, too. ME confirmed that she wasn’t,” replied Ekman.

“So why do it... that way?”

“It was to send a message, is what I’m thinking. What that message was, who knows.”

“And no one saw anything?” asked Devine.

“Nope. We’ve checked. That late on a weekday in that neighborhood, not surprising. We think the killer got in through a window in the back. Stamos was on the first floor. No signs of a struggle. Same with the Eweses. They were probably dead asleep.” Ekman blanched. “Sorry, bad choice of words.”

“So, the Ewes family got wiped out,” said Shoemaker thoughtfully. “Which seemed to be the killer’s intent. But why? Why did they have to die? They just got to the country. What possible beef could someone have with them? Is it just the connection with their daughter?”

“And her connection to Brad Cowl?” added Ekman. “If he is involved in some crooked money scheme, and maybe Sara Ewes found out? They could have been afraid that she had told her parents something.”

“I was thinking that, too, but now I seriously doubt that actually happened,” said Devine. “She was estranged from her parents. They were Christian missionaries, and I don’t think they would have had any interest in or understanding of any part of Sara’s world.”

“You mean her and Stamos being a thing, like you told us before?”

“Yes. Her mother was not in favor of same-sex couples and made no secret of it.”

“But how could someone even know that? They just got to New York.”

“Well, I found out just by being around her for a few minutes. And she thought her daughter was a slut sleeping around outside of marriage.”

Shoemaker said, “We seem to be going in circles. If all these deaths aren’t connected to the Cowl business, what then?”

Devine thought back to the emails he had gotten. The one that not even the likes of Will Valentine could trace, and he didn’t know if Campbell’s people would have better luck. Although he was hoping Tapshaw, and her magical fingers, could do the trick.

Was the killer trying to let me know that I’m involved in all this? Do they blame me for what happened to Sara and Jennifer? Who would have that sort of grudge against me? What have I done?

He debated on whether to share this with the detectives, but decided not to. It would just piss them off that he had withheld such evidence. And they were getting along so well right now.

“You said the Eweses were stabbed in the heart?”

“Right through, yeah. Why?” asked Shoemaker.

“The heart symbolizes emotions, beliefs, feelings.”

“So?” said Ekman.

“I don’t know. Just thinking out loud. Maybe the killer murdered each person in ways to symbolize the reason why they were killed.”

Ekman and Shoemaker exchanged another, interested glance.

“Sara Ewes was hanged. What does that symbolize?” asked Ekman.

“Well,” said Devine, “in the past, they used to hang traitors.”

So when does my turn come?