The 6:20 Man

Chapter 65

Devine was on his way to the subway after leaving work early when his phone rang.

“Michelle?”

“Where are you?” she asked.

“Walking up Broad Street and enjoying the heat, why?”

“Can you meet me at Brad’s place later, the one outside the city?”

“Why?”

“I can’t get into his penthouse without his phone, but I do have a key to the house. If he’s not there, we can make a search. We might find something to nail that son of a bitch. And if he is there we can... well, strangle the asshole.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Devine took the train home, changed, and was heading out when Tapshaw called out to him.

He turned to see her at the top of the stairs. “I got an email this morning. Mayflower is going to pull the trigger and invest. Fifty million, Travis, and at a valuation that will leave me with complete control of the company. This will change everything.”

He tried to force a smile. Force, because if this was dirty money, and it had to be taken back? “That’s great, Jill. You must have really wowed them. And that valuation means you are rich!”

She blushed at this. “I’ve been scrimping and saving for so long, it doesn’t feel any different. But I believe they definitely think there’s a lot of potential in my platform and business plan. If I close the deal, how about another tequila date? You helped me a lot.”

He again forced a smile. “I’m all in. But my turn to buy.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Hell, Travis, with all that money I think I can afford to splurge a little. And the thousand dollars you put in? It’s worth a lot more now.”

He watched her walk off. And then his smile faded. Shit.

He hopped on his bike and sped off to meet Montgomery.

She was waiting outside the gates for him. She had Ubered out, she told him.

“What about the hired help?” he asked.

“They’re used to me being around. And as I said before, they’re no fans of Brad’s.”

They headed into the house and a maid came around the corner and nearly plowed into them.

“Oh my goodness, Miss Michelle, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Denise. Is Brad here? I’ve been calling and calling and nothing.”

“No, ma’am. I haven’t seen him in a few days. But that’s not unusual. He’s so busy. He might be in China for all I know.”

“Right, well, we’re going to hang out here for a bit. Travis here works for Brad, and hopefully, he’ll show up. Look, why don’t you and the rest of the crew take the rest of the night off? There’s no reason for you to hang around.”

“But if Mr. Cowl—”

“If he shows up, I’ll take full responsibility.” She smiled impishly. “And I can mix the man a drink myself if he so requires. And fry him an egg.”

Denise grinned. “All right, miss, if you’re sure.”

Ten minutes later the staff had left and gone to their quarters on the other side of the property.

Montgomery closed the door behind them and turned to Devine. “Let’s hit it.”

She led him into what looked like a home office.

“What exactly are we looking for?” he asked.

“Anything to show the guy is a crook.”

“And maybe a killer,” he said.

“Two people dead and—”

“It’s now four, actually.”

She whirled around to stare at him. “What!”

“Sara Ewes’s parents. They were murdered in their bed at Sara’s place two nights ago.”

“Oh my God. And you think Brad—?”

“I don’t know. I do know someone sent me, and apparently only me, an email detailing Sara’s crime scene. They also sent me messages about the murders of Stamos and the Eweses. It has to have been the killer. Which means the person has some beef with me. Only I don’t know why.”

“You had a thing going with Sara. Maybe the killer knew and was jealous.”

“That would explain some things. And Stamos and Sara were apparently a couple but keeping it under wraps. Maybe that’s why Stamos was killed.”

“And the parents?”

“The mother was outright hostile to Sara’s lifestyle. The email shows the killer didn’t like that. But I’d like to know how the person knew about it.”

“It might have been in a diary or something.”

“Which the cops couldn’t find.”

“Why would the killer care what her mother thought of Sara?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Devine.

“Hey, maybe she broke up with the guy she was seeing. He was the father and she ended the pregnancy because she didn’t want to carry his baby.”

“I found out that Sara had artificial insemination. She used a sperm donor.”

“But then why terminate the pregnancy?”

Devine shook his head. “No idea.”

They began searching the office. They found nothing helpful there and headed upstairs.

“We have separate bedrooms,” Montgomery told him. “Brad’s is at the end of the hall. It’s about as big as my apartment.”

They went inside the chamber, which was really a suite with multiple rooms and every rich-guy toy one could hope for: two fireplaces, enormous TVs, a full bar, a sitting area, a spa with steam room, sauna, and whirlpool, a massage room, and a bathtub nearly large enough to do laps in, with a walk-in shower next to it that looked like a Roman grotto. And five classic pinball machines along with a pool table.

“Who could sleep in here?” he said. “Too many distractions.” Devine looked at the bed that was about the size of his room. “How do two people find each other on that?”

“Brad never had a problem finding me, I can assure you.”

“Don’t go there, Michelle. I do not want to hear it.”

After a fruitless search, they perched on the bed and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling tinted windows.

“So, what now?” asked Montgomery.

“The penthouse is a no-go. Area 51 the same. So I’m not sure what now.”

Devine’s phone buzzed. It was Campbell.

“We need to talk right away.”

“Where are you?” asked Devine.

“The first place we met.”

“I can be there in thirty minutes.” He glanced at Montgomery. “Mind if I bring along someone?”

“Who?”

Devine told him.

“That is not a good idea, Devine. We have no idea if she’s working for Cowl and just stringing you along.”

Devine looked at Montgomery. “I’ve trusted her with my life, and she came through. She’s had plenty of opportunities to throw me to the dogs and she hasn’t. I’ve told her a lot. And if she had ratted me out to Cowl, I wouldn’t be around.”

“This is highly unusual, Devine.”

“You recruited me, sir. I’m not a trained spy or intel officer. I’m flying by the seat of my pants. But in the Middle East I spent years reading people, trying to decide if they were trustworthy or would betray me when the opportunity arose. And I got damn good at it. So I’m just asking you to trust me on this. Soldier to soldier.”

“See you in thirty.”

Montgomery stared at him fearfully. “Y-you... you’re a spy?”

“I don’t know what I am, really.”

“Who the hell was that?”

“You’re about to find out.”