The 6:20 Man(67)

43


AS HE WAS HEADING TO his room, Jill Tapshaw called out to Devine from her doorway. She was dressed up, her hair was styled, and she had on makeup, all a rarity for her.

“You going out?” he asked, walking over to her.

“No, I’ve already been out. I had a meeting with Christian Chilton from Mayflower Enterprises. He came out to Mount Kisco. We met at a fancy restaurant in town. He bought the meal and everything. And he had two associates with him.”

“What’d you think?”

“He’s very professional, stylish, expensive suit. His haircut cost more than my dress. But his face was bruised and swollen; he must have hit it on something very hard.”

Yes, he did, thought Devine. “How did it go?”

“They’re very interested in Hummingbird. We’re sending them our current slide deck and updated financials. I could tell from what he said that they have a ton of capital and not many viable places to put it. That’s a problem for a lot of investment firms these days. There are lots of shitty companies out there begging for money.”

“Well, you’re not a shitty company, you’re the real deal. And don’t forget what I told you about valuation.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to quadruple rather than triple it. That way we can back off to look like we’re giving something up and still get to three-x of what we had hoped for.”

“There you go, thinking like a Harvard MBA again.”

“But I wanted to thank you for what you did. This could really be the turning point for Hummingbird.”

“What I did was nothing compared to what you’ve done, Jill. If Hummingbird blasts off, it’ll be because of you and no one else.”

“You know, you might want to register on our platform. There are legions of wonderful ladies looking for someone like you.”

“Maybe I will. Hey, any luck with the email I forwarded to you?”

“I’m through about three layers of obstruction. I can see why Will was having trouble, but I’ll keep working on it. I see it now as a cool challenge.”

“Thanks.”

“So, they haven’t found out what happened to Sara Ewes?”

“No, not yet. I met her parents. They came in from New Zealand. They’re staying at her place for now.”

“I’m sure they’re devastated.”

“Maybe the father is.”

Tapshaw frowned. “What do you mean? And her mother’s not?”

“She’s a piece of work, actually. Turns out Sara was pregnant but she terminated it. Her mother accused her of being a slut and of murdering her child.”

“That’s awful.”

“And no surprise, her mother and Sara were estranged. She said Sara had changed over the last year. So I’m not sure she cares all that much about her daughter’s being dead. And they’re missionaries, teaching Christianity in New Zealand.”

“They should try teaching themselves to be nice to other people.”

“But you’re trying to make the world a happier place,” said Devine. “So just keep doing what you’re doing.”

She pecked him on the cheek and went into her room and closed the door. He was about to go to his room when he heard the doorbell ring. He looked at his watch.

What now?

He hustled down the stairs to find Valentine at the open door staring at . . . Jennifer Stamos.





CHAPTER





44


VALENTINE TURNED TO LOOK AT Devine. “It’s for you, Travis.”

“Thanks.”

Valentine walked off and Stamos looked nervously at him. “Surprised?”

“Yeah, I am. Everything okay?”

“Can we talk?”

He looked around. “Out on the front porch is the most private. I’ve got three roommates.”

“Okay. But what about the people living in the places next to you?”

“They’re empty. Being renovated by the owner.”

“Okay.”

“You want a beer or something?”

“No, I’m good.”

He closed the door behind him, and they sat side by side on the brick steps.

She had on shorts and a sleeveless blouse and sandals. The temperature was still around eighty and humid. She looked at his clothes and said, “Did you just get home?”

“I had a few errands to do after work.”

“Is this a bad time?”

“No, it’s fine. Did you take the train out here?”

“No, I took that Zipcar parked over there. It’s silly to keep a vehicle in the city.”

Devine looked at the green Prius. “Agreed. And you got my address from . . . ?”

She looked embarrassed. “From the personnel office.”

“Didn’t think they gave that info out.”

“They normally don’t. Look, I’m sorry. I just wanted—”

“It’s okay, Jennifer. Fire away.”

He knew why she was here. He just wanted her to know this was not going to go all her way, or easily.

“I spoke with . . . Brad.”

“And he told you that we met?”