“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.”

  CHAPTER

  66

  “A RETIRED GENERAL?” SAID MONTGOMERY after Devine finished explaining where they were going as they climbed on the bike and sped off.

  “Yeah.”

  “And you work for him?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “You really weren’t at Cowl for the money. I knew it,” she added in a self-satisfied tone.

  “It’s complicated,” he repeated.

  “Not from where I’m sitting.” She hugged him more tightly. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Okay. And thanks, I guess.”

  They reached the strip mall and Devine knocked on the door. It opened and they were admitted. A man in a suit led the way and ushered them in to see Campbell. He rose from behind his desk and extended a hand to Montgomery.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Montgomery. Let me get the technicalities out of the way. You breathe one word of this to anyone, you’ll be spending the next twenty years in a federal prison, are we clear?”

  Montgomery gave Devine a dubious look. “Pretty damn clear,” she replied.

  “Sit.”

  “What’s so important we had to meet this fast?” asked Devine.

  “Certain lawmakers in Washington have gotten wind of what we’re doing and are seeking to put the kibosh on our mission.”

  “Why the hell would they do that?” said Devine. “Enemies of this country are—” He broke off and eyed Campbell.

  “Devine, there is one thing that drives our politics. It’s simple and out in the open and yet most people never give it a second thought: money. It used to be that the sources of political funding were severely limited, and those sources also had to be disclosed. That is no longer the case.” He leaned forward. “So, let me tell both of you why my humble office is really interested in Cowl and Comely.” He paused, collecting his thoughts. “We think Cowl is the key link in not just laundering money and buying parts of this country by global players all over the world, but some of the money—billions and billions of it—is going into the coffers of public officials at every level, from local to federal. Now, people do not give that sort of money without expecting something in return. That means that what was revealed in the Pandora Papers and like investigations is just the beginning. The laundered money is being weaponized to really take over this country at all levels.”

  Montgomery said, “I thought there were, like, laws against that kind of stuff?”

  “But if you have enough money, the laws don’t apply to you,” answered Campbell. “And certain people, some of them in high positions of power, want it to keep going. Certain others don’t want this to be uncovered and investigated because they would be directly implicated.”

  “So, what do we do?” asked Devine.

  “Solve this thing before they pull our plug. However, I do have one lead for you.”

  “What is it?” asked Devine.

  “The brownstone on the Upper East Side owned by the Locust Group?”

  “The one my good buddy Christian Chilton presumably lives in,” said Devine, glancing at Montgomery, who looked uncomfortable at this change in the conversation’s direction.

  “We put it under surveillance after you told us about the connection. Two people who are on an Interpol ‘keep eyes on’ list were seen entering and leaving the premises.”

  “And you couldn’t grab them?” asked Montgomery.

  “We had no legal grounds to do so. But these are bad people.”

  “Do we know if anyone else lives there with Chilton?” asked Devine.

  Montgomery answered. “His grandfather, Carroll Chilton, did. We called him Poppy. But I haven’t seen him in years.”

  “Was the brownstone Carroll Chilton’s and then he sold it to Locust?” said Devine.

  Campbell nodded. “From what we could uncover, yes. For three times what it’s worth. And it might have been his grandson who actually sold it.”

  Devine and Montgomery exchanged glances. He said, “Maybe I should go check the place out.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  Devine and Montgomery rose. Devine looked at her and said, “I’ll drop you off at your place in town.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  “I can’t let you do that, Michelle.”

  Campbell said, “He’s right, Ms. Montgomery. That is not possible.”

  “Either you let me go, or I’ll just show up there on my own.”

  Devine said, “I’m dropping you off. Let’s go.”

  He grabbed her arm and dragged her from the room.

  When they were outside, she yanked her arm free and said, “Look, you son of a bitch, you can’t tell me what—”

  “Shut up and get on the bike. That was for the general’s benefit. You’re coming.”

  Montgomery closed her mouth, put on her helmet, and they rode off.

  CHAPTER

  67

  THEY PARKED ACROSS FROM THE brownstone.

  “That’s Chilton’s BMW in front,” observed Devine.

  “I’ve known Christian since we were kids. He’s not some criminal.”

  “He told me he’s running Mayflower. His grandfather started it, and he’s his generation’s representative. What do you remember about his father and grandfather?”

  “Mr. Chilton was a decent guy. Always nice to me. Christian’s grandfather, Poppy Chilton, was incredibly kind. He would play games with us and read to us. Those were really happy times.”

  “And they had money?”

  “Oh yeah. Lots.”

  “A ton of it? I mean, like Cowl?”

  “No, not like that. They . . . they actually had to let my parents go when I was sixteen. The cars had dwindled down to just two. My dad didn’t just work on the cars, he would chauffeur them around, too. The kids had grown up, of course, and my mother acted as a housekeeper and such. But I guess they couldn’t afford her anymore, either.”

  “So they ran into hard times?”

  “The year after we left, the Chiltons had to sell their home. It was a big estate, but old, outside of Boston. Before we left, I remember overhearing Mr. Chilton a couple of times talk about bankruptcy. My older sister was in college by then. My younger sister and me and our parents moved to an apartment in another part of Massachusetts. My parents got other jobs. I did some local modeling gigs and worked as a waitress until I went off to college for a year.”

  “Surprised your parents could afford that.”

  “They couldn’t. The Chiltons had started college funds for us. I burned through one year and then decided it wasn’t for me, and I didn’t like wasting money.”

  “Christian said his dad died.”

  “In a car accident two years ago. His mother lives in Boston, or she did. I haven’t seen her for several years.”

  “How old is Christian? I had him pegged at thirty.”

  “No, he’s only three years older than me. He was at Princeton when the family money totally ran out. But he had a full lacrosse scholarship. He’s very smart. He has two younger brothers. They’re on the West Coast and doing their own thing. But Christian stayed on the East Coast.”

  “And now he’s running Mayflower and living in a big brownstone owned by the Locust Group, who paid a lot more for it than it’s worth, and he’s hanging out with guys on Interpol watch lists. And apparently making a lot of money after the family lost almost everything around six years ago.”

  “It doesn’t look good, I know.”

  “Not good at all.”

  “There he is,” hissed Montgomery.

  Chilton had walked out of the brownstone. He got into his BMW and drove off.

  Devine and Montgomery pulled into traffic behind him.

  Let’s see where you’re going, thought Devine.

  It didn’t take long. The BMW turned into a posh assisted living center. It was located in an old brick building that took up half the block.

  They waited for Chilton to go inside and then followed.

  The place looked like an upscale hotel. As Devine glanced around, he saw elderly residents in wheelchairs and walkers. Some were reading in what looked to be the library; others were watching TV. Still others were just sitting and gazing off or slowly walking around.

  Montgomery caught sight of Chilton walking down a hall and grabbed Devine’s arm to alert him, before Chilton disappeared around the corner.

  “What do you think is going on?” he asked her. “Why is he here?”

  “I think Poppy might be here.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  “Act like we belong here. I’ve actually been doing that my whole life,” she added with a weak smile tacked on.

  They walked down the hall, passing by staff members. One stopped and asked if they needed help.

  Montgomery said, “I was supposed to meet Christian Chilton here.”

  “Oh, yes, he just came in. He’s with his grandfather.”

  “That’s right. He said that Poppy was here now. I haven’t seen him in some time. Is he doing okay?”

  The woman smiled sadly. “It’s not easy getting old. And Mr. Chilton is over eighty. He used to be in the assisted living part of this facility. But now he’s in our memory unit.”

  “Oh, you mean . . . ?” said Montgomery.

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. Would you like me to take you to them?”

  “You know, I think we’ll just catch up with Christian when he’s done, if that’s okay. I didn’t know Poppy was . . . I’ll just let them have their visit.”

  “All right, you can wait in the lobby.”

  “Thanks again.”

  Montgomery turned to Devine, her eyes teary. “God, I didn’t know that about Poppy. I just remember this wonderful old man who liked to play games with us.”

  Thirty minutes later Christian Chilton appeared in the lobby. Devine noted he was wiping at his eyes.

  When he saw Devine and Montgomery, he jerked back. “What are you doing here?”

  “How’s Poppy?” asked Montgomery.

  Chilton looked flustered. “He’s . . . he’s got Alzheimer’s.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that, Christian? I live here. I could have come and visited him.”

  “He wouldn’t remember you. He doesn’t remember me.” He glanced at Devine. “And what are you doing here with her?”

  “We’re friends, Christian, like you and me,” answered Montgomery.

  Chilton stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced away.

  “This place must be very expensive,” said Montgomery.

  “Everything in New York is very expensive.”

  Devine said, “You’ve come a long way in a very short period of time.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” barked Chilton.

  “From family bankruptcy to mega bucks in six years?”

  Chilton shot Montgomery a look. “You should keep your mouth shut, Michelle.”

  “Is that why you did it? To pay for Poppy’s care? And to support your mom?”

  “Did what exactly?”

  Devine said in a low voice, “You really want to go down with Brad Cowl?”

  Chilton took a step back and said, “I got a meeting to get to.”

  Montgomery put a hand on his arm. “Christian, we can help you get out of this.”

  He shook his head, then looked at her and smiled sadly. “No, you can’t, Michelle. We’re not kids anymore. And this isn’t a game.”

  “It’s never too late. You remember Poppy telling us that when we got into trouble.”

  “Poppy . . . It’s just too late, Michelle. But I appreciate you trying.”

  “Michelle told me that you set her up with Cowl,” interjected Devine. “Why’d you do that?”

  Chilton eyed Montgomery. “I told you why. I knew she could use the money. Brad loves beautiful women, and there’s no woman more beautiful than Michelle.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “He also pays her to wear red and green bikinis at certain times out by the pool.”

  Chilton looked at him funny. “A bikini? Why would he pay for that?”

  “And the last lady he employed for that purpose ended up dead. They said suicide, but I don’t think she jumped into the East River all by her lonesome.”

  “What ‘last lady’?”

  “You really don’t know, do you?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “How much funding do you get from Cowl?”

  “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

  “But you will have to tell the police.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Chilton heatedly.

  “Your brownstone is owned by the Locust Group, not by you. They’re laundering and hiding money, Christian, on a global scale. We’re offering you an exit ramp. You just have to work with us.”

  “Christian,” said Michelle, “we’re trying to help you.”

  “I don’t need help. Everything will be fine.”

  “Four people are dead and Cowl has done a runner,” said Devine. “He’s leaving people like you to hold the bag.”

  Chilton walked away. They followed him outside.

  Devine said, “If you work with us, we can help.”

  Chilton whirled around. “Who are you? I thought you were working for Brad.”

  “I am. And I’m not.”

  “That’s as clear as mud.”

  “If you don’t jump to the other side, this will not end well for you. Then who’ll look after your grandfather?”

  “Fuck off.”

  “Christian!” said Michelle.

  He got into his BMW and left tire rubber on the asphalt as he sped off.

  Devine looked at Montgomery, who was staring after the car.

  “Like he said, you’re not little kids anymore, Michelle. You can’t save him if he doesn’t want to be saved.”

  “I doubt I can save anybody, not even myself.”

  “Well, for that, you’ve got me.”

  CHAPTER

  68

  WHEN DEVINE RETURNED HOME IT was nearly eleven. He was surprised to see Tapshaw sitting on the couch eating a bag of chips along with a bowl of ice cream. She was almost always in her room, and he had never seen her eating chips and ice cream before.

  “Hey, Jill, what’s up?”

  She looked up at him. Her face was puffy, and it looked like she had been crying.

  “What’s wrong?” he blurted out.

  “Mayflower bagged on me.”

  Oh shit. “What the hell happened?” said Devine automatically, although he knew very well what had happened.

  “About an hour ago, Christian Chilton sent me a very curt email and said that their investment plans had changed, and that they were no longer interested in the dating platform sector. I mean, they go from investing fifty million to nothing?”

  Devine sat down beside her. “I’m sorry. But maybe it’s for the best.”

  “That money would have launched us into the stratosphere, Travis. I don’t think I’ll be able to find that good a deal anywhere else. The valuation was sky-high.”

  “But you’ve overcome every challenge. You’ll get past this one, too.”

  “But what the hell happened between him emailing me this morning and everything was hunky-dory and an hour ago when he told me to basically eat shit and die?” She looked at him. “Do you have any inkling?”

  Devine couldn’t even look at her. “I don’t know, Jill. Crap happens in business, I guess. Maybe they ran into some funding problems,” he added lamely.

  She perked up, wiped her eyes, and patted his hand. “It’s okay. I’ve got other irons in the fire. Our cash burn is under control. We can make it until new money comes in. And in two years I’ll look that jerk up and he can eat some crow.”

  He smiled but still couldn’t meet her eye. “Now you’re talking.”

  He went up to his room and fell asleep in his clothes.

  * * *

  The next morning, he took the 6:20 in. He knew Montgomery wouldn’t be at Cowl’s place, so he almost didn’t look out. But when he saw others in the train staring out the windows, he did, too. And his pulse rate spiked.

  Oh God.

  The police and a forensics team were by the pool. And they were pulling something out of the water. It looked like—

  The train gave a jolt and picked up speed. Devine craned his neck back, but he couldn’t see anything.

  The man next to him said, “Damn, man, was that a body in the pool? Please don’t tell me it was the bikini gal.”

  Devine didn’t answer. His heart was racing so fast he thought he might be sick.

  He took out his phone and punched in Montgomery’s number.

  Come on, come on. Shit, please, please answer your phone. Don’t be dead, Michelle. Don’t—

  It went to voice mail. He tried again. Same thing. He texted her and awaited a reply. Nothing. He went online and scanned the news about a body’s being found at Brad Cowl’s house.

  There was nothing.

  When the train pulled into the next station he jumped up and ran out the opening doors. He hoofed it outside the station and grabbed the first cab he saw. He gave the address and tried calling her the whole way.

  By the time the cab dropped him off he had no hope left. Why did she come back here?

  The area was blocked off, so Devine joined a group of other gawkers in front of the house. A black van waited, presumably for the body. Police were everywhere, keeping people away and securing the crime scene.

  A sedan pulled up, and Ekman and Shoemaker climbed out. Devine ran over to them. “I saw them pulling a body out of the pool when we passed by on the train. Is it . . . is it . . . ?”