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.”