CHAPTER
22
IT WASN’T THE 6:20, BUT it still passed by Brad Cowl’s humble digs.
Before Devine had rented his room at the town house, he had done some investigating and knew that Cowl lived there and that this commuter train would pass by it. So he had had his eye on Mount Kisco even without Campbell using a Realtor to get him his current home.
Devine had thought, however unrealistically, that seeing how and where Cowl lived could be used as an advantage. He might be able to take an observation he made from the train and then use it in conversation with the man to impress him, to help Devine move up the rungs at the firm. None of that had happened. His only meeting with Cowl had been in that large conference room that day with all the other newbies. So now he was stuck every single day seeing how ungodly rich the man was.
So much for my grand plan.
As he thought about that, he started thinking about his last few months in the Army.
Roy Blankenship had confided in Devine about his wife’s affair. And Blankenship knew that Ken Hawkins was the one screwing his wife; he had told Devine about it. After Blankenship’s death, Devine had gotten access to the forensic records via a buddy of his in CID. That was when he had learned a lot about vertical versus inverted ligature marks. It was clear even to Devine, not a trained investigator, that it was murder and not suicide, and he had questioned his CID contact as to why the verdict had come down as Blankenship’s killing himself.
His friend told him, “The brass doesn’t like rocking boats, Travis. The war is turning against us, and the last thing they need is an officer-on-officer murder investigation in the mix.”
When Devine had told him that was all bullshit, his friend had added, “Welcome to the politics of the United States Army.”
But after Hawkins had been found dead—his body had shown telltale signs of having been attacked by animals—Devine had gone into a deep depression. He had hated Hawkins for what he had done. He had managed to get the man alone out in the mountains. And then he had unleashed on him, telling him everything he knew, the centerpiece of which was Hawkins’s having killed Blankenship.
At first Hawkins had denied it, but after Devine laid fact on top of fact the man admitted his guilt. And then he had come at Devine with a knife. The men had fought. But Devine was younger, stronger, and his inner motor just couldn’t be beat by the likes of Hawkins. He had left him there, unconscious. But he had never expected the man to die out there.
The official cause of death was internal hemorrhaging brought on by repeated blows to the head and body, blows provided by Devine. However, the official report was that Hawkins had died at the hands of the Taliban. And Devine had never corrected the record. But he also could not remain in the Army with the guilt of what he had done.
Thus the exit from the one organization where he had felt he truly belonged.
And his subsequent exile to the financial world in New York, where his old man was so, so proud of him.
My own personal prison. With no way out.
But maybe Campbell had given him a way. Now he just had to perform.
No one was by the pool at Cowl’s place. There was a gardener pruning a bush. A cardinal landed on top of a table umbrella and performed the short, jerky motions of the head that birds did. The water looked cool and inviting but for some reason made Devine slightly nauseous. He turned away as the train jolted and picked up speed, and the palace was gone.
Devine closed his eyes and sat back in his seat the rest of the way to New York. The city was tough for many natives in the summer. It was crowded with tourists who often had no idea where they were going. But assistance by accommodating locals proud of their city was usually provided and any confusion rectified.
The pavements and buildings absorbed every molecule of heat and threw it violently back at walkers and bikers and drivers. Foul air, driven by funneled winds, could almost burn your nostrils out or lift you off your feet. The subway would blow past underneath, and its thrust would come through the pavement grates with velocity, providing a surprise gust of hot air.
Yet he liked the city in the summer more than in the winter. He could sit on a rock in Central Park, or perch on a bench or take a stroll and pretend there was no one else around. And, somehow, in a metropolis of eight million, it worked. At least for him.
He walked to Broadway from Grand Central. When Devine got to the theater his phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen, where a message appeared. Emerson Campbell wanted to meet with him for a progress report. Devine knew why. Suicide had just changed to homicide. He looked around. It was a typical Sunday on a warm summer’s day in Manhattan, meaning the streets were packed and people were either leisurely walking along or rushing on their way to get somewhere.