“Right. You turned the tables on him with your dirt before he could pull the trigger and throw you to the cops, so he had to change plans and stonewall NYPD.”
“He bought a company recently that can manipulate any video. Before he knew about the dirt I had on him, he basically said he wanted to get the cops off his case by framing me.”
Surprisingly, Speers was shaking her head.
“What?” he said.
“Have you considered the possibility that there might be video and entry log evidence of Cowl being in the building when the woman was killed? If so, he would definitely take steps to erase it. Then he would have the video doctored, maybe using this company he bought, and there you would be instead.”
Devine looked both intrigued by and wary of this theory. “And his motive?”
“He might have been the father of her baby. And he might have known about her abortion and decided to use that against you, because he might have found out about you and Sara having had sex. Which means, if I’m right, that he could have ended up playing you and the cops.”
Devine once more slumped back on the bed. In a hollow tone he said, “Meaning I did a deal with him to avoid being charged with Sara’s death, even though I’m innocent? And in putting together that deal, he might have destroyed the real evidence of his guilt and just gotten away with her murder?”
“What a smart boy you are.”
CHAPTER
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.”