The 6:20 Man

The dynamics within Devine’s residence subtly shift as Devine returns Montgomery to its protection. Devine mentally catalogs the personal items of his housemates—including a photo in Valentine’s room that he believes may be of Valentine as a child with his parents—hinting at undisclosed histories and relationships. Tapshaw casually invites everyone out for drinks, and during the conversation at the pub, she reveals that she could have worked for the National Security Agency but chose to start her dating company instead because she didn’t want to spy on people. Valentine claims to have no interest in romantic entanglements, but Devine sees him and Speers exchanging glances that arouse his suspicions. The mysterious interaction suggests an unspoken familiarity, which Devine observes but cannot yet decipher. Thinking of the family photo he saw in Valentine’s room, he asks Valentine whether he has family back in Russia, to which Valentine replies, “I have nobody, dude. Nobody. Way I like it” (383).

The calm is broken when Devine awakens to a house filled with gas, a potentially deadly situation. He rescues Speers and Tapshaw, but Valentine is absent from the house. EMTs discover that the leak was intentional. Later, a note taped to Tapshaw’s computer casts suspicion on Valentine, and Devine concludes that Valentine was involved with the money-laundering scheme and murders.