62 pages • 2 hours read
David BaldacciThe 6:20 Man
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 68-77Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 68 Summary
In this pivotal chapter, the plot thickens when Tapshaw reveals Chilton’s withdrawal from a crucial investment. As the narrative unfolds the following morning, passengers on a train witness a grim scene at Cowl’s residence: the retrieval of a body from his pool. Amidst the chaos, Devine’s attempts to reach Montgomery prove futile, culminating in a rushed journey to Cowl’s home. His arrival coincides with the detectives’ presence, and he receives a text from Montgomery revealing that the body in the pool is Chilton.
Chapter 69 Summary
Devine faces the unsettling truth of Chilton’s fate—a violent encounter leading to drowning. Sharing this grim discovery with Montgomery, they ponder the intertwining of the recent deaths with illicit financial activities, considering the possibility of multiple perpetrators behind these sinister events.
Chapter 70 Summary
A mixed reception awaits Montgomery as Valentine’s warmth contrasts with Speers’s animosity, the reason for which Devine withholds. The chapter takes a turn when Montgomery admits to Tapshaw her interactions with the Hummingbird platform and implicates Ewes, leading to a tense revelation as Devine grapples with his memory of the conversation.
Chapter 71 Summary
A shared commute into the city offers Devine and Montgomery a new vantage point on the pool incident, igniting a contentious dialogue about Hummingbird. Montgomery admits that she has been investigating Ewes’s involvement with Chilton’s potential investment.
Chapter 72 Summary
Devine is surprised when he is able to access the 51st floor without difficulty. His surprise deepens when the elevator opens to reveal a cavernous, empty space—all the computer equipment has been removed, along with Devine’s surreptitiously placed camera. He consults with Sam, the security guard, but he doesn’t know anything. He then speaks with Wanda Simms, showing her the empty 51st floor and suggesting that she should look for another job. He makes the same suggestion to the junior traders he works with. Before leaving the building, he sends an email to Cowl stating that the law is about to catch up with him and offering a deal.
Chapter 73 Summary
The chapter highlights the limitations of surveillance as Campbell’s agents track the movement at Cowl and Comely without legal authority to take any action. A pivotal meeting is set between Cowl and Devine, and Montgomery insists on being present.
Chapter 74 Summary
An encounter at Cowl’s premises escalates quickly as Devine and Montgomery face Hancock and his armed associates, who plan to frame them for Chilton’s murder. Devine mentally prepares for an imminent confrontation.
Chapter 75 Summary
As Hancock and his henchmen prepare to attack Devine and Montgomery, Montgomery pretends to faint. Devine lays her down on the bed while surreptitiously grabbing the small handgun she has strapped to her thigh under her skirt. Now armed, he swiftly dispatches his assailants, killing all except Hancock and Cowl, whom he needs alive. Devine demands information, but Cowl’s evident fear reveals that he is working for people much more powerful than he is. Campbell arrives and arrests Cowl.
Chapter 76 Summary
This chapter brings revelations. Hancock is revealed to be an ex-CIA operative whose real name is Bartlett. Campbell calls Devine to let him know that both Hancock/Bartlett and Cowl have been killed—a major setback for the investigation. Devine and Montgomery revisit the site of Ewes’s death, re-evaluating the origins and implications of an anonymous email that once pointed to the killer.
Chapter 77 Summary
A foreboding discovery awaits as Devine and Montgomery encounter an abandoned vehicle and, after breaking into Myers’s home, find Myers dead. Devine’s assertion that Myers was entangled in Ewes’s murder and the subsequent discovery of her body adds a twist to the narrative, a mystery that is further compounded by the revelation that Myers was poisoned.
Chapters 68-77 Analysis
In Chapters 68-77, the dialogue between Travis Devine and Michelle Montgomery is fast paced, with short sentences reflecting natural conversation and suggesting the developing rapport between the two. For example, in Chapter 76, when Devine explains to Montgomery that he is thinking about returning to the scene of Sara Ewes’s death, the author describes Montgomery’s response as “quick,” implying the speed of her thoughts at that moment.
The narrative perspective and dialogue in these chapters shift the reader’s viewpoint alongside the characters while also adding to the characters’ depth by either leaving out or revealing their thoughts. In Chapter 71, Montgomery, who has often watched the train from her poolside vantage point, rides the train herself for the first time. Her reaction to seeing the pool at Cowl’s from the train is terse. She remarks that the train gives her a “different perspective” on the Cowl home, but the reader does not learn more of her inner thoughts, leaving them to question her attitude about the events surrounding Chilton’s death. In another scene, a conversation about Stamos’s murder reveals a stark contrast between Cowl’s self-preservation instincts and Montgomery’s inclination to save others. These differing viewpoints are laid bare during the exchange, adding depth to their characters.
Because the reader is limited to Devine’s perspective in the novel, they must piece together the puzzle of the narrative, guided by his realizations. The plot in these chapters presents dual mysteries for Devine to unravel: the trail of illegal finances linked to several deaths and the murders of Ewes and her family. The plot nudges the reader to question, alongside Devine, the possible connections between these events.
This section of the novel also emphasizes the theme of Technology as a Double-Edged Sword. It notes the company security system’s inability to track each individual’s movements effectively, a technological limitation that plays a crucial role when Myers evades capture. Detectives Shoemaker and Ekman’s investigation into Ewes’s murder further highlights the system’s shortcomings, emphasizing the theme of technology’s fallibility as reflected in the compromised video evidence.
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