57aacbcd9598439b495cce0c68035a7c

“Oh, I believe it,” I said. And I could see that Chase would be hard set to afford a decent place on his policeman’s salary. My family had owned the houses we lived in for generations. At the current real estate prices, we probably wouldn’t be able to afford to live in Hampton Cove either.

We tried the elevator, but a sign said it was out of order. The hallway was as decrepit as the outside of the house had heralded, and so was the stairwell. An old wino was lounging on the bottom step. He was sucking from a liquor bottle and gazing up at us with rheumy eyes. Some local color.

We arrived on the third floor and Chase quickly found the door to his grandfather’s apartment. He rang the bell and pounded the door but to no avail. So he tried the door of his grandpa’s neighbor. A pensioner appeared after what seemed like ten minutes, and peered out through a crack in the door, the security chain well in place.

“Yes? What do you want?”

“Hampton Cove Police Department, sir,” said Chase. “Detective Chase Kingsley. I’m looking for my grandfather—your next-door neighbor. By any chance have you seen him?”

The frown on the man’s face turned into a smile. “Detective Kingsley. I recognize you. You used to come and visit your grandpa a lot, right?”

“I used to,” Chase admitted. “I moved to Long Island this summer and haven’t had a chance to visit him as much as before. Do you know where he is? I’ve tried calling but he never picks up.”

“I have no idea, Detective.” The man unhooked the chain and opened the door. He was short and squat, and dressed in a bathrobe and slippers. The smell of cigars wafted from the room and my throat clogged for a moment at the acrid scent. “All I know is that he had some sort of argument a couple days ago. It was so loud I could hear it over the sound ofCriminal Minds. Almost made me miss the big finale.”

“Who was it? Did you see?”

“When I looked out, the argument was over. All I could see was some guy walking off.”

“What did he look like?”

“Well-dressed guy. Youngish. Nice clean suit. Not the kind you see around here, I have to say. He looked more like a banker than a drug dealer. Unless he was a drug-dealing banker, of course. I’ll bet there’s more of them than you might imagine! Heh heh!” The man laughed a croaky laugh thatwas infectious and I had to smile.

“So you never saw this guy before?” asked Chase, not even cracking a smile.

“Nope. Never saw him before and haven’t seen him since.”

“What did they argue about?”

“Money, I think. Your grandpa seemed to think the guy owed him and the guy didn’t agree. But that’s all I got.”

“And you haven’t seen my grandfather since?”

“Nope.”

Chase rubbed his chin.“To your knowledge… was he involved in anything suspicious?”

The man’s bushy brows shot up. “You mean like drugs? No way. In fact I think me and him were the final few on this block who were clean. Apart from my cigar. Heh heh. But as far as I know smoking a cigar is still not illegal, no matter what those damn busybodies over at the Health Department might claim! Cigars are good for you, son, and don’t let anybody tell you different!”

“Sure they are,” said Chase, clapping a hand on the old-timer’s shoulder. “Thanks, buddy. And if you happen to see my granddad, tell him Chase is looking for him.”

“Will do, son! And if you see him first, tell him to bring me more of those Cohibas. I have no idea where he got them, but they’re damn fine cigars, and at the rate I’m going, I’m almost out!”

Chapter 6

We left the building feeling a little conflicted. Chase wanted to bust down the door to his grandfather’s apartment and look for his dead body, which by now he was sure the well-dressed man had left inside. I told him there was no reason to assume something bad had happened to his grandfather. Maybe the well-dressed man was a representative from the Publishers Clearing House and Grandpa hit the jackpot and was now sipping a pi?a colada under some palm tree somewhere.

“Then why was he arguing with this well-dressed man?”

“Maybe he was trying to increase the payout? You have no idea who that well-dressed man is, Chase, but I think it’s safe to say he wasn’t some hitman working for the Brooklyn mob!”

“I just want to take a look,” he said, glancing up at the building.

The dog produced a loud whine. He wanted to take a look, too. And a bite to eat.

“You’re a cop, Chase. You know as well as I do you just can’t go breaking down doors. You’ll get in trouble if you do.”

“I could get a warrant.”

“You’re not NYPD anymore. You won’t get a warrant. What you need to do is talk to that NYPD buddy of yours and maybe he can take a look.”

“She.” He produced a sigh. “All right. I’ll give her a call. Maybe this cigar-puffing neighbor can even provide a description to a sketch artist and we can find this mysterious well-dressed man.”

“I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for whatever happened to your grandpa.”

He gave me a skeptical look.“Like winning the Publishers Clearing House.”