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I opened the door and Max and Dooley hurried in. Their coats were flecked with snow and they looked as if they’d just spent hours in the icy cold, which they had. They hurried to the radiator and plunked down right in front of it. Then, noticing I’d lit a fire in the fireplace, they gratefully moved over to the sheepskin rug in front of it and stretched out, their backs to the fire. It wasn’t a real fire with actual logs, just an electrical one, but it supplied a lot of heat, and the red radial glow was almost as good as the real thing.

“So? What did you guys find out?” I asked. Dooley was checking the socks dangling from the mantle, ascertaining if they were still in place. When he discovered they were, he contentedly placed his head on his paws and dozed off.

“Max?” I asked. “Anything?”

Max yawned, then closed his mouth with a click.“Well, we talked to Kingman, and he remembers an old guy walking around with another guy wearing a Knicks cap. He remembers because the old guy reminded him of Santa so much. The old guy had one of those rolling suitcases, which was a bad idea, as he kept getting it stuck in snowdrifts. But then the guy in the Knicks cap got tired of waiting and snatched the suitcase from his hands and carried it for him.”

“And this happened around the time the Jitney arrived?”

“He’s not sure. He’s learned to ignore the Jitney. Doesn’t even notice it these days.”

Which was to be expected. When your owner runs the store directly across from the bus stop, after a while you stop seeing the buses coming and going.“You’re sure this guy looked like Santa?”

“That’s what Kingman said. He had a nice white beard and one of those red Santa hats.”

It could be Chase’s grandfather. Of course, a lot of people wore those red Santa hats around the holidays, and a lot of eighty-year-old men had white beards. “Did he also see where they went?”

“They went into the Hampton Cove Star.”

I smiled and patted the big red cat on the back.“You did great, Max. You did really great.”

“Thanks. And now I need a nap. Traipsing in the snow all day is not my idea of a good time!”

I got up and picked my phone from the table.“I put some snacks in the kitchen for you guys.”

He looked up with an expression of relish on his furry face.“Cat Snax?”

“Yep. But you’ll have to share with Dooley.”

“Oh, I will. I’ll take seventy percent and leave thirty percent for Dooley. Or eighty-twenty.”

“Why don’t you make it fifty-fifty?”

“Have you seen me? I’m at least twice as big as Dooley, so I need twice as much food.”

“Fifty-fifty, Max. It’s only fair.”

“Oh, all right,” he said grudgingly, then promptly dozed off, just like Dooley.

I watched them with a smile on my face. Amazing. My cats had just found Chase’s gramps.

Chapter 13

I met Chase in front of the Hampton Cove Star, a small boutique hotel in the heart of Hampton Cove. It featured an actual indoor pool, wellness center, fitness club, and whatever other amenities its upscale clientele demanded. There were only about thirty rooms, but they were all top of the line. Pretty pricey, too, as was to be expected. Still, they were usually fully booked during the holidays, and now was probably no exception.

“Guess what?” said Chase when he joined me on the sidewalk. “I think I may have found your Santa.”

“My Santa? You mean our Santa. I mean Hampton Cove’s Santa.”

“He’s right here at the Hampton Cove Star.”

“No way.”

“Way. Your uncle Alec had a drink with a guy who works at Town Hall. And he said the Mayor has set the new Santa up at the Star, all expenses paid, in one of their best rooms. They’re treating him as their star guest. Or guest star. Or whatever.”

“He must be one special Santa. Dan never enjoyed that privilege.”

“Oh, he’s one of the top Santas, according to the Chief’s buddy. The best of the best.”

“He has to be, if they’re willing to spend so lavishly on him.”

He blew into his hands and stomped his feet to stay warm.“So what about my grandfather?”

“Well, turns out he’s also staying here. Someone saw him and Knicks Cap Man head inside.”

“Who’s your witness?”

“You know I can’t talk about that, Chase. I have to protect—”

“Your sources. Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He glanced up at the white fa?ade of the hotel. “Why would my grandfather stay in such a fancy place? And why not tell me about it? None of this makes sense.”

“Unless he was lured here under some kind of pretext and now he’s being held captive.”

He nodded grimly.“Let’s find out, shall we? Solve this mystery once and for all.”

We went inside, through the ceiling-high doors, and found ourselves in a neat little atrium, a giant Christmas tree reaching to the second floor, a sort of bridge running over our heads, garlands and Christmas lights dangling down from it. The desk was straight ahead, and we made our way over.

“Hi,” said the receptionist, a neat little swarthy man with perfectly trimmed black mustache. His head was bald and egg-shaped. “How can I help you?”

“We’re looking for a man,” I said.

“Two men, actually,” said Chase.