I replied, "It was perfectly innocent. I stopped by to see Tom about something."
Mrs. Murphy looked at me, and I could feel Beth's eyes on me, too. I said to Mrs. Murphy, "I was a friend of the Gordons."
"Oh…"
Mr. Murphy chuckled up at the ceiling. He informed me, "My wife's got a dirty mind."
"Me, too." I asked Mrs. Murphy, "Did you ever socialize with the Gordons?"
"We had them here to dinner once when they first moved in about two years ago. They had us over for a barbeque right after. Never got together since then."
I couldn't imagine why. I asked Mrs. Murphy, "Did you know any of their friends by name?"
"No. I expect they were mostly Plum Island people. They're a strange bunch of ducks, if you want my opinion."
And so on. They loved to talk. Mrs. Murphy rocked, Mr. Murphy played with the lever on the chair and kept changing inclines. During one of his flat-out positions, he asked me, "What'd they do? Steal a whole bunch of germs to wipe out the world?"
"No, they stole a vaccine that's worth a lot of money. They wanted to be rich."
"Yeah? They was only rentin' next door. You know that?"
"Yes."
"Paym' too damn much for the house."
"How do you know?"
"I know the owner. Young feller named Sanders. He's a builder. Bought the place from the Hoffmanns, who're friends of ours. Sanders paid too much, then fixed it up and rented it to the Gordons. They paid too much rent."
Beth said, "Let me be blunt, Mr. Murphy. Some people think the Gordons were running drugs. What do you think?"
He replied without hesitation, "Could be. They was out in the boat at odd hours. Wouldn't be surprised."
I asked, "Other than the bearded man in the sports car and myself, did you ever see any suspicious types in the yard or out front?"
"Well… can't say as I have, to tell you the truth."
"Mrs. Murphy?"
"No, I don't think so. Most of the people seemed respectable. They drank too much wine… recycling bin was full of wine bottles… sometimes they got loud after they were drinking, but the music was soft-not this crazy stuff you hear."
"Did you have a key to their house?"
I saw Mrs. Murphy shoot a glance at Mr. Murphy, who was staring at the ceiling. There was a silence, then Mr. Murphy said "Yeah, we had the key. We kept an eye on the house for them because we're usually around."
"And?"
"Well… maybe last week, we saw a locksmith truck there, and when the feller left, well, I just went over to try my key and it didn't work no more. I sort of expected Tom to give me a new key, but I never got one. He's got the key to my house. You know? So, I called Gil Sanders and asked him, you know, because the owner is supposed to have the key, but he didn't know nothing about that. It's none of my business, but if the Gordons wanted me to watch over the house, I guess I should have the key." He added, "Now I'm wondering if they was hiding something in there."
"We're going to make you an honorary deputy, Mr. Murphy. Hey, don't repeat anything that was said here to anyone except Chief Maxwell. If anyone comes around claiming to be FBI, or Suffolk County police, or New York State police, or anything like that, they might be lying. Call Chief Maxwell or Detective Penrose. Okay?"
"Okay."
Beth asked Mr. Murphy, "Do you own a boat?"
"Not anymore. Too much work and money."
"Did anyone ever visit the Gordons by boat?" Beth asked.
"Now and then I'd see a boat at their dock."
"Did you know who the boats belonged to?"
"Nope. But one time it was a boat like theirs. Speedboat. But it wasn't theirs. It had a different name."
"You were close enough to see that?" I asked him.
"I sometimes watch with binoculars."
"What was the name on the boat?"
"Can't remember. But it wasn't theirs."
"Did you see anyone on board?" Beth asked.
"Nope. Just happened to notice the boat. Never saw anyone get on or off."
"When was this?"
"Let's see… about June… early in the season."
"Were the Gordons home?"
"Don't know." He added, "I watched to see who left the house, but somehow they got by me and next thing I know, I hear the engine, and the boat is heading out."
"How is your distance vision?"
"Not real good, except with the binoculars."
"And yours, Mrs. Murphy?"
"Same."
Assuming there was more binocular watching of the Gordons' property than the Murphys cared to admit, I asked them, "If we showed you photos of people, could you tell me if you've ever seen them on the Gordons' property?"
"Maybe."
I nodded. Nosy neighbors can make good witnesses, but sometimes, like a cheap surveillance video camera, nosy neighbors witness too much that is irrelevant, blurry, boring, and muffled.
We put another half hour into the questioning, but the yield was diminishing by the minute. In fact, Mr. Murphy had accomplished the near impossible by falling asleep during a police interview. His snoring was starting to get on my nerves.
I stood and stretched.
Beth stood and gave Mrs. Murphy her card. "Thank you for your time. Call me if either of you think of anything else."
"I will."
"Remember," Beth said, "I am the investigating detective assigned to this case. This is my partner. Chief Maxwell is assisting us. You should not speak to anyone else about this case."
She nodded, but I didn't know if the Murphys could stand up to somebody like Ted Nash of the Central Intelligence Agency.
I asked Mrs. Murphy, "Do you mind if we walk around your property?"
"I guess not."
We bid Mrs. Murphy farewell, and I said, "I'm sorry if I bored Mr. Murphy."
"It's his nap time."
"I see that."
She walked us to the front door and said, "I'm scared."
"Don't be," Beth said. "There are police watching the neighborhood."
"We could get murdered in our beds."
Beth replied, "We think it was someone the Gordons knew. A grudge. Nothing for you to worry about."
"What if they come back?"
I was getting annoyed again. "Why would the murderer come back?" I asked a bit sharply.
"They always return to the scene of the crime."
"They never return to the scene of the crime."
"They do if they want to kill the witnesses."
"Did you or Mr. Murphy witness the murder?"
"No."
"Then you shouldn't worry about it," I said.
"The killer might think we witnessed it."
I glanced at Beth.
She said, "I'll have a patrol car keep an eye on things. If you feel nervous or hear anything, dial 911." She added, "Don't you worry."
Agnes Murphy nodded.
I opened the door and got out into the sunlight. I said to Beth, "She actually has a point."
"I know. I'll take care of it."
Beth and I went around the side yard where we found the gap in the hedges. From the hedges you could see the rear of the Gordons' house and the deck, and if you stepped through and looked to the left, you could see down to the water. Out in the bay was a blue and white boat, and Beth said, "That's the bay constable's boat. We have four scuba divers looking for two little bullets in the mud and seaweed. Fat chance."