“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.”
I shrugged.“Hey, it’s Christmas. It’s the season for miracles.”
He smiled for the first time.“You’re funny. And I can’t wait for you to meet my grandpa.”
“What are you going to tell him?”
He placed his arm around my shoulder.“That he’s in luck, for he’s about to meet the nicest, sweetest, prettiest girl in all of Hampton Cove.”
“Only Hampton Cove?”
“All right. In all of New York State.”
I cocked my head at him.
“In the entire country! There. Are you happy now?”
“I’m getting there.”
We walked to Chase’s car, and I spotted a Santa walking down the sidewalk, swinging a big bell with one hand, hoisting his prosthetic belly with his other. He looked a little seedy, the red of his costume more a dirty copper, and his beard tied up with string. He reminded me of something, though. We weren’t justhere to find Chase’s grandfather, but also to find Hampton Cove’s new Santa.
I turned to Chase.“We have to go down to Thornton Fifth Avenue.”
“Why? You want to put in some last-minute Christmas shopping?”
“No, that’s where the new Hampton Cove Santa used to work.”
He nodded.“Get in. There’s nothing more we can do here anyway.”
The seedy Santa had drawn even with us, and the reek of alcohol came off him in waves. Ugh. Not what I needed to get me into the holiday spirit.“Ho ho ho!” he hollered. “Who’s the pretty lady?”
“I’m good, buddy,” I said, trying to get away from him. He grabbed my arm.
“Have you been naughty or nice?”
“Both.”
He gave me a leering grin.“Wanna get naughty with me?”
“No, I do not.”
His grin faded.“Give Santa a kiss.”
“I’d rather kiss that dog’s butt.”
But he was already puckering his lips and closing his eyes. I tried to push him away but his grip on my arm was pretty firm for someone as drunk as he was. Luckily help arrived in the form of Chase.“The lady said she’s not interested, buddy,” he said, and disentangled me from Seedy Santa.
The guy opened his eyes, his lips still puckered.“Hey, what happened to the pretty lady?”
“She turned into pretty old me,” Chase growled, getting into the guy’s face. “Now buzz off.”
Seedy Santa stared at Chase, a look of confusion on his face.“Weird things are happening,” he muttered, then staggered off. “Dames turning into dudes. Must be a Christmas miracle.”
Yeah, that was probably it.“Thanks for saving me from Santa,” I told Chase.
“If that was Santa, I’m Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” said Chase.
“No, you’re not. You’re my hero, that’s what you are. My dashing knight in shining armor.”
He grinned.“I like that.”
We got into the car and Chase drove off in the direction of Midtown Manhattan. Traffic was heavy, as was to be expected, though the streets were all pretty much snow-free. Cars were honking, and we moved along at a snail’s pace each time we got to an intersection. Chase still managed to make good time, proving he knew his way around Manhattan. He navigated some of the back streets and side streets until we suddenly arrived on Fifth Avenue and at Thornton’s, the well-known department store. He ducked into a parking garage, managed to ditch the car and we got out.
The window displays of Thornton’s depicted the nativity scene and various other Christmas-themed representations. They looked really neat, and kids stood with their noses pressed up against the glass, their parents resisting the urge to do the same. Tourists snapped pictures and when I saw that one window display featured a very realistic Santa and his elves, I knew this was the place to be.
Rockefeller Center was just around the corner, with its huge Christmas tree and its ice skating rink, so I said,“Maybe we can go ice skating after this.”
“Maybe we can find my grandpa first,” he retorted.
“Right.” I kept forgetting we were here on a mission, and not to take in the sights.
“We can go ice skating in Hampton Cove when we get back,” he offered when he saw my disappointment. “It’s not the same as Rockefeller Center but it’s pretty neat all the same.”
“Deal,” I said, and we walked into the store.