A Chinese man, maybe in his forties, bald or purposefully shaven, it was difficult to say, wearing chic tea shade glasses, a salmon-colored polo, and khakis, stood to the side of the door. He looked both Larkin and Doyle over before saying, “You must be the cops?”

“Yes, I believe we spoke on the phone,” Larkin said, offering his badge before a quick handshake. “Detective Everett Larkin. This is my partner, Ira Doyle.”

The man nodded, looked at Doyle as he flashed his own badge, and introduced himself. “Dan Chen. Al was one of the tenants that came when I bought the building… geez… at least ten years ago.” He returned his attention to Larkin. “He’s really dead?”

“That’s correct,” Larkin answered. “And you had no reason to be suspicious of his absence.”

“You’re asking? No. I mean, I’m not friends with my tenants. The only time I really hear from them is if something breaks—which they rarely report anyway—and when the rent’s due first of the month. I suppose, if you guys hadn’t shown up today, I’d have eventually reported him missing come June when I had no rent check.”

“May we see Mr. Niederman’s apartment.”

“Sure.” Dan tapped a code on the door panel and the locks buzzed open.

Larkin and Doyle followed Dan into the vestibule and up the stairs.

Doyle asked, bringing up the rear, “Did Mr. Niederman live alone?”

“Yup,” Dan called over the creaking of the stairs. “Pretty sure he was a confirmed bachelor.”

“Mr. Niederman was homosexual,” Larkin asked.

Dan stopped at the landing of the second floor and turned to look down at the two still on the stairs. “What? No, no. I meant, like, literally. Al was definitely into women. I’ve had enough casual conversations with him over the years to know that much. But he was… kind of socially awkward, you know? I guess he never found the right socially awkward lady to play house with.” He motioned them to follow him to the end of the hall. Dan removed a set of keys from his pocket, unlocked the door to 2D, and pushed it open.

Larkin took out a pair of latex gloves from his pocket, with Doyle doing the same, and said, “If you will remain in the hall, Mr. Chen.”

Dan blinked owlishly, glanced into the apartment, then back to Larkin. “Is it a crime scene or something?”

“Mr. Niederman’s death is being investigated as a homicide. Everything is a potential clue.” Larkin stepped into the studio.