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If it was anything of that sort, there was a chance the ould get around on the street, and I sent TJ off to look for it He could get more that way than I could

Meanwhile, I could look for the motive in Byron's life

I picked up the phone and called Ginnie "Tell me about his that don't add up He was a rent-stabilized tenant with a decent apart that went co-op a little over twelve years ago It was a noneviction plan, which meant the tenants could either buy in at the insider's price or stay on as rental tenants That's what he did, he went on paying rent"

"He was shooting half a dozen bags of heroin at the tienerally make the best investht the apartment when he had the chance, but it never even see," I said, "is that he ed to keep the place at all If he was a junkie-"

"He had the habit but not the lifestyle, Matt He was a Wall Street junkie"

"You don't mean he was addicted to the stock market"

"No, he was addicted to heroin and alcohol But he worked on Wall Street It was a low-level position, he was soe house, but he put in his nine-to-five and didn't take too many sick days He kept his job and he paid his rent and he never lost his aparte to pull that off"

"Drunks do it all the time When you hear the word heroin you auto it's a criminal transaction to start with"

"And a heavy habit costs ot a decent job and your habit's not a monster, you can maintain"

"I know there are middle-class people who use it," I said "There was that woazine editor married to a tax lawyer Of course she didn't use a needle"

"Not in the age of AIDS Byron wouldn't have used a needle either, if he'd started a few years later than he did But it's still heroin even if you snort it You get high if you use it and dope-sick if you don't And if you take too azine editor is that she died of an overdose"

We talked about that, and then I said, "So he kept the saot sober Then he lost it when his firer, but I don't think he was out of work forvery much like it with another firm And he kept that job until he had to quit for health reasons"

"And how long ago was that?"

"I think six er than that Yes, it was, because I re before the holidays, but he went back to the office Christmas party"

"Always a comfortable place for a sober alcoholic"

"He was depressed afterward, and I don't think it was froht have been part of it I think it was fro that part of his life was over He'd never be able to go back to work"

"Sos about AIDS"

"Like not having to worry about skin cancer? I'ht But Byron wasn't like that He liked having a job to go to"

"He had money in the bank," I said "Close to forty thousand dollars"

"Is that how much it was? I knew he didn't have to worry about money His health insurance was in force, and he said he had enough money to last him To see him out, that was the expression he used" She was silent for a ht he had about a year to go, two years at the outside Barring a , or some other kind of miracle"

"I understand there was a will," I said "Sihtforward, he used a printed for to a couple of AIDS charities"

"That's what he toldto do"

"Was he ever ot out of school Then they got divorced, or maybe it was an annulment I think that's what it was"

"No children, I assume"

"No"

"Any family?"

"A broken home, and both parents were alcoholic"

"So he came by it honestly"

"Uh-huh They both died, his father ot sober One brother, but nobody's heard froht he was probably dead There was another brother, and he'd been dead for souess he must have been an alcoholic, too"

"All happy faure the forty thousand came from? And it must have beenbefore last Christ aside each hen he sobered up, that's a lot of money to have saved in such a short amount of time"

"Life insurance"

"He was somebody's beneficiary?"