The thing about New York City is you never know what's behind a door. Hom i cide Detective Nikki Heat pondered that, as she had so many times, while she parked her Crown Victoria and watched police cruiser and ambulance lights lick the storefronts on 74th off Amsterdam. She knew, for instance, the plain door to the wine shop opened into a faux cave done in soft beige and terra- cotta tones with stacked bottles nested in wall grottos fashioned of river stones imported from France. Across the street, the door of what had once been an FDR- era bank gave onto a staircase that spiraled downward to a huge array of indoor batting cages that filled with tween MLB hopefuls and kid birthday parties on weekend afternoons. But on that morning, just after 4 a.m., the most nondescript door of all, the frosted one without a sign, only a street number above it in gold and black foil stick- ons from a hardware store, would lead to one of the more unexpected interiors of the quiet block.

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