“This was a mob hit,” McQuaid said, walking quickly. “Small-caliber weapon fired from behind the head. Devlin, yesterday you described a guy, a car, and an airline ticket. If he ran that show for you out in Jersey, we’re going to have one hell of a fucking time finding out who hired him. Perfect. Seamless.”

Gerrity caught up with them. “That was the chief,” he said to McQuaid. “Let’s go take a look at the bodies and then I’ll tell you what he said.”

They still had the Quinns in the hall, clothed, on their backs. His eyes were open, peaceful—and stupid. Her head was turned toward the wall.

“Is that him?” McQuaid asked.

“That’s him,” Devlin said.

“How about her?”

Devlin took Mrs. Quinn’s head by the jawbone and turned it to him. “This is her. Shit. I can find that clinic we took him to, I’m sure I can.”

“That won’t be necessary, Frank,” Gerrity said. He looked to McQuaid. “The chief is completely satisfied about Devlin. He wants us to let him in on what else we know.”

“What’s the point of that?” McQuaid asked.

“The chief has the idea that Devlin knows something that he doesn’t think is important. Or he needs his memory stimulated.”

McQuaid curled his lip. “At his age, more than his memory.”

“Start,” Gerrity said to him.

“All right.” He turned to Devlin. “Lopez talked. To me, here, before we took him down to the Tombs. He was high and trying to be cute, but he was cracking. He was beginning to think he had to buy time. He said cops put him up to it. I asked him what cops, and he said, ‘Cops.’ That don’t help you, Devlin. He was your snitch, and as soon as he said that much, he was killed, and you were present. Will you excuse me if I don’t personally let you off the hook?”

“You’ve made your point, Kevin,” John said evenly.

“Lopez was my prisoner!”

“Right,” Gerrity muttered.

McQuaid pointed at Devlin. “And you knew Antonucci in high school …”

“I didn’t know him. I couldn’t place him even after I was told his name. He looked familiar, that’s all. I don’t remember ever having anything to do with the guy.”

“Tell him the other thing,” Gerrity said.

“Brennan had set up his fall campaign. He was going to promise to get tough on organized crime. He was going to pick up where his brother Joe left off. His brother Joe never got any farther than the Queens D.A.’s office, did he? So what did that mean?”