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JIMMY AND ESPOSITO AND I eventually decide that there is nothing further for us to do, or learn, at Allen Reese’s home, and leave things in the capable hands of the Southampton police.

We decide to stay in Southampton for burgers and beers at Fellingham’s, a sports bar and grill tucked away on Cameron Street, in the center of town.

Chief Carlos Quintero, a rising star in local law enforcement, destined for bigger things, walks me to my car.

“You have any dealings with Reese?” he asks.

“Just once,” I say. “I crashed one of his parties.”

“You know anything about him that I might find productive?”

“Bobby Salvatore was a friend of his, I know that.”

“Friend,” Quintero says, “or foe?”

“Bobby was in Sonny Blum’s crew,” Quintero continues. “But you knew that, didn’t you?”

“I have a lot of interests.”

“So I’ve been told. From what I know, Bobby did a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Chief Quintero says. “I’m wondering who might be doing what my old man used to call Sonny’s button work.”

“Jimmy met a young guy who’s an up-and-comer as a bookie,” I say. “But from the way he described him, he’s not your shooter.”

“You think this was over a debt?”

“Don’t you?”

“You think Sonny had this done?”

“With gusto,” I say. “Same as with the flower lady, if you ask me.”

“Mucho gusto,” Carlos Quintero says.

“Have it your way.”

“You hear anything, you call me,” he says.

“Yes sir!” I say, snapping off a salute.

“Okay, now beat it,” he says.

Half an hour later, Jimmy and Esposito and I are tearing through cheeseburgers as good as they’ve always been at Fellingham’s. It’s a lot like Jimmy’s bar, a neighborhood place that has survived what I call the fancification of the Hamptons, and one I’m certain would survive a nuclear attack.

One more time it’s Jane and the boys. With me happily being one of the guys.

“I want to remind you,” Jimmy says, “not that you need reminding, that it’s not our responsibility to tie Sonny to Reese’s murder.” He nods at Esposito. “It’s his.”

“And I want to remind you ,” Danny Esposito says, “that my role in this is to be a team player with the various branches of the local police. Because, as I’m sure you both know, there’s no i in team.”

“But there is one in Esposito,” I point out.

“You sure it’s only one?” Jimmy says.

“Nice to know that your new buddy, Mr. Blum, is still a stone-cold killer,” I say, “whoever he had get this done. And about the guy alerting the cops? What’s next, live streaming when somebody else who didn’t pay is getting capped?”

“Capped,” Esposito says to Jimmy. “She keeps trying to convince me how much of a cop she was.”

“If Sonny’s going out, he’s going out in style,” Jimmy says. “But I gotta say, I still don’t see him as being the one who had the Carsons done.”

For a change I’m cleaning my plate, not just the burger but the fries. And for this one night, the cold draught beer is going down fine, too.

“I actually never saw him on that either,” I say.

“For whatever reason, Sonny treats Rob Jacobson like there’s some kind of force field around him.

So I can’t think of a single reason why he’d go out of his way to set him up on a triple homicide, then wait this long for the evidence to finally come into play. ”

“So why are you so fixed on making Sonny part of this trial?” Esposito asks.

“Because I need somebody,” I say.

“Somebody?” Esposito says.

“Somebody else who could have done it. Or had it done. If Sonny is still killing people who don’t pay their debts, he could have killed Hank Carson for not paying. And then things got out of hand.”

Esposito grins. “So if I have this straight, you want to frame Sonny Blum for something you really don’t think he did, the way somebody framed Rob Jacobson for something you say he didn’t do.”

“Pretty much.”

“Cool,” Esposito says. “Are you sure you don’t want to go out with me?”

“Yes.”

He shrugs. “I just feel as if I have to circle back on that from time to time.”

“But Blum told me Carson paid,” Jimmy says.

“Yes, he did,” I say. “And if he’s lying about that, well, golly, it’s probably the first time that old dirtbag has ever lied about anything ever.”

I push my plate, with most of my fries gone and only a quarter of my burger still on it, toward Jimmy now.

“This looks like some kind of half-assed bribe,” he says.

“It is,” I say. “I want you to reach out to Sonny and tell him you may have something for him.”

“But I don’t.”

“So you’ll be the one telling the first lie of your whole life! If you can reach him, tell him you need to meet.”

“Then what?”

“Then slap him with that subpoena you’ve been carrying around and tell him he’s been fucking served.”

“Here’s one last thing I need to remind you about,” Jimmy says. “He says that if you even try to drag him into court he’ll kill us both.”

“Tell him to take a ticket,” I say, and wave at our waiter and tell him we want another round.

Jimmy turns to Danny Esposito.

“She does talk a good game, doesn’t she?”

“I really do think I love her,” Esposito says.

“Get in line,” Jimmy says.