The Midnight Mezzanine

The cold open

The velvet curtain of the Blue Parlour never fully muffled the sound of the city, but at 1:15 AM, the bassline was swallowed by a dull, heavy crack from the mezzanine office. Upstairs, beneath the amber glow of art-deco sconces, Silas Kendrick lay face down beside his open ledger desk, his skull crushed by a single devastating strike from a heavy solid-bronze trumpet trophy. Spilled bourbon and dark arterial blood pooled across the polished mahogany floorboards, while the last patrons on the floor below ordered their final drinks in blissful ignorance.

The victim

Silas Kendrick, 58, jazz club proprietor

The lineup

• Arthur Pendelton
• Miriam Al-Khatib
• Caleb Briggs
• Vera Novak