The Canvas Count

The cold open

Under the buzzing amber floodlights of the St. Jude Athletic Club, the main boxing ring stands empty, surrounded by tiers of deserted folding seats. Up above the mezzanine, behind the smoked glass of the executive office, Thurston Croft lies slumped over his mahogany ledger desk with a single .32-caliber bullet wound through his chest. Rain hammers the skylights three stories above the city pavement while the smell of leather, liniment, and fresh cordite hangs in the midnight chill.

The victim

Thurston Croft, 55, prizefight promoter and syndicate financier

The lineup

• Dante Vlasic
• Julianna Ramos
• Harland Geller
• Donovan Kroll