The Glasshouse Blade

The cold open

Under the towering iron ribs and steamy glass dome of the city botanical conservatory, the night air smelled of crushed moss and warm copper. Tobias Faulkner lay slumped across a raised flagstone orchid bed, a curved brass-handled grafting knife buried deep between his ribs. The midnight misting system hissed rhythmically overhead, washing thin rivulets of crimson down the damp slate walkway.

The victim

Tobias Faulkner, 51, master botanist and conservatory director

The lineup

• Pascal Mercier
• Bianca Frost
• Gideon Pike
• Selina Chen