The Master Lacquer

The cold open

Midnight in the penthouse listening lounge of the St. Jude Tower. Inside the acoustically dampened mahogany salon, a rare jazz acetate spun silently in the turntable groove as Jarvis Thorne slumped backward into his leather booth. A crystal tumbler of vintage rye sat overturned beside him, the scent of bitter almond clinging to the polished walnut table.

The victim

Jarvis Thorne, 56, audiophile club owner and disc mastering engineer

The lineup

• Malachi Burke
• Priya Nambiar
• Dennis Kessel
• Vivienne Renaud