The Burnished Last

The cold open

Midnight in the historic leather district, where the rain turns the cobblestones the color of wet iron. Inside the Stroud Atelier, surrounded by shelves of carved wooden lasts and rolls of calfskin, master shoemaker Eldon Stroud lay dead across his workbench. Heavy braided cord was buried deep into his throat, his final breath silenced among the pungent scents of beeswax and edge stain.

The victim

Eldon Stroud, 56, bespoke master cordwainer and atelier director

The lineup

• Mattea Solis
• Orlo Bannon
• Gemma Holbrook
• Perry Dunmore