The Hinoki Cistern

The cold open

High above the rain-lashed midnight avenues, steam rolls across the slate flagstones of the private rooftop onsen. Submerged beneath the dark, icy surface of the deep hinoki cedar cold-plunge cistern, Corwin Delamere floats motionless, his lungs filled with chilled mineral water. The brass intake valve hums quietly in the gloom, masking the echo of hurried footsteps descending into the city.

The victim

Corwin Delamere, 54, proprietor of the Aethelgard Rooftop Bathhouse and private hard-money lender

The lineup

• Marlo Senna
• Dr. Junko Morishima
• Wesley Teale
• Siobhán Keats