The Annealing Lehr

The cold open

Midnight in the industrial arts district, where the glow of molten silica cuts through the rain-slicked gloom. Inside Emmett Hallowell’s private glassblowing atelier, the roaring furnaces cast long, dancing shadows across cracked concrete floors. Near the open door of the annealing lehr, Hallowell lay lifeless in a pool of dark blood, his skull crushed by a single devastating strike from a heavy solid steel pontil rod.

The victim

Emmett Hallowell, 53, master art glass artisan and private studio proprietor

The lineup

• Damian Varek
• Rosalind Callow
• Bryce Halstead
• Corinna Phelps