The Checker Shift

The cold open

Rain slicks the cracked asphalt outside the Crown-Union Taxi Depot, where neon amber signage reflects across idling yellow cabs. Inside the elevated glass mezzanine office overlooking the repair bays, Bennett Radcliff slumps back in his swivel chair with a single .38 caliber bullet through his chest. Gunsmoke lingers in the damp exhaust fumes, while down on the garage floor the midnight shift changes under buzzing sodium vapor lamps.

The victim

Bennett Radcliff, 56, proprietor of the Crown-Union Taxi Depot and private medallion fleet

The lineup

• Lyle Borodin
• Sonja Nystrom
• Tariq Mansoor
• Evander Pike