The Ebonite Feed

The cold open

Rain washed against the skylights of the historic St. Jude Arcade as the grandfather clock struck midnight. Inside the velvet-lined private office of Mallow Bespoke Pens, Wycliffe Mallow sat slumped over his mahogany grading bench, a single .22 caliber gunshot through his chest. Dark sepia ink pooled beside a ruined 14-karat gold nib, masking the spent shell casing resting on the blotter.

The victim

Wycliffe Mallow, 55, master bespoke fountain pen artisan and private creditor

The lineup

• Alden Drake
• Shiloh Ward
• Byron Glass
• Mina Renard