The fifth series of the crime drama spin-off focusing
on an elite group of New York cops continues. In

this week’s episode, Detectives Logan and Barek
investigate when a young violinist is found dead
during a performance by her opera-singing mother.
Could the production’s famously volatile conductor
(guest star Julian Sands, ‘A Room with a View’,
‘24’) be to blame?
When promising 21-year-old violinist Laura Booth is
found dead backstage at the Old Hudson Opera
House, Logan and Barek learn that she was thrown
down an air shaft from the roof. They find out that
the whole opera company had access to the roof,
which does not make for a promising start to the
investigation: “700 suspects and counting, huh?”
remarks Logan.
Up on the roof, the detectives find evidence of
drug-taking and alcohol, and learn that the crew
were known to head up there during their breaks.
Laura’s mother, Gillian Booth (Alice Krige, ‘Deadwood’) the company’s lead soprano, claims that her daughter would never have been involved
in such behaviour – but when Laura’s body is later autopsied, cocaine residue is found on her hands.
The opera company has just returned from a tour of South America, which makes the detectives wonder if Laura had been involved in drugsmuggling.
However, the culprit is found to be the costume mistress, Mimi, who admits that she dipped the costumes in watered-down cocaine in order to bring the drugs back to the US. She also tells Logan and Barek that she saw Laura arguing with the company’s conductor, Philip Reinhardt(Julian Sands) – the cocaine must have passed to Laura’s hands during a struggle with Reinhardt.
What were the two arguing about? There are a few possibilities: Reinhardt had apparently promised Laura a promotion; he had also been
sleeping with her mother; and Laura had been researching union code violations on sexual harassment. Could the conductor have promised
her the promotion in return for sexual favours?
The detectives soon find out that Reinhardt is notorious for his volatile temper – he is not known as ‘Fearsome Phil’ for nothing. When they confront him in his office, he is outraged. “You accuse me of murder?” he asks, incredulously. “You come here, you imbeciles, and distract me from my art? And subject me to your slander?” Logan and Barek wonder if perhaps he protests too much – there is a nasty bite mark on his neck that matches Laura’s dental records.
Reinhardt denies killing Laura, and claims that there was nothing between them. The bite marks are enough to get him arrested, but he makes bail.
At the courthouse, Gillian Booth tells the detectives that Laura probably bit Reinhardt during their argument. She seems oddly unperturbed by this idea, and says that she did not think it was important enough to mention earlier.
“Your part-time boyfriend hits on your daughter?” muses Logan. “You don’t think that’s important?”
When the bite marks are analysed further, the detectives realise that the case is not quite as straightforward as they had thought: someone
wearing a mould of Laura’s teeth set Reinhardt up.
When evidence is uncovered in Gillian’s dressing room, the detective realise that they have been focusing on the wrong person all along. And as they dig deeper, Logan and Barek discover that Gillian had more to gain from her daughter’s death than anybody could have known...