Mastermind - The Wrong Victim

Story Synopsis

Daniel Mercer is found shot dead inside a Manhattan apartment.

For NYPD Detective Derick Lambert, the evidence begins to form a seemingly straightforward timeline: a visitor enters the apartment, a gunshot is heard, and the same man leaves minutes later.

Michelle Lee should have nothing to do with the investigation.

She is a legal professional, not a detective. But on the morning of Mercer's death, a corporate restructuring agreement arrives at her firm bearing the dead man's electronic signature.

Something about it doesn't fit.

While Derick follows witnesses, surveillance footage, and physical evidence, Michelle begins examining the decisions surrounding Mercer's final hours. A disconnected phone number. A corporate subsidiary that seems out of place. An apartment that should have nothing to do with either.

Two separate lines of inquiry slowly begin to converge.

And the deeper Michelle and Derick look, the more dangerous the simplest assumption becomes:

They know who died.

They may not yet understand why he was the victim.

Main Characters

Michelle Lee

Legal Professional

Michelle Lee, 33, is a legal professional with an exceptional instinct for reconstructing decisions, patterns, and consequences. Naturally beautiful but understated, she is most recognizable by her glasses and long dark hair, usually tied back without much thought. Michelle has no badge, no police training, and no desire to pretend otherwise. She does not read minds. She simply has difficulty ignoring the moment when a story stops making sense.

Derick Lambert

NYPD Detective

Derick Lambert is an experienced NYPD detective in his mid-to-late thirties. Calm, observant, and practical, he trusts evidence, procedure, and the patient work required to turn suspicion into something that can actually be proven. Derick does not need someone else to solve his cases for him. He is a capable investigator in his own right—and that becomes increasingly important when Michelle's questions begin leading them beyond the obvious answers.

Marcus Reed

NYPD Detective

Marcus Reed works alongside Derick Lambert and brings a more conversational, instinctive energy to their investigations. Experienced, perceptive, and rarely afraid to voice an opinion, Marcus can move easily between humor and serious police work. Behind his relaxed manner is a detective who understands that seemingly ordinary details can become important very quickly.

Elliot Grant

Senior Counsel

Elliot Grant is a senior counsel at the Manhattan law firm where Michelle works. Experienced and pragmatic, he is accustomed to difficult clients, complicated agreements, and Michelle discovering questions inside documents that everyone else would rather finish reading and file away. He understands the usefulness of Michelle's mind—and the complications that can follow when something catches her attention.

Thomas Vale

Former CFO of Mercer Development

Thomas Vale once occupied one of the most powerful positions inside Mercer Development. Two years after leaving the company, surveillance footage places him at Daniel Mercer's apartment on the night Mercer dies. Thomas has an explanation for being there. Whether it explains enough is another question.

Claire Mercer

Daniel Mercer's Daughter

Claire Mercer, 24, has spent years maintaining a careful distance from her father's business world. Daniel's death brings her back into a life she deliberately stepped away from, forcing her to confront not only the circumstances of his death, but questions about the man her father had become. To the police, Daniel Mercer is a victim. To Claire, he was something far more complicated.

Adrian Cole

Mercer Development Executive

Adrian Cole is a senior executive at Mercer Development and one of the people responsible for keeping the company functioning after Daniel Mercer's death. Polished, controlled, and deeply familiar with the company's internal structure, Adrian knows how Daniel conducted business, which decisions he made, and which decisions would have been unusual for him. In an investigation increasingly concerned with the choices Daniel made before his death, that knowledge may matter.