The Committee — Jim Smith

Patrol officers responding to a burglar alarm find Lt. Fannie Dardano shot to death in a deserted south Memphis shopping center. It first appears that he was shot while investigating a burglar alarm, but the crime scene doesn't support that theory. As word of his murder spreads across the city, concerns grow among many city officials. During much of Dardano's thirty-two-year career with the Memphis Police Department it had been rumored he was a bagman for corrupt politicians. The first elected black mayor of Memphis is in a heated race for a second term and cannot afford a police scandal at this point. He and his newly appointed police director decide it would be in everyone's best interest if the district attorney's office assisted in the murder investigation. The case is assigned to Detective Rachel Morgan, an investigator with the Memphis Homicide Bureau, and DA investigator Jake Shannon, who was a former Memphis homicide officer before moving over to the DA's investigative staff. Before solving this high-profile murder case, Jake and Rachel must work through their own personal differences. There is friction from the very start as both of them maneuver to take control of the investigation. To further complicate matters, there had been bad blood between Jake and Lt. Dardano dating back to Jake's rookie years as a police officer. Jake enters the investigation personally feeling that Dardano had met a deserved and fitting end. Rachel approaches the case with the belief it is a genuine opportunity to prove once and for all that a female homicide investigator can play hardball with the best of them.