'True Detective's New Mystery Already Has Clues

HBO's hit series True Detective is back with more stars, more complicated stories, and yet another murder. Season 2 focuses on three cops and a shady businessman/casino owner with criminal ties, and they all become connected through the murder of a crooked political leader, Ben Caspere, at the end of the premiere. His murder most certainly rocks Los Angeles and the fictional city of Vinci thanks to his position in the government as city manager, especially since he was an important player in a new high-speed rail in California. So who killed Ben Caspere on True Detective ? Obviously we're still early in the season here, but the suspects are already slowly coming out of the woodwork. Update: The Season 2 finale revealed Caspere's killer.

The Season 2 premiere focused heavily on the connection between Detective Ray Velcoro, Ani Bezzerides, and California Highway Patrol officer Paul Woodrugh as Paul discovers Ben's body and Ray and Ani are called to the scene to investigate. Then there's former mobster/casino owner Frank Semyon, who hopes to go legit with the new California rail. However, his money was in Ben Caspere's hands, so now there's no telling where it is, and Frank's shady past is quickly catching up to him.

The first possible suspect so far is Frank's former business associate Osip. This sketchy guy clearly still wants to be involved in all aspects of Frank's business dealings, as evidenced by him showing up to Frank's investor meeting about the California rail plan attended by the Mayor of Vinci, the city that will house the rail and is also apparently considered "the most corrupt district in LA County," according to a newspaper expose. Frank is clearly worried about Osip's involvement in this project, but we have yet to find out why. Is Frank afraid of Osip thanks to their potentially dark past?

The mayor himself could be a suspect, as could any of the higher level police officials who could be in on the rail proposal including Vinci Police Chief Holloway and Lieutenant Jeff Hunt, both of whom seem just off enough in their encounter with Ray Velcoro about the Vinci corruption expose to merit further attention. It's also highly likely that the real murderer is someone we've yet to meet. But what will really be interesting is seeing how Ray, who is currently in Frank's pocket, and the rest of the corrupt city of Vinci, will handle the death of a government official with such a shady past.

Image: Lacey Terrell/HBO