The fifth season of “Only Murders in the Building” follows the dynamic trio of Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short) as they unravel the mystery behind two intertwined murders at the Arconia. The victims? The building’s doorman, Lester (Teddy Coluca), and a Mafia figure, Nicky Caccimelio (Bobby Cannavale), who orchestrates illicit poker games in the building’s underbelly. As the sleuths dig deeper, they uncover that Lester was responsible for Nicky’s demise, having struck him with an elevator crank before an unfortunate accident resulted in Nicky being impaled by a meat cleaver.

Episode two delves into Lester’s deep connection to the Arconia and his entanglement with Nicky’s shady dealings. While the financial rewards with his partner Lorraine were appealing, the burden was too much to bear. Desperate to escape Nicky’s clutches, Lester seizes a critical moment, despite the fatal consequences for both men.

The plot thickens as it’s revealed that Nicky discovered his wife’s affair with New York City’s mayor, Beau Tillman (Keegan-Michael Key). Fueled by anger and substance abuse, Nicky retaliates by severing the mayor’s finger with a cleaver. This violent act sets off a domino effect, leading to Lester’s confrontation with Nicky. In the chaos, Nicky falls onto Lester, who inadvertently impales him with the cleaver. As Lester flees with the mayor’s finger, Tillman pursues him, ultimately pushing Lester into a fountain, resulting in his death.

It turns out that Nicky learns his wife is cheating on him with the mayor of New York City, Beau Tillman (Keegan-Michael Key). He’s upset and under the influence of drugs, so he cuts the mayor’s finger off in a fit of rage with a cleaver. That starts a chain of events that results in Lester hitting him with the elevator crank, with Nicky then falling onto Lester, who has the cleaver in hand and impales Nicky in the chest. When Lester runs off with the finger, Mayor Tillman goes after him, pushing him into a fountain and killing him.

Meanwhile, Camila (Renee Zellweger), Sebastian (Christoph Waltz), and Jay (Logan Lerman) are trying to figure out what to do. The billionaires didn’t want the two deaths connected, thinking people could look into Nicky’s role hosting their games with the mayor. They eventually decide to put Nicky’s body in Sebastian’s cryogenic chamber before leaving him in the dry cleaning store a week later. 

They go to such lengths because they don’t want anyone knowing about their deals with Mayor Tillman, which are widely corrupt, since one of them still wants to win the casino bid. Lester didn’t intend to kill Nicky, but Nicky’s actions that night create a domino effect that leaves them both dead — even as another murder victim turns up just in time for Season 6.