The sweet scent of freshly baked croissants filled the air as they chatted over trays of golden-brown pastries. A tray slipped onto the counter, causing a minor clatter, and they exchanged a brief, amused glance. "I'm telling you, if I had a penny for every time someone's come in here looking for Edna, I'd be set for life," one said, wiping down the counter with a flour-dusted cloth. "She was a fixture around here, all right," the other replied, arranging a pyramid of muffins. "I still can't believe she just...disappeared, like that. No warning, no nothing." "A mystery, indeed," a third voice chimed in from behind the counter. "I've been thinking, maybe there's more to this than just a simple disappearance." The counter-cleaner raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" The voice behind the counter leaned forward, low enough that their words were almost lost to the aroma of baking bread. "Thought I saw someone snooping around Edna's old house last night. At midnight. Wonder if it's connected..." A ripple of excitement spread through the bakery, temporarily eclipsing the morning's chatter about the upcoming harvest festival. The three of them stood frozen, their eyes locked on the pastries, as the implications of the nighttime visit hung tantalizingly in the air.