# The Body in the Library The rain fell hard against the Victorian mansion's windows. Detective Sarah Chen stepped out of her unmarked sedan. The grand house loomed dark except for upstairs lights. A uniformed officer met her at the iron gates. "The victim is Margaret Ashford, age seventy-two," he said. Her body was discovered this morning by the maid. The scene is preserved upstairs in the east wing. Sarah climbed the spiral staircase with practiced, careful steps. The bedroom door stood open, revealing an unsettling, quiet scene. Margaret lay motionless upon her four-poster mahogany bed frame. Her silk nightgown was stained deep crimson with blood. An empty teacup sat on the nightstand beside her. The window behind her was open to the rain. Sarah's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the silent room. Something about this murder didn't feel quite right somehow. She turned to the officer waiting nervously in doorway. "Tell me everything you know about Margaret Ashford's life."