The bell above the door chimed as morning sunlight streamed through the windows of Sweet Crumbs Bakery, illuminating the glass case filled with fresh pastries. "You heard about Martha's garden gnome, I assume?" "The one that went missing last Tuesday? Found it myself, actually. Sitting pretty on the courthouse steps wearing a tiny detective hat." "A detective hat? Now that's peculiar." The espresso machine hissed and gurgled while flour-dusted hands slid a cranberry scone across the counter. "Peculiar doesn't begin to cover it. That's the third gnome this month. Someone in Willowbrook has developed quite the strange hobby." "Or they're trying to tell us something. You know Martha was on the planning committee that rejected the new dog park." "You think this is revenge? Over a dog park?" "I think people in this town have done stranger things for less. Remember when Harold painted his fence neon orange because the HOA president criticized his roses?" "Fair point. So what do we do?" "We keep our eyes open and our ears to the ground. And maybe I'll bake an extra batch of those lemon bars Martha loves. Loosens her tongue something wonderful." "Deliciously devious."