Run: 2026-02-16-01KHKA9YDFJBVZXFZ7686MJHXV

Fog drifted over Blackwater Manor as the last guests departed, leaving lanterns guttering in the courtyard stones at midnight silently. Inside, Clara Finch found the library door ajar and heard a soft thud behind the velvet curtains just then again. She pushed through, smelling cigar smoke and rain, and saw Colonel Wren sprawled beside the fireplace, unmoving in ashen silence. A silver letter opener protruded from his chest, and the clock above him ticked with nervous precision for all watching. Clara's scream summoned the household, but Detective Hale arrived first, coat dripping, eyes sharp as cut glass in that moment. He knelt, touched the opener, and noted no blood on its handle, only a faint scent of almonds nearby books. The guests returned to the hall, whispering alibis, while Hale studied muddy footprints leading toward the conservatory door outside alone. On the mantel, a torn invitation lay beneath a chess king, and Hale smiled at the missing queen tonight too.