Run: 2026-02-16-01KHKB0MCM4Z47RV2DV0SGTEMZ

Rain tapped the high windows as Inspector Hale stepped into the drawing room, boots leaving dark arcs on marble tiles. A body lay beneath the chandelier, face obscured by a silk scarf and one white glove stiff as frozen porcelain. Guests clustered by the windows, voices hushed into frightened whispers as lightning sketched pale fingers across their faces and portraits. Lady Ashcombe clung to a gilded chair, knuckles white beneath her lace gloves, lips trembling without sound since the murder. The butler's hands shook when offering tea, a thin smile refusing to reach eyes milky with suppressed panic and duty. Inspector Hale crouched near the corpse, examining a smear of crimson on the carpet with meticulous measured care and patience. Outside, a clock began to chime midnight, each toll folding another second into a room suddenly full of accusation now.