Run: 2026-02-16-01KHKB2CT22VG9A3M36RQVYDGE

Rain stitched the harbor streets, and Inspector Mara Venn followed a lantern glow toward the silent Seaward Hotel entrance alone. Inside, the lobby clock ticked too loudly, while guests whispered about missing silver and the locked upstairs suite tonight again. A bellhop led her past damp umbrellas to room twelve, where perfume lingered over spilled brandy on carpet nearby still. The maid stood trembling beside the door, claiming she heard a choked laugh, then nothing for minutes at first afterward. Mara unlatched the brass handle, and cold air slipped out, carrying smoke, seawater, and something metallic beneath the floorboards too. On the bed lay Lionel Crass, a banker, eyes open, throat bruised, hands folded as if praying for mercy quietly. The window was bolted, the key remained in the corridor, and fresh footprints ended at the wardrobe beside his coat. Mara noted the wardrobe mirror smeared with ash, and a torn telegram hidden under the victim's watch marked MIDNIGHT ONLY.