Run: 2026-02-20-01KHXPDZ9M7FY0TXG4YKJ30RV5

The bell above the door jingled as the scent of cinnamon and buttery pastry wrapped around the newcomer like a warm hug. "Took you long enough. I was starting to think you’d gotten lost in your own book again." "Well, if you didn’t insist on meeting at the crack of dawn, I might’ve been here sooner. Normal people drink coffee *after* the sun rises." "A real detective doesn’t keep banker’s hours. Besides, Marjorie’s cinnamon rolls are worth the sacrifice." The woman behind the counter—flour dusting her apron like fresh snow—slid a tray of golden spirals onto the glass display. "You two bickering like an old married couple again? Honestly, it’s worse than the time Old Man Higgins and his prized rooster had that feud." "At least *we* don’t wake the whole town at five a.m." "Speak for yourself. I’ve seen you prowling around the square at all hours. What’s got you so twitchy this time?" A slow stir of a spoon in a mug. "Let’s just say the mayor’s ‘accidental’ fall down the library steps has more layers than your famous red velvet cake." "Uh-oh. That’s the voice you use when someone’s about to get a very polite interrogation." "Polite? Who said anything about polite?" A smirk, half-hidden behind the steam of fresh coffee. "But first—extra glaze on mine."