Run: 2026-02-24-01KJ8V7RN3FB5J3Q7H1VPFDZJJ

The morning rush had thinned, leaving the bakery smelling of cinnamon and warm bread. A half-eaten croissant sat forgotten on the counter as the door's little bell chimed into silence. "Did you hear about Gerald Finch? Found him locked inside the library this morning, cold as a stone." The woman arranging pastries in the display case didn't looked up. "I heard. Third unusual death in Millhaven this autumn." "You don't think it's coincidence." "I stopped believing in coincidence the day Margaret Holloway fell down those perfectly dry stairs." She slid a tray of apple turnovers into the case and finally looked up. "What I want to know is who had a key to that library after hours." "Only the librarian and the mayor's office." "And whoever the librarian trusted enough to hand one to." She straightened and wiped her hands on her flour-dusted apron. "Gerald Finch was on the town council. Same as the others." A long pause settled between them, filled only by the distant creak of the oven. "You think someone's working through that list." "I think you should be careful about the company you keep." She smiled thinly. "More coffee?"