Run: 2026-02-24-01KJ8VXHSMJQZPPJYNB0S4RDPR

The old gray manor house had been sitting quietly at the very edge of town for over a hundred years. Its crumbling stone walls were slowly being consumed by the dark green ivy that crept quietly up each shadowed side. That all changed on the cold and rainy Thursday evening when young Thomas Holt was found dead at the door. His pale cold body lay face down across the stone steps, one arm outstretched toward the heavy brass door knocker. Detective Inspector Mara Stone pushed open the creaking gate and swept her flashlight in an arc through the thick fog. She had seen dozens of crime scenes, but something about this one made the hairs on both her arms rise. The victim wore a very fine formal black suit, as though he had been dressed for an important evening event. There was no visible wound or mark upon him, and that fact made the whole terrible scene more deeply disturbing. Mara slowly crouched down beside the dead body and spotted a single dark red rose petal beneath his limp hand. She knew then that this was no ordinary death, and that someone deeply clever and very patient was watching her.