Run: 2026-03-18-01KM099SR6FHA3AFS8Q02Q255N

Rain pressed against the manor windows as Inspector Vale arrived, and his coat and thoughts were already damp with dread. The housekeeper opened the door without speaking, and the silence beyond her seemed rehearsed, deliberate, and strangely guilty already tonight. In the library, Lord Marrow lay slumped beside the fire, one hand reaching toward a shattered crystal decanter, already cold. Vale noticed the missing watch first, then the bloodless smile, then the chessboard set for a game unfinished by midnight. A silver letter opener glinted beneath Marrow's fingers, and beside it, a faint perfume lingered, expensive and unfamiliar to Vale. Outside, thunder rolled like a verdict, and Inspector Vale understood the murderer had stayed close enough to watch every move.