Run: 2026-04-24-01KQ07WGBGWPZ0J8281QJJGMG4

The bell above the door hadn't even stopped jingling before the whispering started. "Did you hear about Marcus Whitmore?" "Hear what? I've been elbow-deep in scone dough since five." "They found him. In the library. Dead." "Dead? Marcus? He was just in here yesterday. Bought two cherry turnovers." "Well, he won't be buying anything else. Police have the whole street cordoned off." "Lord have mercy. What happened?" "Nobody knows yet. Detective Ramirez wouldn't say a word, just stood there looking grim." "He always looks grim. That man wouldn't crack a smile if you handed him a winning lottery ticket." "This is serious! A murder, right here in Willow Creek. Things like this don't happen here." "Things like this don't happen anywhere until they do. You want the usual? Cinnamon roll?" "Make it two. My nerves are shot." "Sugar helps with shock. At least that's what my grandmother always said." "Your grandmother also said she'd seen a ghost in the lighthouse." "And she was right about that too." "Fair point. Add a coffee, will you? Something tells me it's going to be a long day." "You're not wrong there, sweetheart. You're not wrong there."