Run: 2026-04-27-01KQ6ZJQP2A9ZTC9K2EFT3WCN9

The ovens hummed like sleepy cats, warming the sugar-dusted air. I pushed a tray of cardamom buns across the flour-dusted counter. "You left your ledger open again." The brass bell above the door chimed. A draft swept through the room, carrying the scent of wet asphalt and pine needles. "I noticed the page was torn. Not cut. Torn. In a hurry." I set down the wire cooling rack. Porcelain cups rattled softly. "Folks rush when they’re spooked. Or hiding something." "The constable muttered the same curse before he went missing near Blackwood Creek." I scraped a smear of vanilla glaze off the edge. My thumb caught the grain of the wood. "He didn’t wander off. He just pried open a door marked off-limits in the mayor’s study." "And now someone’s hunting for the missing deeds." I glanced past the display case where the lemon tarts sat cooling. Beneath a folded pastry cloth, a creased manila envelope waited. "Then we’d better proof the dough faster. Before they come knocking for a sample."