Run: 2026-05-20-01KS261CE67SR4A43FK2D3R3RD

The scent of yeast and caramelized sugar hung heavy in the warm air, mingling with the sharp, clean aroma of lemon zest. Outside, the rain tapped gently against the leaded glass window of the Crust & Crumb, but inside, the only sound was the rhythmic thud of a wooden spoon against a ceramic bowl. "I’m telling you, flour doesn't just end up on the floor of a locked library by accident." "And I'm telling you, Arthur was baking sourdough starter all last week. He probably sneezed." "In the rare manuscript room? While looking at a map of the old smuggler's tunnels?" A metal baking sheet clattered onto the prep table, sending up a tiny, fragrant cloud of powdered sugar. "Alibis can be faked, but the crumb structure on this morning’s brioche cannot. Arthur was here at four in the morning. I saw him." "But did you see him at midnight?" "No, because decent people are asleep at midnight, not snooping around dusty bookshelves." "Or stealing them." The spoon stopped mid-stir. A dough-dusted hand hovered over the bowl. "You really think it was Arthur?" "I think whoever did it left a very specific trail of unbleached King Arthur pastry flour, and he's the only one in St. Mary Mead who buys it by the fifty-pound sack."