Run: 2026-05-31-01KSYX91F55TMNM064S93D5H2V

The bell above the door chimed as warm air rushed out, carrying the scent of cinnamon and burnt sugar. "You're here early. The croissants aren't even out yet." "I'm not here for croissants. I'm here about Margaret." A pause. The clatter of a tray being set down, perhaps a little too hard. "What about her?" "You know perfectly well what. She was in here yesterday afternoon. Three o'clock, maybe later. The last person to see her before she... before." "Lots of people come through these doors. I can't keep track of every customer." "You keep track of Margaret. You always did. The two of you, whispering by the window like schoolgirls." A long silence. Somewhere in the back, an oven timer began to ring, insistent and shrill, but neither moved toward it. "She ordered a lemon tart. Said it was for a celebration." "A celebration? Margaret hadn't celebrated anything in years." "That's what I told her. She just smiled and said things were finally about to change." "And did you ask what she meant?" "I didn't have to." The timer kept ringing. "I already knew. And so, I suspect, did whoever followed her out that door." "Then we'd better talk. Lock it, would you?"