Run: 2026-05-31-01KSYXR4CSZZ3VFNG8J6H77SXY

The bell above the door jingled as the morning light spilled across the flour-dusted counter. "You're here early. Couldn't sleep either?" "How could I? After what happened to poor Mr. Pemberton last night, the whole town's buzzing." "Buzzing is one word for it. I had three people in here before seven, all pretending they wanted croissants." "And what did they really want?" "To gossip, of course. Mabel swears she saw someone sneaking around behind the post office at midnight." "Mabel can barely see past her own nose without those glasses she refuses to wear." "True. Still, it makes you wonder. He was a careful man, wasn't he? Locked everything twice." "Which is exactly why it doesn't add up. Careful men don't fall down their own cellar stairs." "You don't think it was an accident?" "I think this cinnamon roll is getting cold while you fish for my opinion." "I'm serious. You knew him better than anyone." "I knew his order. Black coffee, two sugars, and a sourdough loaf every Thursday." "That's more than most people knew." "Maybe. But if you're asking whether I think someone in this town pushed him—" "I'm asking." "Then pour yourself a coffee and lock the door. This could take a while."