Run: 2026-07-01-01KWEAF3GYVSVN7XS7QTTMG4MR

The bell above the door chimed as Margaret set down the tray of cinnamon rolls, still warm enough to fog the display glass. "You heard about Old Tom's shed, then." "Heard he's saying someone broke in. Took nothing but his ledgers." "Strange thing to steal. Man barely keeps two dollars in his pocket, let alone anything worth writing down." "That's what I thought. Unless it wasn't about money." "You think this has something to do with the property dispute?" "I think it's curious that the break-in happened the same week the town council was set to vote on selling that strip of land behind the mill." "You're saying Tom's ledgers might prove who really owns it." "I'm saying somebody thought they might, and that's enough to make a person nervous." "Well, if you're right, we should tell Sheriff Dale." "And say what? That an old man's dusty notebooks vanished and I've got a hunch?" "You've had hunches before. Most of them panned out." "Most. Not all." "Good enough odds for me." She wiped flour from her hands, eyes bright with the particular hunger of someone who preferred mysteries to muffins. "Finish your coffee. We're paying Tom a visit."