Run: 2026-07-09-01KX413S27S8BCT1E3SCC0AGD6

Rain drummed against Blackwood Manor as Inspector Vale arrived, finding every window illuminated except the library’s narrow eastern pane upstairs. Inside, twelve dinner guests stood silently around Lord Blackwood, whose blood darkened the carpet beneath his outstretched hand like ink. The door remained locked from within, while its only key gleamed inside the dead man’s tightly clenched left fist ominously. On the desk, a silver clock ticked backward, counting toward midnight, though midnight had already passed precisely one hour earlier. Vale noticed muddy footprints crossing the ceiling, stopping directly above the body, where no ladder or hatch appeared anywhere nearby. “Nobody entered,” whispered Lady Blackwood, twisting her pearls, “and nobody left after the scream summoned us here to the library.” Then the corpse’s clenched fingers opened, releasing a warm brass button engraved with Inspector Vale’s own initials in fresh blood. Every guest stared at Vale, but he watched the backward clock stop suddenly, then begin striking thirteen slow, hollow chimes.