Run: 2026-07-25-01KYCPTATNX76GM06167RXC3H8

The bell above the door jangled, though the sign had said CLOSED for an hour. "You left the back door unlocked again." "I left it unlocked on purpose. Sit down, there's cardamom buns still warm." "I'm not here for buns." "Everyone's here for buns. They just dress it up in other business first." A chair scraped. A paper bag rustled. Outside, rain began ticking against the window glass. "Margaret Ellery came in yesterday morning. Bought a dozen almond croissants." "She always buys a dozen. Church committee." "There is no church committee meeting this month. Reverend Pike cancelled it — his sister's wedding in Truro." "So she bought croissants for nobody." "She bought croissants for somebody. And she paid in twenty-pound notes, brand new, still stuck together at the corner like they'd come out of a machine that morning." "Margaret Ellery hasn't had two pounds to rub together since the greenhouse business went under." "That's what I thought while I was counting them." A long pause. The oven timer chimed and was ignored. "You're going to say we should mind our own business." "I was going to say the sourdough's burning." "And after that?" "After that, I was going to ask what time she comes in on Thursdays."