Run: 2026-07-25-01KYCPTF0QZB8997NXQZXP40V2

Rain hammered the slate roof of Thornbury Hall all night. Constable Ellis Vane arrived at precisely seven in the morning. The front door stood open, swollen wood scraping wet stone. Inside, a grandfather clock ticked against the silence like accusation. Lady Margery Thornbury lay sprawled across the library's Persian carpet. Her left hand clutched a torn page of yellowed sheet music. Blood had dried around a brass letter opener's ornate handle. Vane crouched, noting the absence of any struggle whatsoever nearby. Seven crystal glasses waited on the sideboard, six of them used. Someone had rearranged the chairs into a careful, deliberate circle. Outside, six houseguests watched from the terrace, saying absolutely nothing. Vane wondered which of them had already decided to lie.