Run: 2026-07-25-01KYCPW1EJPXX7D0RHMB7WH6HN

Rain hammered the windows of Ashgrove Manor all that night. Detective Inspector Vera Coombes arrived just before the dawn. The front door hung open, swinging on one broken hinge. Inside, a grandfather clock had stopped precisely at eleven-thirteen. Lord Ashgrove lay face down across the library's Persian rug. A silver letter opener protruded from between his shoulder blades. Someone had arranged six white roses beside the dead man. The butler stood weeping quietly in the doorway behind her. Nine guests waited upstairs, none of them wearing dry shoes. Vera knelt and studied the wound with practiced, patient care. Whoever struck the blow had known exactly where to aim. She noticed the wine glass, wiped clean of every fingerprint. Outside, thunder rolled across the moors like distant, hungry applause. This killer had planned tonight for a very long time.