Run: 2026-07-25-01KYD7FAHW269HADB1MDRQDDSE

The bell above the bakery door jingled, letting in a gust of October wind and the unmistakable scent of wet leaves. "You're here early." "Couldn't sleep. Not after what Hazel found behind the flour sacks." "A mouse?" "A mouse would be a blessing. It was a ledger. Old-fashioned, leather-bound, hidden behind the paneling." "Whose?" "That's the thing. It belonged to Mr. Pemberton." "The Mr. Pemberton? Who disappeared in '87?" "The very one. And every page is filled with numbers. Debts, I think. Half the town owed him money." "Half the town had reason to want him gone, then." "Don't say that so loud. The ovens are hot and the walls are thin." "Did you tell the sheriff?" "Not yet. I wanted to look at it first. There are initials on the last page. Fresh ink, recent entries." "Recent? He vanished thirty years ago." "Exactly. Which means someone's been keeping his books all this time." "Someone in town." "Someone who bakes bread every morning, who waves at the postman, who—" "Who's listening right now?" The room went quiet except for the tick of the cooling racks. "Put the kettle on. We're going to need tea for this." "And scones." "Always scones."