Run: 2026-07-25-01KYD86RSCNM37Y63F8TZYNCZ7

The bell above the door chimed as the morning crowd thinned. "You've been avoiding me since yesterday." "Have I?" The baker wiped flour from her hands onto her apron. "I've been busy." "With what? Rearranging the same display case for three hours?" "That's called merchandising, dear." "Mm-hmm. And calling the police every time Mrs. Patterson's cat knocks over a flowerpot." The baker's smile didn't reach her eyes. "That cat is a menace." "Right. So when you 'accidentally' spilled coffee on the new detective's report yesterday—" "That was an accident." "And when you 'forgot' to mention seeing someone lurking around the back alley at midnight—" "I was tired." The detective leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "The same midnight the body was found." "Oh, for heaven's sake—" "Don't." The detective's voice softened. "You didn't do it, did you?" The baker's hands stilled. The silence stretched like dough between them. "No," she whispered finally. "But I know who did." Outside, the town bell began to chime noon.