Run: 2026-09-02-01M1GQ93GSE7M71GXNAR11PYY9

The rain hammered against the tall windows of Blackwood Manor as Detective Sarah Chen slowly stepped out of her car. The terrified housekeeper had discovered Lord Ashworth's cold body in his darkened study barely one hour before the detective arrived. Yellow police tape now crossed the ornate double doors of the study, and two grim uniformed officers stood guard nearby. Chen flashed her badge at the younger officer, who silently lifted the tape and waved her through the heavy doors. The smell of old books and something unmistakably coppery hit her nose the exact moment she entered the shadowed room. Lord Ashworth lay sprawled across the expensive Persian rug, a silver letter opener protruding from his finely pressed crimson vest. His glassy eyes stared upward toward the painted ceiling, frozen forever in a single expression of complete and utter surprise. Chen crouched down beside the body and carefully noted the absence of any visible defensive wounds on the victim's hands. He had known his killer, she realized, perhaps had even trusted them with the very last moments of his life. Two delicate teacups rested on the polished tray, and the tea inside them was still faintly warm despite the hour. The floodwaters behind her had already swallowed the only bridge, stranding the young detective with every suspect inside the manor. Somewhere in this grand old house, a murderer was calmly waiting among them, pretending that nothing had happened at all.