Run: 2026-09-02-01M1GRQFN2DGZT42CFF55NQFZJ

The cold rain fell steadily over Blackwood Manor, washing the gravel drive clean of every footprint from the night before. Inside the great dark house, Eleanor Whitmore discovered her husband's lifeless body slumped across the desk in his locked study. A single candle still burned beside him, its hot wax dripping slowly onto the scattered papers he had been reading. The study door had been locked from within, yet the tall window stood open, letting cold wind scatter ash everywhere. Eleanor screamed once, then pressed her trembling hand against her mouth, remembering that the servants must not see her panic. She noticed something glinting on the Persian rug, a silver letter opener that belonged in the drawer across the room. Its blade was clean, which meant the real weapon had already left this room in somebody's careful and steady hands. Downstairs, the grandfather clock chimed midnight, and every guest gathered in the parlor heard the sound with guilty, hidden relief. Detective Marcus Hale arrived just after dawn, shaking rain from his coat, his tired eyes already reading the silent house. He studied the frightened faces before him and understood immediately that everyone standing there had something worth killing for tonight.