Run: 2026-09-02-01M1H9FVJ8NGEBWFFRVJAPNEFT

The bell above the door of Maple Hollow Bakery chimed, stirring cinnamon from the morning air. Flour dusted the counter beside a tray of blackberry tartlets, one missing. Outside, rain tapped the window like a polite detective asking to enter. The missing tartlet sat on a doily, darkly accusatory. “You’re here before the oven even cooled.” “I could say the same thing. The lights were on when I passed the post office.” “Someone had to finish the order for the church social. Unless you think Widow Pringle baked her own lemon cakes.” “Widow Pringle can’t even boil a kettle without the fire brigade weeping.” A spoon tapped porcelain. “Then why are you sniffing around my blackberries?” “Because they match the stain on the mayor’s handkerchief. Found it tucked behind the flour bins.” “That old thief. He swore he’d stopped stealing my jam recipes.” “It wasn’t jam. This was ink. Violet ink, like the note pinned to the notice board.” “The one warning the bake sale would be canceled?” “The same. And it smells of almond.” “Only one person in Maple Hollow uses almond extract in ink.” “Exactly.” “Then we’d better slice this tartlet before she hears we know.”