Run: 2026-09-03-01M1KCKP17K45NX9K7VKT2XT04

The clock struck nine as the butler found the body in the study, cold and motionless on the Persian carpet. A single crimson rose lay beside the victim's outstretched hand, its petals still fresh and untouched by the chaos around. Inspector Hale knelt, studying the scene with a calm, calculating grey-eyed intensity, then noticed the open window and one footprint. The footprint was small, possibly a woman's, leading away from the body's crumpled form and stopping at the heavy door. Hale's jaw tightened; he knew this rose and that footprint from a previous case; the pattern was unmistakably the same. Hale glanced down, saw the dark stain, and realized the butler's accusation was correct, everything stopping suddenly in that moment.