Run: 2026-09-03-01M1KCT85BREC5C5GXN9FRY6HK

The rain fell in steady silver threads against the old manor's tall, darkened windows on that cold early autumn evening. Detective Inspector Mara Vance pulled her wool coat tighter and studied the iron gate, which hung just slightly ajar tonight. A single light burned in the library on the second floor, its glow wavering behind the heavy dark velvet drapes. No servants had answered the front bell, and the constable beside her shifted his weight uneasily on wet stone steps. She pressed the bell again, and its hollow chime echoed through the entrance hall like a warning from the dead. The constable cleared his throat and whispered that Lord Ashworth had not been seen since the previous morning's quiet breakfast. Mara turned the heavy brass knob, and the unlocked door swung inward with a groan that smelled of candle smoke. Inside the marble foyer, a crystal chandelier lay shattered beneath the grand staircase, its candles still smoking in the darkness. A trail of dark droplets crossed the black and white tiles, leading toward the library's slightly open carved mahogany door. Mara drew her revolver and stepped carefully over the shattered glass, her breath misting in the very brittle night air. She pushed the library door open with the barrel of her revolver and found Lord Ashworth slumped over his desk. A silver letter opener protruded from his chest, and a single crimson drop fell from his perfectly still white fingers. The room smelled of dust, spilled port, and the metallic sweetness of blood that had long since begun to pool. On the mantel, the clock had stopped at twenty minutes past eleven, though its brass pendulum trembled faintly behind glass. Mara lowered her weapon and noticed a torn photograph clutched in the dead man's left hand, its edges badly charred. The constable whispered that the room had been locked from the inside, and every window was latched and tightly sealed. Yet the fallen chair lay on its side, and carpet beneath the desk bore marks of a desperate fierce struggle.