Run: 2026-09-23-01M36P2J7BEBF9CQ2P23R7C9XN

At midnight, the lighthouse clock stopped, though witnesses swore its hands moved when Captain Vale entered the locked room alone. By dawn, the door remained bolted from within, and Vale lay beside a teacup that smelled faintly of seawater still. Inspector Mara Venn disliked impossible crimes, especially those staged beneath portraits whose eyes seemed to follow her across the room. She found guests waiting in the ballroom, each insisting they had heard the clock strike thirteen before lights went out. Only the housekeeper kept silent, clutching a wet matchbox and watching carefully the inspector's reflection instead of the inspector herself. On the mantel, beside the stopped clock, Mara noticed a fresh fingerprint pressed into the dust, pointing toward the window. Outside, waves battered the cliffs, while inside, someone whispered her name through the locked door in a familiar voice again.