Run: 2026-09-23-01M36R604ZSCSAC1J48XSM4STY

At midnight, the lighthouse keeper found the mayor’s coat floating in the harbor, its pockets weighted with smooth, unfamiliar stones. No body surfaced, but a crimson thread clung to the iron ladder, trembling whenever the tide dragged against the pilings. Inspector Vale arrived before dawn, carrying a suitcase, a revolver, and the private conviction that someone had already begun lying. The keeper watched her examine the coat, then whispered, “He was wearing it when he came back from the dead.” Vale looked up sharply; outside, the lighthouse beam crossed the water and illuminated a second figure standing on the breakwater. It raised one gloved hand, then vanished as the beam turned, leaving only a wet footprint on the stone steps. The mayor’s name was carved into its heel, though he had been buried beneath the yew tree three years earlier. From somewhere below the rocks came three slow knocks, and the keeper began counting them with the terror of recognition.