Run: 2026-09-23-01M36TXRD2NWZ5C7QKFTE5BNX6

# Sticky Fingers The bell above the door chimed, announcing a customer into Bramblewick's Bakery. The warm scent of cinnamon and sourdough hung thick in the air. "Morning, Edna. Two croissants?" "No, just one today. I'm meeting Diane at the library." "Diane? I thought she hadn't left her house since… well, since *it* happened." "She came out last night. Knocked on my door at half past nine, asked if I'd seen anything strange around the back of the Mercer place." "And had you?" "Not exactly strange. But I did hear glass breaking Tuesday night. Figured it was the Martins' cat again." "What time?" "Just before midnight." "That's the same hour Marcus was found in the garden. Edna, did you tell the sheriff?" "I tried. He laughed at me. Said I was getting too old to be up that late." "Well, he's not laughing now, is he? Not with Diane hiding something and poor Margaret still unconscious at Mercy Hospital." "Mercy." Edna repeated the word like it tasted sour. "Not much mercy in Bramblewick lately." "Tell me about it. Here—extra jam on the house."