Run: 2026-10-08-01M4DA89WJHEJH3XT13M9851ES

The rain had not stopped for three days, and Hollow Creek seemed to sink slowly beneath its own gray weight. Detective Inspector Eleanor Vance stood at the edge of the lake, her coat soaked through, staring at the pale body. The victim was Julian Ashworth, a wealthy banker whose famous charm had made him both deeply admired and quietly feared. Nobody in the village had liked him, yet nobody had expected him to die so violently in the flooded boathouse. Constable Thomas Reed lifted the yellow tape, glancing nervously at the small bloody handprint smeared across the cold window glass. Eleanor crouched beside the dark water, noticing a single silver key caught tangled between the reeds near the wooden dock. It was not the sort of clue a careful killer would leave behind, and it deeply troubled her instincts.