Run: 2026-10-08-01M4DACJCT8NEX2KYY65DP1250

The bell above the door chimed once, then went quiet. Flour hung in the morning light like a slow snowfall. "You're early." "Couldn't sleep. Someone's been in the back room." "Nobody's been in the back room but me." "Then explain the ledger on the floor, and the drawer that doesn't latch anymore." A rolling pin clattered onto the marble counter. "Those were there yesterday." "Were they? Because the cash box is empty, and your apron is on backward." A pause. A hand drifted to the knot at the small of a back, then stilled. "Fine. The till is short. But I didn't take it." "Then who did? The only other key hangs on your nail." "Mrs. Hadley has been asking about the recipe book. Lately she's in here more than the pastries." "So you think she crept in before dawn and emptied a cash box without touching the lock?" "I think someone wants us to believe the lock was forced." "Was it?" A long exhale, the sound of someone who had hoped to be asked a different question. "Not a scratch on it." Somewhere outside, a delivery truck backfired. Neither of them looked toward the window. "Then we should check the oven," came the reply. "Anyone hiding a key usually hides it somewhere warm."