Run: 2026-10-09-01M4FXHCYRGAFJ0HMQ5XMTRTQH

The rain had not stopped for three days straight now. Detective Mara Voss stepped carefully across the wet cobblestones. Yellow tape fluttered weakly against the iron gates of Hawthorne Manor. Officer Dan Ruiz met her at the entrance with a grim expression. "The body was found in the library," he said quietly. Mara pulled on her gloves and followed him inside. The air smelled of old paper, smoke, and something metallic. Portraits of stern ancestors watched them from dim, silent walls. A single lamp burned near the far window, casting long shadows. Beneath it lay Edwin Hawthorne, face down, still wearing his reading glasses. Mara knelt beside him and noticed a brass key clutched in his fist. Her eyes drifted to the overturned chair nearby. Someone had been in this room in a hurry. She glanced at the locked cabinet, its door hanging slightly open. Whoever killed Edwin Hawthorne had wanted something inside that cabinet. Mara stood up slowly and turned toward the hallway. Somewhere in the house, a door creaked shut.