Run: 2026-10-20-01M5C6HZ94ETMMB1MWGEGACC69

Rain hammered the black windows of Holloway House while Detective Mara Voss stepped from her car into the bitter wind. The elderly butler met her at the heavy old oak door with a very pale face and both trembling hands. "She is in the library, Detective, and I fear the storm has taken the poor old lady," he whispered softly. Mara followed him through a long dim hallway where candle flames shivered and grim old portraits watched like silent witnesses. The library smelled of wet wool, old paper, and something metallic that clung tightly to the back of her throat. Lady Aline Holloway lay sprawled beside the cold fireplace with one red shoe missing and her wide eyes still open. A brass letter opener stood upright in her chest, and its handle bore a tiny crescent moon engraved in silver. Mara knelt beside the still body, checked for a pulse, and found only cold skin and a faint lavender scent. The old window stood wide open despite the storm, and muddy footprints crossed the dark carpet toward the heavy desk. "Nobody leaves this house tonight," Mara said, rising slowly, "because whoever killed Lady Holloway is still standing right among us."