Run: 2026-10-27-01M5YHFA5AKXR9HCZK0T6F4799

The snow began falling just as the last ferry left Blackthorn Island, carrying away the witness to the doctor's quarrel. Inside the manor, Inspector Vale found a man's body seated upright beside the fire, his gloved hands folded quite neatly. A silver letter opener protruded from his chest, although the carpet beneath his chair showed absolutely no trace of blood. The housekeeper stood in the doorway, clutching a telegram that had arrived an hour after her brother was pronounced dead. Its message contained five words: ASK WHO LOCKED THE DOOR, followed by a signature Vale recognized but could not place. Behind the inspector, the front door slammed, and someone turned the key with an unmistakable, deliberate click from just outside. The housekeeper dropped the telegram, revealing a second message written on its back in the same small, careful, unmistakable hand. It read, “You were supposed to die first, Inspector,” and the ink was still wet beneath the housekeeper's trembling thumb.