A FOGGY MORNING AND A BROKEN TOAST The fog outside the apartment windows looked thick enough to be sliced with a knife. It clung to the streetlights below like a secret refusing to be revealed. Inside, the small kitchen smelled of toasted bread, black coffee, and mild irritation. Eli stared at the toaster as if it had personally betrayed him. “It burned again,” he announced, lifting a piece of toast like evidence in a courtroom. “This machine has a personal grudge against me.” Zane Faulkner sat at the small dining table, calmly buttering his perfectly golden slice. He didn’t even look up. “The toaster doesn’t hate you, Eli. It simply responds poorly to panic and impatience. Much like you.” “I was calm,” Eli protested. “Extremely calm. I only hit the lever five times.” Zane finally glanced up, one eyebrow arching. “That explains the carbonization.” Outside, a light drizzle fell, barely visible through the fog. Zane took a sip of coffee, his sharp eyes unfocused, as if he were alre...

FOOTNOTES OF A MURDER THE STORM OVER THE OLD UNIVERSITY The storm did not knock. It invaded. Rain lashed against the towering windows of Blackwood University , an institution so old that its stone walls seemed to remember secrets better than people. Thunder rolled across the night sky, illuminating the vast Great Hall in brief, violent flashes. Three men stood beneath the chandelier. Three professors. Their coats were damp, their faces half-lit, half-swallowed by shadow. Bookshelves lined the walls like silent witnesses. Outside, trees bent as if listening. “You’re underestimating its significance,” the first professor said quietly. “No,” replied the second, his voice sharp. “You’re exaggerating it.” The third man said nothing. He stared toward the distant corridor that led to the university library, his fingers clenched around a leather-bound notebook. “The library was never meant to be—” the first began. “Lower your voice,” the second snapped. “Walls have ears in places like this.” ...

  THE HOUSE THAT LAUGHED The house had a way of greeting the morning as if it were a celebration. Sunlight slid through wide windows, catching dust in the air like confetti. The old parents sat at the breakfast table, smiling at nothing in particular, their joy worn smooth by years of habit. Three young men moved around the kitchen—one arguing about burnt toast, another humming tunelessly, the third carefully arranging plates as if order itself could keep the world steady. A young woman leaned against the counter, amused, alive, whole. And in the corner, near the wall where the paint peeled just a little, stood the fourth son. He was tall, awkwardly so, his limbs refusing to obey him. His mouth twisted when he tried to speak, sounds escaping like broken glass. His hands shook. His legs bent in angles that made walking a negotiation. His eyes, however, were sharp with feeling—too sharp, perhaps. The smallest noise made him flinch. The smallest delay made him shout. A spoon clattered...

A FOG-LOCKED EVENING The city had folded itself into silence. Fog pressed against the windows of Zane Faulkner ’s apartment like a living thing—slow, deliberate, suffocating. The streetlamps outside glowed dim yellow, their light dissolving into mist before it could reach the ground. Inside, warmth struggled to survive. Zane sat at the small dining table, calmly cutting into his food, posture straight, movements unhurried. Across from him, Eli stared at his plate as if it had personally betrayed him. “I still don’t understand,” Eli said, poking at the food, “how you can cook something that looks edible but tastes like it’s still considering its life choices.” Zane didn’t look up. “That,” he replied smoothly, “is because you lack refinement.” “I lack survival instincts,” Eli corrected. “One day I’ll eat something you make and disappear into the fog forever.” Zane finally glanced at him, a faint smile touching his lips. “Relax. If you were going to die, it would have happened already.” ...

  SNOWBOUND BEGINNING Snow fell like a conspiracy—quiet, steady, and determined to hide whatever it touched. Zane Faulkner stood under the motel’s flickering yellow street lamps, watching flakes dissolve against the blue fabric of his overcoat. The Northway Highway Motel looked like a relic stranded in time: low wooden cabins, neon sign buzzing weakly, windows glowing like tired eyes refusing to sleep. Behind him, Eli dragged a suitcase through the snow with theatrical suffering. “I just want to place it on record,” Eli said, panting, “that every bad decision in my life somehow involves following you.” Zane smiled without looking back. “Nonsense. Some of them involve elevators. This one involves character building.” “My character is frozen.” They entered the lobby, bells chiming weakly. The heater rattled like it had lost faith in its own purpose. A woman behind the counter looked up from her phone. “Storm closed the highway,” she said flatly. “Rooms are cheap. Leaving is impossib...

  THE BODY AMONG BOOKS The rain had been polite all night—never loud enough to draw attention, never gentle enough to stop. It glazed the narrow street outside the old bookstore, turning the pavement into a muted mirror. Inside, the smell of damp paper and aged wood clung to the air. The body lay between two towering shelves. Marcus Hale, owner of the bookstore, sat slumped in a wooden chair behind the counter. His head tilted slightly to the side, as if he had simply grown tired of reading. One hand rested on his lap. The other loosely held a fountain pen. A thin line of dried blood marked his temple where it met the edge of the desk. Detective Rowan stood a few steps away, arms folded, eyes sharp and unblinking. Her coat was still wet from the rain, droplets sliding down to the floor at disciplined intervals. “No signs of forced entry,” an officer said. “Door was locked from the inside.” Rowan nodded slowly. “Chair pulled back,” another officer added. “Pen in hand. No defensive w...