4:00 a.m. bleeds across the casino floor in neon and stale smoke. The high-limit tables sit under cold light, almost empty, almost too quiet.
Anna steps in, small against the glitter and the hush. Three suspects break from a tight circle and stare her down, their hands hovering near their pockets.
The Man in the Gray Coat
You came alone.
The Woman with the Pearl Clutch
Where is the body they said would be here?
There is no corpse waiting by the tables, no staged proof, just a smear of ash on polished carpet and an empty chair pulled back as if someone had left in a hurry.
Anna
The ash is fresh, and the chair was moved recently.
The Tall Bookmaker
We were told you would see what we saw. Instead, someone cleaned house.
The Man in the Gray Coat
If you want answers, detective, start with the one who summoned you here.
One of them edges a hand deeper into a pocket, and the others angle toward the exits, as if the room itself has turned into a trap.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find out who summoned Anna here
“I demand to see the phone or note that brought them here.”
SUCCESS (Good Interrogation, rolled +0)
Anna holds out her detector instead of her gun, and the circle tightens around the thing they cannot hide. The gray coat goes still.
The Man in the Gray Coat
Fine. You want proof? It was sent to us on this phone. We were told to bring you to the table, not the body.
He palms over a burner, screen lit with a single message and a time stamp from minutes ago. The bookmaker watches Anna's hands, swallowing hard.
The Tall Bookmaker
I did not want any part of this. The note said the corpse was a decoy, said someone would come to clean the floor if you asked the wrong questions.
The Woman with the Pearl Clutch
I just came because they promised me a name. If there was a body, I would know whose it was.
The message is blunt, practical, and unsigned, but the number is blocked. On the screen, one line repeats, Bring Anna to the casino floor, and keep her looking for evidence.
The Man in the Gray Coat
Now you have what called us here. So tell us, detective, who do you think is staging this?
Director's note
Anna looks for the floor and discovers the hidden body under the casino table.
Anna’s gaze drops past their shoes to the felt edge of the nearest table. A loose seam lifts under the neon glare, and something pale and unmistakably human lies hidden in the shadow beneath it, tucked out of sight where the ash could be missed.
The Man in the Gray Coat
No. We did not put that there.