Auric Shadows

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The Auric Hotel squats on this rain-eaten coastal boulevard like a fat cat with too many secrets. Neon buzzes "VACANCY" through the storm, but tonight every room's occupied by lies. You—Sam "Shade" Harlan, private eye with a liver pickled in bourbon and a nose for trouble—were hired anonymous to "keep eyes on the gala." Now the owner's corpse chills in the locked penthouse: doors bolted inside, windows sealed, key in his stiff fingers. No gun, no knife—just a peaceful look that screams murder. Down in the lobby, five suspects trade glances sharper than switchblades: Gilded Widow Veronica Hale (cigarette holder like stiletto), Smooth Lawyer Victor Slade (tie too perfect), Nervous Socialite Lillian Voss (hands shaking like bad gin), Haunted Officer Rex Harlan (knows every blind spot), Quiet Archivist Elias Crowe (relic backpack stuffed with hotel ghosts). Storm's cut phones, roads, power flickers. You're the only gumshoe here—make it count. Clues hide in bar ledgers, rooftop ash, boiler stains, ballroom whispers. Alibis overlap like bad poker hands. The Widow's gaze lingers too long; is she siren or ally? One killer walks free by dawn unless you cut through the fog. But in this town, truth's just another shadow. Your flask's warm, luck's cold—play your hand.