Janet’s stomach twisted into a knot as she rushed over. Nathan, the ever-punctual delivery driver, was motionless, his uniform rumpled and his face pale. Her eyes darted to the ground beside him, where crumbs of biscotti were scattered - her biscotti. A glass milk bottle lay nearby, tipped on its side, its contents spilled into a white puddle.

“Nathan!” Janet crouched beside him, shaking his shoulder gently. Janet gasped as his body crumpled to the ground.

Panic surged as she fumbled for her phone. She barely registered the sound of her trembling fingers tapping 911. As she waited for the dispatcher to answer, her gaze locked on the biscotti crumbs scattered on the ground. The familiar golden hue made her throat tighten.

“This is Janet Cutter at Golden Crust Patisserie,” she stammered into the phone. “I need an ambulance. Someone’s unconscious… or… or worse. Please hurry.”

The dispatcher’s calm voice guided her through the call, but Janet’s mind spun. How could something like this have happened, and behind her bakery? Why were there crumbs of her biscotti near him? And most disturbingly, what had happened to him?

The distant wail of sirens broke through her thoughts. Janet rose shakily, stepping back as the paramedics arrived, followed closely by the police. She watched in stunned silence as they confirmed what she already knew: Nathan was gone.

A police officer approached Janet, his expression grave. “Ms. Cutter,” he said, his voice low, “we found something you need to see.”

He held up a small, clear evidence bag. Inside was a piece of paper - crumbled, smudged, but unmistakably familiar. Janet’s bakery logo was printed at the top. Beneath it, in a hurried scrawl, were the words: “Meet me behind the bakery tonight. We need to talk.”

Janet’s breath caught. She knew she didn’t write that message, but it didn’t take a detective to see that she was in trouble.

Ready to dig deeper? Discover the next twists and turns in Part 2. "Questions in the Alley" will arrive tomorrow with more clues waiting to emerge.