Cora Reed lounged in the dimly lit bedroom adjacent to the room where Statuo's life had met its grisly end, her slim fingers fluttering across the keys of her vintage typewriter with a fervor she hadn't felt in years. The soft clacks echoed in the quiet, a stark contrast to the cacophony of officers and detectives shuffling through the corridors of the opulent mansion. In her element amidst the scent of aged paper and the underlying metallic tinge of blood that teased her nostrils from the nearby crime scene, Cora felt an invigorating rush. The murder of Statuo, a man whose life had been as mysterious as his death, was the perfect scenario that could satiate her cerebral cravings and free her from her author's block.

Statuo, found dead with a knife plunged into the back of his skull in such a precise manner while a house full of guests buzzed with activity, presented an intellectual challenge that Cora couldn't resist. The details were delectable; the nature of the crime whetting her appetite for the macabre and intricate. Her piercing blue eyes glistened with a writer's greed for every morbid nuance as she crafted the tale, drawing from the very atmosphere of tension and suspicion that clung to every wall throughout the mansion.

As she wove the narrative, embellishing where necessary for drama and pausing only to indulge in a bite of a decadently sweet petit four, Cora's thoughts danced around the possibility that she, too, had been present when the murder occurred. It was an exhilarating thought—playing a part in a story that could very well be her greatest work yet. The dark allure of constructing an unsolvable crime sparked within her; it was a goal she found herself more drawn to with each whispered speculation and sidelong glance from the other guests.

She leaned back in her chair, stretching languidly before returning to the rhythmic task of typing. Her dress, dark and professional, contrasted sharply against the light colored furniture around her. A smirk played across her lips, only to be interrupted by the presence of someone coming in through the bedroom door.

"Just a moment," Cora said as she continued to type, her back to the person who just entered the room as the clacking of the typewriter continued steadily. "I'm nearly done with this passage." Her eyes narrowed as her focus remained on the task at hand.