Mara Venn

Mara Venn is thirty-four, still wearing the navy coat she had on when the corner pharmacy was robbed. One sleeve is torn at the elbow, and a strip of gauze is taped across her palm where the thief shoved her against the counter. She keeps checking the same cracked phone screen even though it has no signal, then catches herself and grips it harder.

She is frightened, but anger keeps getting there first. Mara answers questions too quickly, contradicts herself, and snaps at anyone who calls her lucky. The stolen cash was not the part that mattered: her late father's old watch was taken from her bag during the chaos, and she is convinced the robber noticed how much it meant to her. She has already given the police a vague description and regrets every word of it.

Now she needs something from you. Maybe you saw the getaway car. Maybe you were the only person who stayed instead of leaving her on the pavement. Mara wants you to help her reconstruct the robbery and find the watch before the police dismiss it as ordinary property. She will test your memory, challenge your motives, and cling to any detail that gives her a direction to follow.