From the introduction: After the meeting, the Mavens are approached by Janet Flock, owner of the bookstore. Janet shows them a story in the local paper, about a Mucky Point lighthouse keeper, Cyrus Creel, who died after falling off the little walkway just outside the lighthouse’s lantern room. The article quotes several locals who think Mr. Creel was murdered, as the grizzled old lighthouse keeper had kept the lantern lit for decades and only someone green would lose their footing and tumble to their death. The paper also quotes the Mucky Point constable, Alvin Deschain, who says the death was strictly an accident and any talk of murder is baseless speculation.