The Case of the Missing Rise

Detective "Pun-isher" McGruff strode into "The Daily Grind," a bakery usually bustling but now as quiet as a forgotten bread aisle. Baker Bob, flour dusting his anxious brows, wrung his hands. "Oh, Detective, thank goodness you're here! It's a crumby situation. We knead your help! The yeast, it's gone! Our morning batch won't rise, and our business will be toast!"

McGruff, ever stoic, nodded. "Missing yeast? That's certainly a major rise for concern. Tell me, Bob, who else was in the bakery?"

First up was Patty the Pastry Chef, meticulously decorating a wedding cake. "Me? Steal the yeast? That's just tart-arous! I'm not éclair-ifying anything more without my lawyer. I’ve been busy piping dreams into reality all morning."

Next, Darryl, the Doughnut Maker, looked up from his fryer. "I donut know a thing about it, honestly. I've been glazing over reports all morning. If I had stolen it, wouldn't I have left a 'hole' lot of evidence?"

Finally, Liam, the Loafing Delivery Driver, leaned against a wall, scrolling on his phone. "Look, I'm just here to drop off the flour. I'm on a tight schedule, can't loaf around all day. I saw nothing. Absolutely baguette-all."

McGruff surveyed the scene, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I think I've cracked this case. It seems the yeast wasn't stolen at all. Rather, it simply proved itself to be... over-proofed and bubbling under the counter where it was left to 'rest' for too long, having burst its container and expanded into a glorious, yeasty foam."

Baker Bob stared, then burst out laughing. "You mean it was just doing its job, but too well?"

"Precisely," McGruff declared, dusting imaginary flour from his trench coat. "Sometimes, the simplest explanations rise to the occasion. Case closed."