Captain Sharp entered the dimly lit study, where Detective Allwood waited beside the body sprawled across the Persian rug. The detective gestured to the lifeless man, detailing the circumstances leading to his untimely demise that rainy autumn evening. Sharp knelt, observing the disheveled state suggesting a struggle, while noticing peculiar details that piqued his inquisitive mind. The victim's pocketwatch lay cracked beside him, hands frozen at eight forty-seven, the moment life had abruptly departed.