The rain pelted the cobblestone street as Detective Aria Blackwood stepped carefully from her weather-beaten sedan, scanning the dimly lit alleyway. Crimson droplets glistened beneath the flickering streetlamp, marking a macabre trail leading toward the shadowy silhouette of a crumpled human form. Her partner, Detective Marcus Rodriguez, approached with measured steps, his weathered hands clutching a steaming cup of black coffee and a worn leather notebook. The victim lay motionless, dressed in an expensive midnight-blue suit, his polished wingtip shoes incongruously pristine against the grimy, garbage-strewn pavement surrounding his lifeless body. A delicate silver cufflink caught the streetlight's reflection, spinning lazily where it had fallen several feet from the meticulously arranged corpse's outstretched hand.