The wind howls through the empty streets, carrying whispers of secrets buried deep within the small coastal town. Detective Sarah Morgan steps out of her car, the scent of salt and impending rain filling her nostrils. Yellow police tape flutters across the entrance to the dilapidated lighthouse where a body was discovered hours ago. She nods at the officer guarding the scene, her experienced eyes already scanning for details others might miss. The victim lies sprawled at the base of the spiral staircase, blood pooling around his expensive suit and shoes. "Prominent local businessman Thomas Wellington," explains the young officer, his face pale in the beam of her flashlight. Sarah kneels beside the body, noting the strange symbol carved into the palm of the victim's right hand. A distinctive antique pocket watch lies shattered near the corpse, its hands frozen eternally at precisely midnight last night. Footprints in the dust suggest the killer lingered, perhaps watching their victim's final moments with curious, callous detachment.