The grandfather clock struck midnight as Detective Sarah Chen arrived at the sprawling Blackwood estate through the November fog. The butler opened the heavy oak door with trembling hands while rain pelted against the mansion's dark Victorian windows. "Thank goodness you've come quickly because Lord Blackwood has been murdered most brutally in his private study upstairs tonight." Sarah followed him through dimly lit corridors lined with portraits whose eyes seemed to track her every careful movement. The study door stood ajar revealing a ghastly scene with blood pooling beneath an overturned leather chair near the fireplace. Lord Blackwood lay motionless on the Persian rug while a silver letter opener protruded from between his shoulder blades. Five family members huddled together in the adjacent drawing room all claiming they were asleep when the murder occurred. Sarah noticed the window was locked from inside and no signs of forced entry disturbed the crime scene's eerie stillness.