The rain battered against the windows of the old Victorian mansion as thunder rumbled ominously across the darkened moors beyond. Detective Sarah Chen stepped carefully over the threshold, her eyes immediately drawn to the body sprawled across the Persian rug. Blood pooled beneath the victim's crushed head, creating a crimson halo that contrasted sharply with the cream-colored antique carpet fibers. A silver letter opener lay nearby, its blade gleaming under the chandelier light despite the blood coating its ornate handle. The butler stood trembling in the corner, his face pale and his hands clutching a shattered crystal whiskey tumbler tightly. "He arrived at eight," the man whispered, his voice cracking like dry twigs under the weight of this terrible fear. Chen knelt beside the corpse, noticing the strange symbol carved carefully into the wooden floorboards near the dead victim's feet.