The rain fell hard on cobblestones, echoing through vacant alleyways. Detective Mara Stone stepped cautiously into the dimly lit crime scene. A single glove lay near the victim’s outstretched, lifeless hand. Blood seeped slowly into the cracks of damp, ancient pavement. Her flashlight revealed a shattered pocket watch, frozen at ten thirty. No footprints marked the wet ground—only rain, silence, and fog. The victim wore a navy coat, slightly torn at the left shoulder. A faint scent of almonds lingered beneath the city’s grim dampness. She knelt carefully, avoiding any potential trace of crucial evidence. Something glinted—a gold cufflink shaped like a coiled serpent. Mara whispered one word into her recorder: “Unfinished.” Then, overhead, a window quietly shut in the dark apartment above.