Chapter 1: The Coastal Train

The train click-clacked along the jagged cliffs of Blackwood Bay, its iron wheels protesting against the salt-rusted tracks. Outside, the sea was a churning mass of dark slate, meeting a grey sky that threatened a heavy storm. Detective Julian Vance stared at his reflection in the window, his grey eyes tired and hollow.

He had received the letter three days ago. It contained no return address, only a single newspaper clipping about the disappearance of Claire Sterling, and a hand-written note: "The fog takes them when the light turns red. Come to the Blackwood Lighthouse."

As the train hissed to a halt at the empty platform of Blackwood Station, Julian pulled his collar up against the biting wind. The air was thick, damp, and tasted of salt and rot. In the distance, rising like a dark monolith from the sea-beaten rocks, stood the old lighthouse, its light currently dark, waiting for the night.