A frightening genius

Cassian, Detective Cassandra, and Sergeant Dallas visited all three murder scenes but found nothing new that the previous investigators had missed. They confirmed that the families were deeply religious, each worshipping a different deity. Yet, a curious detail caught their attention: while the gods in the paintings varied in appearance—different genders, facial features, and small divergences like hair styles, beards, or accessories—the overall artistic style was strikingly similar. All the paintings had muted, earthy tones, with light, muddy colors dominating the palette. Rays of light radiated from behind the deity's head, and each one bore the same warm smile. The facial structures were almost identical, as if the same artist had subtly adjusted the features to represent different figures.