Recap / Criminal Case: Grimsborough - Case 09: Burned to the Bone

Literally.

Chad Whickman, member of The Vipers, is found burned to the bone in a parking lot. Now it's up to you to find his killer, who may be another Viper, a Skull, or just a random citizen.

Tropes:

• All Love Is Unrequited: Rose paid no mind to Big Baby's love confession, since she was already in love with Chad.
• Alliterative Name: Big Baby.
• Berserk Button: For Joe, the sole mention of The Vipers is enough to make him lose control. Which is why he killed Chad, a member, when he came looking for a job on his store.
  Joe: Every day the Vipers come in here and destroy my shop. EVERY DAY!
  And then this low-life Viper comes in all smiles asking for a job! At first I was too shocked to do anything...
  ... But then my legs started moving again. Then my arms. And before I knew it, I had poured gasoline all over him.
  And then I flicked my cigarette at him and WOOSH!
• Big Brother Instinct: Troy really loves his sister, to the point he allowed her to date Chad despite being a Viper.
• Call-Back: Joe Stern as well as his shop from Case 2 appear again.
• Continuity Nod: The victim was killed in the same parking lot Linda Lovara lives in.
• Cop Hater: Big Baby openly admits being one, which is why he quit his dream of being a detective.
• Fat Idiot: Subverted. Despite his dope appearance and being member of a gang, Big Baby is shown to be quite aware of his surroundings.
  Big Baby: I may be fat but I ain't crazy, yo.
• Fat Slob: Big Baby has such a poor hygiene he's full of dandruff.
• Foreign-Language Tirade: Cordero insults Joe in Spanish after he's revealed to be the killer.
• Gasoline Dousing: Joe threw gasoline at Chad before igniting him with his cigarette.
• Giftedly Bad: The victim wrote poetry. Let's just say... he wasn't very good at it.
  Jones: "Skulls are Red, Vipers are Blue, gang war sucks, but I love you so much"... What. The. Hell is THAT?
• Gonk: Big Baby, according to Rose.
  Jones: You know where we could find him?
  Rose: It shouldn't be too hard. Look for the ugliest, fattest Viper and that'll be him.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When recalling a previous case, Jones literally refers to it by its game name.
  Jones: Do you remember Joe? He was a suspect in "Corpse in a Garden"... one of your very first cases!
• Man on Fire: How the victim was killed: douse with gasoline then set ablaze with a cigarette.
  Jones: Ugh, look at this corpse! I don't think we'll be eating BBQ any time soon!
• My God, You Are Serious!: When Nathan informs you that Chad's killer has a dandruff problem.
  Jones: Ha ha ha!
  Oh wait... you're actually serious? Huh.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Big Baby's real name was never revealed.
• Quickly-Demoted Leader: Chief King threatens you and Jones with working under Ramirez if you fail to solve the case. Jones isn't amused.
• Red Herring: Despite the suspect list including the leader of the victim's rival gang and the leader of The Vipers —the gang the victim was trying to desert—, the killer ends up being someone totally unrelated to either The Skulls or The Vipers.
  Jones: I guess I got a bit too carried away with the lovers' story to realize the killing had nothing to do with the gangs.
• Shout-Out:
  • Salvador Cordero resembles Danny Trejo.
  • Chad Whickman, the victim, died after being set on fire. Both his surname and the manner of his death bring The Wicker Man (1973) to mind.
  • Big Baby resembles rapper Fat Joe.
  • Jones compares Chad and Rose's love story to Romeo and Juliet.
• Smoking Is Not Cool: So uncool, one of the killer's traits is that he smokes.
• Tempting Fate: After finding out about the "meeting" between Marconi and Cordero...
  Jones: The situation between the Italian mafia and the Vipers is worse than we thought...
  Jones: I wouldn't be surprised if something serious were to happen very soon... We'd better be ready for it!
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In his previous appearance, Joe was slightly abrasive and pessimistic, but still polite. Here? He's actively rude towards you and Jones, and that's before he's revealed to be the one who killed Chad.
• Thicker Than Water: Troy's explanation for why he wouldn't kill Chad despite him being a member of his rival gang: he was his sister's boyfriend.
  Troy: Naw, man. You've got it all wrong. I'd never hurt my lil' sista like that. Family before honor, that's the Skulls way.
• Unseen No More: After only being mentioned multiple times during the entire district, Salvador Cordero finally appears as a suspect.