Recap / Criminal Case: Grimsborough - Case 42: Blood and Glory

Chief King: Here in Maple Heights, silence reigns supreme. And when you're investigating, I need you to be more discreet than ever.

After being promoted to Maple Heights, the police department are invited to a party held by the mayor for his re-election campaign, where club owner Jerry Bigwall dies while gobbling up cake, which is revealed to have contained razor blades.

Tropes:

• Bastard Angst: Akiko Tanaka was Jerry's illegitimate child, who dumped her mother after she told him she was pregnant. Her desire for revenge, coupled with the fact that she's the one that made the cake, makes her a strong suspect during the investigation.
• Big Eater: We finally meet someone who can give Jones a run for his money in this regard, up to not chewing his food. Unfortunately, he ends up dying for that exact reason.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: Before he's sent to prison, Mitchell Westville tells Judge Hall that every family in Maple Heights is this, hence why he doesn't care about ruining his family's reputation by murdering Jerry.
  Judge Hall: Are you suggesting that the residents of Maple Heights are all murderers?
  Mitchell: All I'm saying is that people here understand that murder is a lesser crime as long as it justifies the means.
• Blackmail: We learn that Jerry was this, recording secrets from people such as the mayor or Mitchell after getting them drunk. The last straw for Mitchell was when Jerry discovered his family was broke, prompting him to kill him.
• Blood from the Mouth: Jerry does this right before he dies thanks to the razors put in his food.
• Blunt "No": When Nathan begins to explain how the victim died:
  Nathan: Well, I had to cut your victim open to inspect his digestive system and—
  Jones: Jeez, Nate, can you spare us the details?
  Nathan: Nope.
• Continuity Nod: Rozalina's escort company and Jezabela's fetish dungeon are mentioned as being sponsors of Howard's campaign.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Mitchel says this word to word to Judge Hall during his trial.
  Mitchell: All I can say is that I did what I had to do to keep my family name intact.
• Death by Gluttony: Well, Jerry didn't exactly eat himself to death, but he could've easily avoided dying if he just chewed his food, which would've made him notice the razor blades in that cake.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Martha Price and her mayoral campaign and Hank Buxton's company are mentioned before they're properly introduced.
• Foreshadowing: At the end of the case, Jones tells you Martha Price has invited them to a yacht party.
• Latex Perfection: Jones comes across a perfect mask of Jerry, which Mitchell used to infiltrate his club. Jones himself puts it on while arresting Mitchell to make him believe he's Back from the Dead and make him confess for the murder.
• Matriarchy: It's revealed that the one who holds the reins in the Johnson family is Serena, Howard's overprotective mother who seems to be capable of doing anything to protect his re-election campaign, including threatening Jerry since he had heard something regarding Howard.
• Noodle Incident:
  Chief King: It's always a pleasure, Serena. And being back on the field, as it is, is reminding me of the good old days, like that time when that man got ki-
  Ahem... But how are you?
• Nouveau Riche: This case introduces Adam Bentley, an individual with a Mysterious Past who seems to just be gaining steam among the Old Money people from Maple Heights.
• The Profiler: Adam claims this is the reason why he tried to forge Jerry's signature: to learn more about his personality and befriend him. Jones doesn't believe him.
• Razor Apples: The victim died due to the party cake containing razors that shredded his throat and esophagus.
• Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: Chief King gives you a speech with all of your accomplishments at the start of the case.
  Chief King: You've come a long way <Player's Name>: you started out in the bowels of the city, before investigating the heart which pumps the economy.
  You then went right into the soul of Grimsborough, before heading on up to our city's eyes set on the vision of tomorrow.
  And now you've earned a place in Maple Heights. Home to the most important and powerful families of Grimsborough, the founders of this city!
• Shout-Out:
  • The victim resembles John Goodman.
  • Mayor Howard Johnson is likely a reference to John Howard, 25th prime minister of Australia.
  • Mitchell Westville resembles Michael Douglas.
  • Adam Bentley rents a "Ferrira" car.
  • In the Banquet scene, the Freemason emblem is visible.
  • The floating island in the Riverbank scene is reminiscent of Angel Island from Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • In the Bridge Entrance scene, Half-Life's logo is spray-painted onto a wall. There is also a purple version of Domo-kun.
  • When the seating plan is examined, a B. Affleck is seated at one of the tables.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • Jones seems more concerned about the cake going to waste than someone dying due to it.
    Jones: What a waste of cak— I mean, what a waste of human life!
  • Howard is also shown to be more distraught about his re-election party being ruined by the fact that Jerry, a long-lasting friend of him, has died.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: Mitchell put razors in the party cake to kill Jerry, since he knew Jerry would be the first one to eat and also that he didn't chew his food, which meant he wouldn't feel the razors until it was too late.
• Too Dumb to Live: Jerry could've VERY easily avoided having his insides ripped up if he just chewed his food, and not slurp it all down to notice it was tampered with razor blades. It's safe to say it's a surprise that he somehow didn't choke to death before slurping down that cake.
• Truth Serums: Mitchell injected Jerry with this, as he needed to know the code to the safe where he stored his recordings.