Recap / Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past - Case 05: Shear Murder

Isaac: Unless death by garden shears is a leading cause of accidents in New Haven, the Master of the house appears to have been murdered!

While being congratulated by Chief Wright for their astounding work since they arrived to Concordia, the player is soon tasked with another job when Commissioner Baldwin barges in to inform you about the murder of his friend, businessman Maximillian Poe, whose body was found stabbed with a pair of garden shears at his greenhouse, prompting Isaac and the player go there to investigate.

Tropes:

• Accidental Pun: Dick says when he asks for your help looking deeper into Valeria's murder.
  Dick: I would like to have a look around that doctor's office to see if we might dig up some information. No pun intended, of course.
• Ambiguously Evil: This case makes it even more ambiguous is Father Donovan is indeed a good man like he claims to be, as you find out he served time in prison for murder before turning into a priest and also that he might be the one who provoked the fire that destroyed half of New Haven, since he appears to be interested in hiding his past no matter what, and destroying the evidence room where his criminal record was stored would be a good start.
• Afraid of Blood: Evie turns green in disgust when Viola asks her to inspect a piece of paper covered in blood, claiming that she's squeamish around the substance.
• Benevolent Boss. Audrey Scott, the victim's kitchen hand, speaks nothing but good things about her boss during her interrogations with nothing to disprove those claims. She also isn't all that mad that the victim took a photo of her getting dressed, being apparently flattered. She even appears to be very happy after you arrest his killer.
• Blame Game: Maximillian kept blaming Dr. Jones for allowing his wife to die due to her illness, and in return Valeria's brother Vincent blamed Maximillian for her death too since he never informed her family about her illness in the first place.
• Call-Back: Father Donovan reappears as a suspect, while Commissioner Baldwin appears at the beginning to inform you about the murder.
• Cliffhanger: The case ends with Chief Wright requesting you to look deeper into Father Donovan's affairs, especially now that you suspect he could be involved in the fire that almost destroyed New Haven and his exploitation of Irish immigrants by selling them as cheap labor.
• Dark Secret: For Father Donovan, the fact that he served time in prison for murder is this, to the point he looks very mortified when you show him his criminal record. Of course, this only serves to make him look even more suspicious about his connections to the fire that destroyed the evidence room...
• A Day in the Limelight: Dick tags along with you for most of the Additional Investigation, as he decides to look deeper into Valeria Poe's death since he finds it to be a little strange.
• Delirious Misidentification: During the autopsy report, Dick mistakes Isaac for Maddie due to his experiment involving Sleep Deprivation, making him delirious.
• Dr. Feelgood: Dr. Ezekiel Jones, the victim's physician, had been administering immense amounts of laudanum to the victim due to its anti-depressant qualities, since Maximillian was still in pain due to his wife's death.
• False Friend: When you interrogate her in prison, Sheila admits that she pretended to be Valeria's friend to slowly get close to her and get invited to her birthday party, where she gave her a poisoned wine to kill her.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Sheila Black, the victim's best friend, was crazily in love with him, to the point she murdered his wife so she could become her replacement. She also planned to kill Audrey since Maximillian was starting to get his eyes on her, but decides to murder him instead.
• Heel–Faith Turn: Father Donovan claims that he found the Lord while serving his time in prison to make up for his past mistakes, since he used to be a delinquent who got into a fight that ended with murder.
• Hopeless Suitor: Sheila Black was this for Maximillian, first because he was already married to his wife Valeria and later because he fell in love with his cook.
• If I Can't Have You…: Sheila's reason for killing Maximillian.
  Sheila: It was clear he would never have feelings for me. And if I couldn't have him, nobody could!
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: Dick claims to be completely fine regarding his Sleep Deprivation experiment... Then fails to recognize Isaac.
  Dick: Haven't slept a wink in three days! But as yet it hasn't affected my clear judgment, Miss O'Malley!
  Isaac: Um, Richard? I'm Bontemps.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The victim was killed by being impaled with a pair of garden shears, which were still lodged on his body by the time you found him.
• It's All My Fault: Father Donovan becomes a suspect when he barges in to claim it was him who killed Maximillian, but that's because he assumed Maximillian had committed suicide instead of being murdered, something that Father Donovan saw as his responsibility for failing to guide him towards God's light.
• Kiss Diss: You discover Sheila tried to kiss the victim when you find traces of her makeup on his cravat, but he evaded her at last second. Big mistake.
• The Lost Lenore: Valeria Poe was this for Maximillian, who lost her due to an illness six months prior to the case and was still mourning and depressed over her. It becomes even more tragic when you discover she didn't actually die from her illness, but Maximillian's "best friend" murdered her to be with him.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: During her arrest, Sheila admits that the reason why she stole Maximillian's ring after killing him was because she wanted the police to assume he was murdered during a thievery accident.
• Mysterious Past: As of this case, it's clear that there's more about Father Donovan than the eye meets,
• Never My Fault: Sheila declares herself "not guilty" during her trial, claiming that it was Maximillian's fault that she was forced to kill him due to rejecting her advances. Said lack of remorse doesn't end up sitting well with Judge Takakura, who gives her a life sentence as a result.
• Reformed Criminal: Father Donovan claims to be this, since he served his time in prison for murder and became a servant of the Lord after getting out. However, it remains unclear how much of what he's saying is true.
• Revisiting the Cold Case: During the Additional Investigation, you help Dick revisit Valeria's death since he has his suspicions about foul play being involved. He turns out to be right when you discover Sheila murdered her to get Maximillian for herself.
• Scullery Maid: Audrey Scott, although she's more of a kitchen hand than an actual maid.
• Second Love: Maximillian had started to fall in love with Audrey, his cook, after months of grieving for his dead wife, although Audrey never shared his feelings in the first place.
• Shout-Out: Melvil Dewey, Matthew Lewis, and William Shakespeare are quoted.
• Sickbed Slaying: Sheila gave Valeria, who had a chronic debilitating illness, a poisoned wine as a birthday gift so she would die without any suspicion.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: Valeria was killed after Sheila gave her a bottle of wine poisoned with hemlock.
• They Died Because of You: Vincent, Valeria's brother, blamed Maximillian for her death due to him refusing to tell anyone other than a doctor about her illness, and says that he's glad Maximillian died in the first place.
• A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Evie calls Father Donovan this after she discovers he served time in prison for murder.
  Evie: Many ancient texts, the Bible included, warn us to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, <Player's Name>. And this photo proves Father Donovan is one of them!
• You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: Sheila says a variation of this during her trial.
  Sheila: Common criminal, well I never! Do you have any idea who you're speaking to?! I am Sheila Margaret Black, and I am not accustomed to be being spoken to thusly!
• Yandere: Sheila in spades, as it turns out.