Recap / Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past - Case 12: Behind the Mask

Isaac: One thing is clear: tonight's party, to which we've been invited by Mr Alastor himself, is our last chance to find the answers we seek!

Isaac and the player attend the sixth and final of Mr. Alastor's parties, this time being held in a mansion pertaining to Archie Rochester, the rich boy they previously met. Once there, it doesn't take long before the last victim of Mr. Alastor's killing streak makes its presence known, as George Buchanan, the media tycoon they also previously met last case, falls on the mansion's pool after being stabbed in the stomach.

Tropes:

• Abhorrent Admirer: Giulietta considers both George and Mr. Alastor this, the former because he's old enough to be her father and the latter due to remaining anonymous and provoking murders on her behalf, including the death of her little sister.
• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Maddie gets drunk on absinthe during Alastor's party, which prompts her to steal all the alcohol from the mansion and also a part from Charlie's machine which he requires for the World Exhibition. Fortunately, you manage to recover it during the Additional Investigation.
  Isaac: Madeline, how much liquor have you imbibed?
  Maddie: Remember that chest full of absinthe? Well, now it's a half a chest-full! Or is it chest-empty?
• Anonymous Benefactor: Mr. Alastor sent a very expensive tiara to Giulietta as a romantic gift for her, which is how you manage to track down his identity, as Evie requests the buyer's name to the jewelry store where the tiara was bought.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: By this case, Giulietta is shown to be sick of the Elysium Field's elite since all they've done is bring trouble to her with their fancy parties, including the death of her little sister.
  Giulietta: I thought the people in my father's milieu were cruel, but these society gentlemen are worse! I can't believe I hoped for happiness here!
• Back for the Finale: Vittorio Capecchi, Archie Rochester, and Giulietta Capecchi all return as suspects in this case, which is the last one set in Elysium Fields. Wentworth, Archie's valet who appeared along with him, also becomes a suspect here.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: Wentworth commits suicide after being outed as the murderer to avoid spilling the beans for the reason why he murdered George.
• The Butler Did It: Wentworth, Archie's valet and caretaker, is revealed to be the killer in this case.
• Cat Fight: Evie and Katherine almost get into one after the latter sneaks into Evie's library, but Isaac manages to defuse the situation before Evie can throw the first strike.
• The Charmer: Katherine declares herself one, saying that she only got as far as a journalist in the Concordian Gazette because of her flirtatious nature, which allowed her to win George. She also claims the reason why she got her hands on the investigations regarding Mr. Alastor was because of her charming skills.
  Katherine: But I'll tell you this: if you know how to get people relaxes and off-guard, you'll simply be astonished by what they'll reveal!
• The Climax: For Elysium Fields.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: Archie Rochester, the fragile, friendless boy who looked like he couldn't hurt a fly when you met him the first time, is revealed to be the true identity of Mr. Alastor, the evil mastermind behind the murderous parties you've been investigating since you arrived to Elysium Fields.
  Justin: But could this shy, awkward teenager really be the dazzling darling of society, Mr Alastor?
• Downer Ending: The case ends with Archie getting away with the crimes he performed as Mr. Alastor and the case's murderer committing suicide in a Senseless Sacrifice, leaving the entire Flying Squad and Justin Lawson very upset about such failure of justice.
• Dreadful Musician: Maddie isn't apparently a very good singer when she's drunk, if Charlie's testimony holds some merit.
• Driven to Suicide: Wentworth commits suicide by ingesting poison when you try to arrest him for murdering Buchanan in an effort to take Mr. Alastor's secrets to his grave.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Archie wanted to kill George because he was courting Giulietta, who Archie is also in love with. However, Wentworth didn't want his master to become a murderer, so he killed George for him instead.
• Grievous Bottley Harm: The victim was hit in the head with a champagne bottle before being stabbed to death.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Once again, Justin Lawson joins you during the Additional Investigation to search for Mr. Alastor's identity and unmask him once and for all.
• Homemade Inventions: Charlie and Dick manage to invent the very first DNA machine in the world on their own, which they intend to use as their presentation for the upcoming World Exhibition.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The victim was killed by being stabbed with a champagne saber.
• Implied Death Threat: Giulietta left a metal heart riddled with bullets known as the "Kiss of Death" inside George's pocket as a threat, since he wouldn't stop harassing her with his courting.
• Intrepid Reporter: This case introduces Katherine Woolf, a journalist from the Concordian Gazette who isn't above flirting her way into obtaining important information or sneaking inside of the Flying Squad's airship to investigate about Alastor on her own.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: During his unmasking, Archie reveals that the reason why he invented his Mr. Alastor identity was because he wanted to feel like he had friends among the elite, but since no one came his parties under his normal name, he had to create a mysterious individual whose parties everyone would be thrilled to attend.
• Karma Houdini: Archie manages to get away without any repercussions for being Mr. Alastor and purposefully causing six deaths during his parties, since as far as the legal system goes, Archie technically never killed anyone himself. Of course, this ends up being a huge blow to the Flying Squad and District Attorney Justin Lawson.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Wentworth dies from the ingested poison during his final speech.
  Wentworth: I'll take Mr Alastor's secret to the gra...
  [Wentworth collapses]
• Last Episode, New Character: This case introduces Katherine Woolf as one of the suspects, a mischievous Intrepid Reporter working for the Concordian Gazette.
• Like Father, Like Daughter: Isaac compares Giulietta with her father Vittorio after you discover she sent a "Kiss of Death" heart to George, which equals to a death threat in The Mafia.
• Love Makes You Evil: While at first Archie was only using his Mr. Alastor identity to throw fancy parties and feel like he was friends with the elite, meeting Giulietta during one of his soirées prompted Archie try to court her in the most wicked way possible by provoking the deaths of people who have bothered her in the past.
• Malicious Slander: George had been doing this with the Rochester family using his newspaper company, which prompted the Rochesters to sue him and giving Archie a good motive to kill him.
• Nerdy Inhaler: Archie has one of these, which he uses in a fit of panic when you accuse of him being Mr. Alastor.
• Oh, Crap!: Isaac has this reaction when Charles informs you that Maddie sneaked undercover into the party but then discovered the absinthe.
  Isaac: Absinthe? That's Maddie's Achilles' heel! We had better find her, <Player's Name>!
• Put on a Bus: Archie is sent abroad by his parents at the end of the case, who manage to get him out of trouble for being Mr. Alastor.
• Revealing Cover Up: Wentworth killing himself to protect the identity of Mr. Alastor is what ultimately leads the Flying Squad to unmasking Archie, since Wentworth's Undying Loyalty to his master means he would only sacrifice himself for Archie.
• Rule of Pool: George fell into the pool after being stabbed, soaking Isaac's clothes in the process.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: When you arrest him for being Mr. Alastor, Archie smugly claims his punishment won't stick due to belonging to the Rochesters, one of the most influential families in Concordia. He ends up being right.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Wentworth commits suicide to protect the identity of Mr. Alastor, which turns out to be in vain when you manage to identify Archie as Alastor anyway.
• Shout-Out:
  • The case's plot is based on The Great Gatsby.
  • Wentworth resembles Nestor.
  • In the Main Stairs scene, there is a stained glass image of a rose.
  • In the Billiards Room scene, there is a bust of Julius Caesar.
• This Cannot Be!: Justin has this reaction when Chief Wright informs him that Archie will not face punishment for his crimes as Mr. Alastor, feeling disillusioned with the justice system allowing him to walk free after all the harm he caused.
• Trespassing to Talk: More like trespassing to investigate, Katherine sneaks inside of the Squad's airship and Evie's library to investigate on her own about Mr. Alastor, greatly infuriating Evie in the process.