Recap / Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past - Case 44: Graveyard Shift

Constable Ramirez: Detective Bontemps, you don't understand! This body isn't buried! The fellow's lying slumped over a tombstone! And... a vampire sucked him dry of blood!

While passing time at the airship during the night shift, Isaac and the player are informed by Constable Ramirez that he has found a dead, recently-murdered body at the cemetery, which he believes is the work of a vampire. Having their doubts, Isaac and the player rush to the crime scene, where they see the exsanguinated corpse of poet Edgar Woe with two puncture wounds on his neck.

Tropes:

• Admiring the Abomination: Subverted. At first, you're led to believe Edgar broke into Count Blutsauger's castle due to believing he was a vampire and being excited about it, but you later learn from a recording that Edgar only wanted to make fun of him and his vampire impersonation.
• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Edgar broke into Count Blutsauger's castle while drunk to make fun of him, and said drunkenness also made it easy for Annabel to kill him with the blood pump.
• Ambiguously Evil: While George Okamoto appears to be the most likely person to be The Devil due to being an old scholar, he denies everything about it when you interrogate him, leaving unclear whether he's telling the truth or not.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Evie calls out Isaac because of this, as he shows skepticism with vampires despite the fact he's superstitious regarding luck.
  Evie: Now now, Mr. Bontemps, we all know you'd never play a big game of chess without your gris-gris!
  Isaac: That's... not the same thing at all! It's not superstition, it's... tradition!
• The Bartender: William Oland, the owner of The Stake and Garlic tavern the victim and his friend frequently visited.
• Bilingual Bonus: Count Blutsauger's surname is German for "Bloodsucker", appropriate for his vampire persona.
• Blood Bath: During the investigation, you find a witchcraft book detailing how an old woman can regain her youthfulness by bathing with the blood of a young virgin man, which leads to Isaac believe Amelia murdered Edgar for this reason. She didn't.
• Call-Back: Marla de Paradis and George Okamoto make appearances during the Additional Investigation.
• Cliffhanger: The case ends with the Flying Squad visiting Gryphon Sanctuary, the local insane asylum where a member of the Rochester family has been hospitalized.
• Cloud Cuckoolander: William Oland firmly believes that the supernatural occurrences supposedly haunting Grim Chapel are completely real, and even warns you about the vampires and werewolves inhabiting it with a straight face.
• Competition Freak: Callum Edwards, the victim's best friends, tells you how Edgar always liked to brag about how he was better at everything Callum did, such as having more money, a faster horse, or a more lovingly cat.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Evie recalls how Isaac can't play chess without his lucky gris-gris.
  • As it turns out, Isaac is still afraid of horses when you find one of them at the local tavern, as he only rode a pony back at the stables.
  • Charlie mentions how he's still establishing the telephone company for the bonds.
• Creepy Housekeeper: Amelia Bats, Count Blutsauger's housekeeper, is a stern old woman who likes to read books about witchcraft, some of which involve bathing in the blood of young men to maintain youthfulness.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The victim was killed by being exsanguinated with a pump until his body was left completely empty of blood, becoming a pale husk simulating a vampire attack.
• Dances and Balls: During the Additional Investigation, you and Diego help Isaac prepare for a vampire ball that Marla has invited him to assist, finding an appropriate attire for him.
• Death by Woman Scorned: Annabel, Edgar's girlfriend, decided to kill him when she found out Edgar had been cheating on her with multiple other women and The Devil offered her a way to Make It Look Like an Accident.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Callum, the victim's best friend, was tired of Edgar always bragging about his accomplishments to him, so he decided to challenge Edgar break into Count Blutsauger's castle with hopes that the count would release some dogs on Edgar and hurt him.
• Easily-Overheard Conversation: Diego overhears the player and Isaac's conversation regarding Marla's invitation to a ball, prompting him to help Issac find a correct attire.
  Diego: What did I just hear, <Player's Name>? Isaac is taking a lady to a ball?
  Isaac: Diego? Were you... eavesdropping?
  Diego: Naturally!
• Even Evil Has Standards: Apparently, The Devil was sympathetic to Annabel being cheated on by her boyfriend, and gave her the tools for her supernatural murder on the house.
• Evil Old Folks: Thanks to the analysis performed on The Devil's note and the strand of DNA Viola finds in it, you discover that The Devil is an old man in addition to being an scholar well-versed in the supernatural, which makes Maddie and the player assume George Okamoto is The Devil.
• Forgot to Pay the Bill: During one of his interrogations, William tells you how Edgar and Callum always forgot to pay their bills at his tavern, racking up a considerable amount of debt with him.
• Gaining the Will to Kill: Annabel gained the will to kill Edgar after she found a note and a pump left to her by The Devil, instructing her how to kill Edgar and make it look appear like a vampire attack to gain her revenge on him.
• Hangover Sensitivity: Callum Edwards appears suffering from this throughout the investigation, as he and Edgar were recently at the local tavern until late night.
• Haunted Castle: One of the crime scenes is a castle where Count Blutsauger lives, which is also inhabited by his Creepy Housekeeper and is said to be haunted.
• Literal-Minded: Isaac shows shades of this when Constable Ramirez informs you about the murder.
  Constable Ramirez: I was patrolling near the old cemetery, and I... stumbled upon a dead body!
  Isaac: You found a dead body in the cemetery? My dear Constable, that is where dead bodies belong!
• Lured into a Trap: Maddie and the player attempt to do this with The Devil, leaving a note at the cemetery to "summon" him and catch him in the act. Unfortunately, The Devil sees right through their ploy and it fails.
• Never My Fault: When you interrogate her in prison, Annabel blames The Devil for inciting her to murder Edgar and ruining her life instead of accepting her guiltiness.
• Nothing Is Scarier: At the beginning of Chapter 3, Isaac and the player are briefly stalked by a group of red eyes hiding themselves in the darkness, and while Isaac just assumes they're bats, the player never gets to see what kind of creatures those eyes belonged to at all.
• Official Couple: As of this case, Isaac and Marla have become an official couple.
• Relationship Revolving Door: Annabel explains how her relationship with Edgar was this, as he constantly broke up with her only to come back days later since, as a poet, he wanted to experience "every human emotion" with her for inspiration.
• "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: The culprit murdered the victim with a syringe and a blood pump to make it appear he had been killed by a vampire.
• I Shall Taunt You: After you fail to catch The Devil by leaving him a message at the cemetery, he taunts you with a note claiming to know who you are and how The Devil can't be tricked.
• Shout-Out:
  • The victim, Edgar Woe, is a parody of Edgar Allan Poe.
    • His various girlfriends, including one of the suspects, are references to some of Poe's poems: Annabel Leigh (Annabel Lee), Lenore, and Morella.
    • Furthermore, The Raven is quoted.
  • Callum Edwards is a parody of Edward Cullen.
  • Annabel Leigh's pet cat, Mephisto, is named after the German demon Mephistopheles.
  • Count Damien von Blutsauger is a parody of Count Dracula.
  • William Oland is named after Woland.
  • In the Graveyard Path scene, there is a bust of Julius Caesar and a mask of a red skull.
• Vampire Bites Suck: The victim was killed simulating a vampire bite, as the culprit punctured his carotid artery with a syringe then used a pump to drain all of his blood.
• Vampire Dance: Marla invites Isaac to a vampire ball during the Additional Investigation, reassuring him that learning to dance should be easy as "vampires learn fast".
• Vampire Vannabe: Count Damien von Blutsauger, an old man who lives in a supposed Haunted Castle while dressing as a vampire and pretending to be one. When Edgar broke into his castle to make fun of him and his persona, he got understandably furious.