Usually they say art is cutthroat, but this works too.
While discussing about Jones's missing girlfriend Zoe, he suggests the player to visit the "Gallereea di Valereea" art gallery so he can get some art pieces to redecorate his apartment for Zoe's return. However, their shopping day gets promptly delayed when they find the body of gallery owner Valereea Valz impaled with a metallic flower statue.
Tropes:
- Alliterative Name: Valereea Valz, the victim, and suspect Jackson J. Jackson.
- Ambition Is Evil: Jones says this regarding Sean's motivation after his trial.Jones: Wow! Some people really let ambition get the better of them, huh, <Name>? But murder is no way to get ahead!
- Beard of Evil: One of the killer's traits is that they sport a beard, and they murdered the victim in a pretty horrific fashion for selfish reasons.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Sean Rubio, the victim's assistant, constantly put up with her Mean Boss antics while tolerating her belittlement, as he was waiting for the perfect moment to kill her.
- Call-Back: Meera Kat reappears as a suspect.
- Character Catchphrase: Jackson just can't stop telling people to "git."
- Collector of the Strange: Megu Hashira, one of the suspects, is an art collector with a penchant for weird sculptures such a flower made entirely out of trash or a giant eggplant.
- A Day in the Limelight: Gabriel gets to be on the spotlight during the Additional Investigation while investigating about Meera Kat and her sadistic art.
- Distress Call: Played for Laughs. In Chapter 2, Ramirez calls the player and Jones in a very distressed manner, leading you to believe he's in danger, but it turns out to be another of his exaggerations.
- Down in the Dumps: JJJ Junkyard, a trash site where the victim often got materials for her art exhibitions, appears as a crime scene, complete with a very grumpy owner that's always telling you to "git."
- Fiery Cover-Up: Subverted. During the investigation, Meera is seen tossing items in one of the many Lava Pits that have erupted over Grimsborough, leading to Jones and the player believe she's burning evidence. However, this turns out to not be the case.Meera: I told you. I was working on a conceptual piece, filming the effects the lava has on these toys!Jones: Uh-huh. Let me guess. The lava is melting them. You're a genius.
- Foreshadowing: Meera tells you she's planning a much bigger project than her previous ones combined while burning dolls in lava. Come Case 12, and Meera ends up being burned alive in a Lava Pit during said project.
- Get Out!: Jackson constantly tells Jones and the player to "git" out of his junkyard, and he did the same to the victim while she was still alive.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Sean Rubio murdered Valereea because he was jealous of her art gallery and he wanted it for himself.
- Heads or Tails?: The killer consulted the I Ching
to decide whether murdering or not the victim was worth it by throwing a coin. - Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The victim was killed by being impaled on a massive flower statue from the abdomen to the chest hard enough for her body to still be mostly upright when you find her.
- Improvised Weapon: The murder weapon is a metallic flower statue the killer pushed the victim against.
- Lack of Empathy: Meera seems to be suffering from sociopathy levels of this, as she's been taking pictures of the people trapped under the rubble left behind by the earthquake (both alive and dead) to use them as pieces for her art exhibition.
- Leave No Witnesses: During the Additional Investigation, you discover Zoe Kusama was searching for a missing person named Trey Warner who got kidnapped, which leads to Gloria and the player assume the same happened to Zoe after she saw it happen. Jones is understandably devastated by this.
- Long Game: During his arrest, Sean claims he did this by putting up with Valereea's antics, waiting for the perfect moment to kill her and seize her art gallery.
- Love Hurts: Astro Hawtee, the victim's ex-boyfriend, became heartbroken after he felt the victim only toyed with him to have a bit of fun before breaking up with him.
- Mad Artist: Meera Kat continues showing the dark side of her art by showing that one of her exhibitions is a photo gallery of people trapped under the earthquake's rubble, not caring about their suffering or trauma.
- May–December Romance: The victim, who appeared to be in her mid-50s, used to be in a relationship with Astro, who is 27.
- Mean Boss: Valereea constantly insulted and belittled his assistant, becoming increasingly demanding despite his best efforts. She also cancelled an art order from Jackson when he was nearly finished with it and refused to pay him.
- Pulled from Your Day Off: Jones and the player go to the art gallery to find some decorations for Jones' apartment, but end up finding the victim's body instead.
- Repetitive Name: Jackson Jackson. Who knows what the middle "J" stands for?
- Selective Obliviousness: When you confront Megu for working alongside Meera's sadistic art gallery depicting pictures of people trapped under rubble, she decides to shrug it off claiming that Meera probably helped them after taking said pictures, calling her a talented woman despite her clear symptoms of sociopathy.
- Shout-Out:
- Megu Hashira is a parody of Yayoi Kusama.
- One of the killer's traits is reading the I Ching.
- Skewed Priorities: Meera is shown to be visibly happy when you inform her about the victim's death, since she was selling her art and thus will make it get more publicity.
- The Sociopath: During the Additional Investigation, Gabriel tells you he's worried about Meera due to her clearly showing signs of sociopathy, from an obsession with fame to an opportunistic predation of tragedy and a complete Lack of Empathy.
- Spooky Photographs: Meera has been taking pictures of people both dead and alive under the rubble left behind by the earthquake for her art exhibition.
- Trademark Favorite Food: One of the killer's traits is that they eat ginger.
- True Art Is Incomprehensible: The main theme of this case is how the definition of art can vary from people to people, such as Meera taking advantage of the pain and suffering left behind by the earthquake, the victim commissioning a giant metallic flower made out of trash for her gallery, or Megu buying a giant eggplant sculpture. As for Jackson, well...Jackson: But I don't know nothing about no artsy, foo-foo-lah-dee-dah bidness! I just know junk!
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Sean acts distraught and shocked when you inform him of the murder he just committed.
