Too bad the victim couldn't afford extra lives.
While discussing and theorizing about Marconi, his business in The Greens, and his possible ties with Zoe's disappearance, Jones and the player are informed by Gloria that a murder has been reported in Bronson Lane, a street in The Greens characterized by its trendy shops. There, both officers find the body of Ash Bison, the former gang leader they met five years ago, eviscerated just outside of a microbrewery.
Tropes:
- Accidental Theft: Ash hooked Troy with a supplier that sold him everything necessary for his microbrewery for a very good price, but Troy later discovered these goods were stolen and thus could be traced back to him, making him resent Ash for indirectly turning him into a criminal again.
- Ambiguously Evil: Troy Cassidy joins Marconi in this regard when you discover he's been giving him lists of former Skull members every once in a while. According to Troy, Marconi has been using these former gangster to give them jobs at his security company, but Jones understandably has his doubts.
- Arcade-Perfect Port: During the Additional Investigation, you help Alex make a port of Big Baby's Double Vipers for cellphones, which apparently goes smoothly.
- Asshole Victim: In stark contrast with Troy and Big Baby, Ash still was a huge Jerkass and outright delinquent even after supposedly quitting his life of crime, which put him at odds with every suspect in this case.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Jones gets distracted when you pick up a candy jar by assuming it's one of those games where you have to guess how many are inside before he apologizes for not realizing it's a clue.
- Back for the Dead: Ash Bison, last seen in Case 11 of the first season, returns as the victim here.
- The Bartender: Troy Cassidy, who now runs a microbrewery in The Greens named after his now-dissolved gang.
- Blame Game: Joy attempts to blame Ash's death on Troy in Chapter 3 during a fight at their microbrewery, although it was most likely part of her Wounded Gazelle Gambit.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Alex lists the charms of visiting an arcade, such as neon lights, the blinging sounds, and sticky floors.
- By-the-Book Cop: Officer Tim Cooper seems to be a pretty competent beat cop, as he reports the murder then immediately seals the area without being told and had also been keeping tabs on Troy and Marconi's business quite effectively while doing it discreetly. He almost crosses the Meddlesome Patrolman line when you discover he was obsessively following Ash around, but considering he was a Falsely Reformed Villain, it's actually understandable.
- The Bus Came Back: Troy Cassidy and Big Baby both return after last appearing in Case 9 and Case 11 of the first season, respectively, now retired from gang life and running their own honest business.
- Call-Back: Carter Hayes and Alex Turner reappear throughout the case.
- I Can Change My Beloved: Joy certainly believed she'd be able to do this with Ash, even if he continued to be a Jerkass still involved in illicit activities. She even gave Ash an ultimatum making him chose between her or continuing being a criminal
- Continuity Cameo: Amy and Frank can be seen in the arcade machines of the arcade crime scene.
- Cop Hater: Even if he isn't a gangster anymore, Big Baby isn't still fond of cops, which he demonstrates during his introduction.Big Baby: Well, well, well. <Player's Name>! I knew I could smell bacon, you know how much I hate cops.
- Disappeared Dad: Ash walked out of Kaitlyn Flynn's life when she was a baby, and accused her of going after his money when she tried to reconnect with him after her mother's death.
- Early-Bird Cameo:
- When you find the list of former gang members that Troy gave to Marconi, one of the visible names is that of Keith Vaughan, long before he actually appears in Case 34.
- A non-character example. One of the killer's traits is playing an arcade game named Weirder Stuff (itself a parody of Stranger Things), which is much later revealed to be based on an in-universe book series that have been adapted into a TV show, whose filming set you'll also visit some time later.
- Entitled Bastard: Ash felt entitled to boss Big Baby around and ordered him to raise the price of the Double Vipers arcade machine (which, mind you, Big Baby programmed by himself) to $2 despite the fact profits would tank due to being too expensive.
- Falsely Reformed Villain: Ash was far from redeemed despite having quit being a gangster, as he still committed robberies and roughed people up to get things his way.
- Fictional Video Game: After quitting gang life, Big Baby programmed an arcade game named Double Vipers based on him and Ash's former gang The Vipers, with the latter as the protagonist fighting his way through the city against other gangs. Apparently, it's been quite a success.
- Gene Hunt: After her mother died, Kaitlyn went to look for her father Ash so she'd reconnect with her only family member left, although Ash ended up rejecting her out of his life due to assuming she only sought him for his money.
- Good Costume Switch: Troy and Big Baby, who are now Reformed Criminals, dress much more formally than they did five years ago when they were gang members.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Alex joins you during the Additional Investigation to ask Big Baby for permission to port Double Vipers to mobile phones.
- Gutted Like a Fish: Ash was killed by having his belly cut in such a way that his intestines spilled out.Martine: <Player's Name>, there's an English expression, "spill your guts," non? Your victim seems to have taken it literally!Jones: Please, Martine... I just ate!
- Haute Cuisine Is Weird: What Jones thinks of the food and beverages that abound in The Greens.Jones: This is a nice place, <Player's Name>, I'd love a cold drink. But the beers here are... strange. Does this say mango and hibiscus lager?
- Hidden Depths: Both Troy and Big Baby quit gang life because they discovered they possessed hidden talents that would allow them make a honest living, as Troy opened a microbrewery after he learned to craft beer and Big Baby programmed an extremely successful arcade game that's been making him rich.
- The Illegible: Downplayed. Officer Cooper writes his notes in shorthand
, which makes them impossible to read unless done by someone else (e.g. Gabriel) that knows it too. - The Insomniac: One of the killer's traits is that they suffer from insomnia.
- Is This a Joke?: When Jones tells Kaitlyn that Ash has been murdered, he asks if you're the "joke police," as she assumes you're talking about the Double Vipers character.
- Lame Pun Reaction: Jones has one he Rupert tell you he wouldn't want to keep you in "suspense."Rupert: Well, I've not told you the results yet! This metal object is a clasp for a pair of suspenders! Get it? Suspense... suspenders!Jones: Hilarious. But, we're kind of in a hurry, Rupert.
- Missing Mom: Kaitlyn's mom Natasha died a year ago, which is why she set to look for her father so she wouldn't be alone.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Joy murdered Ash because he thought he was cheating on her with Kaitlyn. She's pretty horrified when Jones explains that Kaitlyn was actually his daughter.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Joy says this word-for-word upon finding out Ash and Kaitlyn's real relationship.Joy: Oh my God, Ash! Why didn't you tell me? What have I done?!
- Not So Above It All: Despite Officer Cooper finding The Green's Heel–Face Town overwhelming due to not getting used to its modernization, he still enjoys passing time at the arcade and playing with the machines, calling it a guilty pleasure.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Big Baby's real name continues being a mystery even after this case is done. Lampshaded when Alex meets him for the first time.Alex: Excuse me, Mr... Baby. I mean, Big... ummm.Big Baby: Come on, little man! Spit it out! Just call me BB, all my friends do!
- Poor Communication Kills: Ash's death could've been avoided had Joy confronted him about her suspicions that Kaitlyn was his mistress.
- Reformed, but Rejected: Jones and Officer Cooper have this idea regarding Troy and Big Baby, believing they're still up to no good due to being former gang members. According to Big Baby, DreamLife also rejected working with him for this very reason.Tim: You can dress them up with microbreweries or video games, but a leopard can't change its spots, <Player's Name>. Once a gang member, always a gang member!
- Reformed Criminal: Both Troy and Big Baby have left their criminal past behind to start honest businesses in The Greens. Averted with Ash, who continued being a criminal despite leaving the gangs.
- Shout-Out:
- One of the killer's traits is playing a video game called Weirder Stuff. Tim Cooper, one of the suspects, also resembes Jim Hopper, a character of the series.
- In the Beer Tanks scene, there is an image of what seems to be a person with a deer's head. It brings a certain game series to mind.
- In the Arcade scene, there is a pink teddy bear. He really seems to get around, doesn't he?
- In the Game Station scene, there is a toy fish resembling Nemo.
- One clue is a figurine that Jones calls "one of those funky figurines". It's clearly based on Funko Pop!.
- Double Vipers is a parody of Double Dragon.
- Ginette is a parody of Gilette.
- D++ and Objective-D are a parody of C++ and Objective-C.
- There Are No Coincidences: Jones finds hard to believe that Troy, Ash, and Big Baby, three former gang members, became suspects of a murder investigation just when the department started to investigate Tony Marconi.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Troy and Big Baby are much nicer than they used to be five years ago, as they've left their criminal past behind and thus have no reason to be at odds with the player.
- Vanity License Plate: The licence plate of Ash's scooter is A5HRUL3Z.
- Video Arcade: One appears as a crime scene, which is where Big Baby and Kaitlyn work and the Double Vipers machine is located.
- We Used to Be Friends: Troy and Ash had actually managed to become friends after they disbanded The Skulls and The Vipers, but their friendship ended up taking a hit when Ash hooked him with a provider that sold Troy stolen goods, which put his business at risk.
- Who Murdered the Asshole: Every single suspect in this case had a solid motive to kill Ash: he knowingly hooked Troy with a supplier that sold him stolen goods fully aware of the consequences if Troy got caught, wanted to order Big Baby around in their business despite Big Baby being the head of the whole operation, abandoned his baby daughter Kaitlyn then rejected her when she found him after so many years just because he believed Kaitlyn was after his money, most likely hijacked an armored vehicle according to Tim's investigation (who seems to be a pretty competent cop), and was still stealing and roughing people up to get things his way even after Joy gave him an ultimatum.Jones: Murder cases are fickle beasts, <Player's Name>. Sometimes it's a struggle to find anyone with a motive......while other times, like today, every suspect had reason to want Ash Bison dead!
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Joy bursts into tears when you inform her about Ash's murder when just a few minutes ago she was the one who killed him.
- Ye Goode Olde Days: Officer Cooper is so overwhelmed by The Green's Heel–Face Town he actually misses the old Industrial Area despite how terrible life was back then.Tim: Argh, this neighborhood isn't what it used to be, <Player's Name>. Life was tough back when it was the Industrial Center, but at least it made sense.But then those so-called "hipster" people moved in, and it's like the whole world's been turned upside down!Keeping the streets safe from hoodlums I understand! But farmer's markets, quinoa and barber shops are all a mystery to me!
