While discussing how overwhelmingly over-the-top and quirky The Greens and its inhabitants are, Gloria and the player are interrupted by Jones, who not only reminds them that Marconi's ties with Zoe's disappearance and DreamLife's satellite mystery are far more important topics to discuss, but also informs that a body has been reported at a community beehive in a rooftop. There, Gloria and the player collect the body of skincare entrepreneur Beckett Blanton, who died after being pushed onto a beehive and stung by thousands of bees.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Prisha didn't actually mean to kill Beckett, as she just asked him to meet up in the rooftop to confront Becket after she discovered he had replaced her birth control pills with placebos. However, when they started arguing, Prisha whacked him with a honey brush and he fell onto the hives while she fled in a panic, not realizing he had died until you informed her.
- Afraid of Needles: Alex tells you the only reason why Cathy took Sammy to get his shots instead of him is because he's afraid of needles.
- Alliterative Name: Beckett Blanton. There's also his skincare company, Beckett's Bumblebees
- Also from returning character Archibald Ashworth.
- Amicable Exes: At the end of the case, Marcus and Rita end their relationship in pretty good terms, with Marcus gracefully accepting Rita is going back to the military.
- Asshole Victim: The victim was a self-centered douche who didn't care about how his selfish actions screwed over everyone around him as long as things went his way, which gave every suspect in this case a reasonable motive to kill him.
- Baby Trap: What the murder boils down to. Beckett replaced Prisha's birth control with placebos so that she would get pregnant and be forced to stay with him after she repeatedly rejected him.
- The Bartender: Theo Zane, the barista of the Local Hangout that serves as a crime scene.
- "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: When Carol, Beckett's mother, accused him of stealing her life savings to fund his company, he told her to consider an investment he'd pay her for later, which Beckett never did.
- Blunt "Yes": Rita when Martine questions her about collecting honey for her breakup gift to Marcus.Martine: What were you going to do with the honey? Tape a "We're through" note onto the jar?!
Rita: Well... yes. - The Bus Came Back: Archibald Ashworth returns as a suspect after his last appearance in Case 49 of Grimsborough.
- Call-Back: Marcus Cannon and Annie Schmidt appear during the Additional Investigation.
- Commitment Issues:
- Prisha made clear to Beckett that she didn't want a relationship with him due to not wanting to be tied down with anyone, which is why he attempted a Baby Trap on her that cost him his life.
- This is also the reason why Rita breaks up with Marcus during the Additional Investigation, perceiving their relationship to be moving too quickly since Marcus has been talking about sharing a sock drawer with her.
- Contraception Deception: Beckett swapped out Prisha's birth control with a placebo in order to get her pregnant.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Even if he did deserve it, Beckett still suffered a pretty horrible death as a result of being stung by bees about 3,000 times, which according to Martine is enough to kill a horse.
- I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: Prisha says this both during her arrest and her trial, to the point she didn't even know Beckett had died from being pushed onto the beehive until you broke the news to her.
- Facial Horror: Beckett's body.
◊ Yikes. - Foreshadowing:
- The fact that not only Rupert but also Annie have become so addicted to DreamLife's VR game they have started neglect their duties (working for Rupert, eating and taking medications for Annie) should be the first clue that the game is specifically programmed to Brainwash its users into addiction in the first place, which won't be revealed until the district's climax.
- During the Additional Investigation, Amir reads on the newspaper that the earthquake has uncovered an ancient city hidden underneath Grimsborough. Guess what one of the main focuses of the next district is about?
- Formally-Named Pet: Theo's cat is named Bartholomew.
- Forgets to Eat: During the Additional Investigation, you find a severely malnourished and weak Annie passed out with a VR headset, explaining that her addiction to DreamLife's game has made her forget about eating and taking her medications.
- Friends with Benefits: Apart from being business partners, Prisha and Beckett had this kind of relationship, which seemed to be going well until Beckett started trying to force her into a more romantic one.
- Frivolous Lawsuit: The victim wanted to sue Theo for negligence after Beckett left his belongings in his café and they got stolen, blaming Theo for his misdeeds despite Beckett clearly being at fault.
- Gone Horribly Right: Carol explains Beckett always dreamed of starting his own business ever since he was a child, which she encouraged him to do. Beckett managed to accomplish said dream... but before stealing his mother's entire life savings in the process to kickstart the company.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Alex momentarily takes over Cathy's analysis after the latter takes their son to take his shots.
- In-Universe Factoid Failure: Archibald tells you Beckett named his honey-based skincare company "Beckett's Bumblebees" despite the fact bumblebees don't produce honey, something Archibald found foolish.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Theo, to the point he claims Hustle & Guzzle is run both by him and his cat.
- Literal-Minded: Rita assumes that, since Marcus is always calling her "honey," that must mean he really likes said food, which is why she tries to collect some honey as a breakup gift for her.
- Local Hangout: Hustle & Guzzle, a café where young workers in The Greens hang out to discuss work over coffee and snacks and where the victim was often seen.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: DreamLife's VR game seems to have this kind of effect on people. Rupert, for example, is a personal servant of the Queen of England, while Annie describes herself as way skinnier and prettier inside the virtual world while also dating her idol. Unfortunately, this also leads its users to neglect taking care of their responsibilities and even personal care, to the point Annie passes out from malnutrition after she Forgets to Eat while playing.
- Lured into a Trap: Subverted. During the investigation, you find a note addressed to the victim asking him to meet up in the crime scene, leading to Gloria and the player assume the killer lured him there to murder Beckett. However, you later learn Prisha just wanted to confront him and that his death was an Accidental Murder.
- Lying to Protect Your Feelings: With some help from Martine, Rita lies to Marcus that she's going back to the military and thus their relationship can't continue, not wanting to break his heart more than necessary during their breakup.
- Nostalgia Filter: Gloria criticizes this when you find the victim had a vintage phone for an answering machine.Gloria: What is it with these kids getting nostalgia for things that existed before they were even born?
- Not Good with Rejection: Beckett didn't want to accept Prisha wasn't interested in him beyond being Friends with Benefits, which is why he continuously tried to coerce her into a relationship, culminating it in the wickedest way possible.
- Not Proven: Daisy Woods, a regular client of the victim, claims she once fell ill with mercury poisoning after trying one of his products, and so she was a hundred percent sure they were the cause even if nothing was proven in the end. Although considering what kind of person Beckett was, it really isn't out of the realm of probability.
- Quirky Town: Gloria has this to say regarding The Greens at the start of the case.Gloria: I honestly don't know whether to admire the locals' sense of innovation, or shake my head at the ridiculousness of some of it.Just this morning, I ordered a coffee and was given the espresso, water and milk in separate cups! Apparently, it was a "deconstructed" latte!
- Rambling Old Man Monologue: Archibald does this during his first interrogation regarding how important bees are.Archibald: Mr Blanton's demise is sad too, of course. But bees! What incredible creatures! Did you know that one in three bites of the food that we eat is derived from plants pollinated by bees, young lady?Gloria: I did not-Archibald: And that's not all they're good for! No! Their honey has a multitude of uses! For example, I use it to condition my leather bicycle saddle, but you can even put it in skincare!
- Refuge in Audacity: Rita brought a gun when she tried to harvest honey from Archibald's beehives as a way to defend herself from the bees, which is even worse when you consider said beehives are on a rooftop in the middle of a residential area. Yes, she fired it. No, it didn't have any effect on the bees, who still chased Rita off. Neither Martine or the player comment on this.
- Rooftop Confrontation: Prisha asked Beckett to meet up with her on the rooftop of their Local Hangout to confront him about attempting a Baby Trap on her. Too bad for him said rooftop also contained Archibald's beehives.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: Beckett was stung by bees at least 3,000 times. Martine explains that's enough bee venom to kill a horse.
- Shout-Out:
- In the Workshop Kitchen scene, there is a "We Can Do It!" poster.
- Reandle is a parody of Kindle.
- Skewed Priorities: As expected from him, Archibald still values more bee life over human life.Archibald: My poor bees were being crushed to death underneath Beckett's body! I need to inspect the damage immediately!Gloria: Mr Ashworth, a man is dead!
- Strictly Professional Relationship: Prisha claims she and Beckett had this during her first interrogation, but you later discover they were Friends with Benefits.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Prisha didn’t even know she had killed Beckett until Gloria and the player questioned her, and even then Beckett had been trying to get her pregnant without her consent so she’d stay with him. As such, Judge Powell gives her one of the most lenient sentences in the entire franchise (5 years but with chance of parole in 2).
- Who Murdered the Asshole: Every suspect in this case had a strong motivation to kill Beckett: he stole his mother's life savings to fund his business and didn't pay her back once he was successful, harvested honey from Archibald's bees during the winter despite being specifically told not to then fed them corn syrup to make up for it (which ended up killing the bees), threatened to sue Theo for negligence after Beckett lost his belongings in Theo's café despite it being his own fault, supposedly sold Daisy products contaminated with mercury, and tried to get Prisha pregnant without her consent to force her into a relationship with him.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Prisha says this word-for-word during her arrest, claiming that everything is an Accidental Murder.
