Time to do some digging in the past.
After being tasked by Stuart Huckabee to look for answers regarding King's suicide in the Airport, Jones and the player started digging in the natural harbor until they discovered the 400-years old skeletal remains of child pilgrim Pip Huckabee accompanied by a riddled scroll indicating them to go the lighthouse.
However, before they could get more information from Stuart, Jones and the player find him dead by the lighthouse with his throat slashed and his tongue dangling out of the open wound. How could both of these events be connected?
Tropes:
- Ancient Conspiracy: You discover that The Crimson Order, an organization that has existed since at least 1642, has been controlling Grimsborough behind the shadows this entire time.Jason: You don't know the Crimson Order like I do! They control the whole of Grimsborough. They make all the important decisions in this city!
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Stuart had his throat slashed open then his tongue pulled out of the resulting wound.
- Destroy the Evidence: During the Additional Investigation, Alex finds out that all the evidence regarding a crime committed by a member of the Crimson Order not too long ago had been destroyed from the police archives by none other than Chief King himself.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Susan's response as for why she killed Stuart.Susan: I did what I had to do to protect my family...
Jones: How on Earth would killing Stuart protect your family?!
Susan: Recently Stuart became obsessed with proving to the world that the Crimson Order killed Pip. But that secret was meant to stay in the family!
I begged Stuart to stop, but he didn't listen... And that's when I started seeing the Crimson Order everywhere I looked! It was obviously a warning!
Jones: You mean just as they had warned Elma Huckabee, they were now warning you to keep the secret or die?
Susan: Exactly! I'm a mother, I couldn't risk putting my whole family in danger... So I killed Stuart before the Crimson Order killed my ENTIRE family! - Father Neptune: Herman Cavendish, an old sailor who lives by the lighthouse and provides you with some 400-years old objects to help you during your investigation.
- Family Honor: You meet Ashton Cooper in this case, a descendant of the original founders of Grimsborough who had been warning Stuart about digging into the city's past since he wanted to protect his family's history. He also tries to steal The Crimson Order's chalice from the evidence room for this same reason.
- Feuding Families: The Huckabees and the McCoys have hated each other all the way back to 1642, since Reginald Huckabee sentenced Duncan McCoy and his entire family to live in poverty after he ate someone.
- He Knows Too Much: Twice.
- First there's the story of Pip Huckabee, the pilgrim child who was murdered by a Crimson Order member after he caught them during one of their rituals.
- Then there's Stuart, murdered by his own sister Susan after he began to uncover the Crimson Order's secrets, who had threatened her ancestor back in 1642 about not saying anything about Pip's murder or else the whole Huckabee family would die. After she started seeing Crimson Order members wherever she went, she understood she had to kill Stuart.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The conflict between the Huckabees and the McCoys started after Duncan McCoy ate an old man to survive in the pilgrim's ship, which led to Reginald Huckabee sentencing him and his family to live in poverty.
- Literal-Minded: When Nathan tells you the victim was killed with a method called "Colombian necktie" (basically slashing open someone's throat then pulling out their tongue out of it), Jones thinks the murder weapon was a literal a necktie.
- Mental Time Travel: During your investigation, you ask Herman (a descendant of the sailor that brought the founding pilgrims to Grimsborough) for some clues regarding Pip's murder, so he tells you a story that acts as a crime scene to be investigated. After he's done, he gives you a handful of objects that caught your attention during said story and he's been keeping in his attic..Herman: You don't need to travel back in time: through the power of storytelling, I can describe every detail of that ship! Then you can just tell me which objects you want to know more about.Let me tell you the story of my ancestor's ship back in 1642. Believe me, it will be as if you were truly there!
- Properly Paranoid: Jason Palms, the loony conspiracist you meet during this case, tells you to stop looking for answers regarding Stuart's death or else you'll end up like him, as he believes an Ancient Conspiracy controls Grimsborough and kills anyone who dares you look for them. As you find out by the end of the case, he's completely right.
- The Reveal: You discover that a mysterious Ancient Conspiracy called The Crimson Order has been hiding behind the shadows and controlling Grimsborough this entire time. What's more, Chief King and his ancestors were also members of The Order, which seems to be related to his suicide.
- Shout-Out:
- The case's title is based on the novel of similar name.
- In the Lighthouse scene there is artwork of a mermaid resembling Ariel.
- In the Hut scene, Jason's mask shows up again.
- In the Sailing Ship 1642 scene, there is a copy of Moby-Dick and a mermaid resembling Ariel.
- In the Main Deck 1642 scene, there is yet another artwork resembling Ariel.
- Sibling Murder: Stuart's killer turns out to be his own sister, Susan.
- Would Hurt a Child: As we find out during Susan's tale, the Crimson Order aren't above killing children if that means their secrets will be safe, which is why they killed Pip after he caught them during one of their rituals.
