Maddie: Dash my wig! Arson and a dead body? <Player's Name>, we must get to the bottom of this!
Maddie and the player rush to the New Haven Police Station to salvage as much as possible from the evidence room that has just been destroyed due to the fire ravaging the district. There, they find the charred body of fireman Otis Kidd with a bullet wound on his back.
Tropes:
- Ambiguously Evil: By the end of this case, the true nature of Father Donovan and his business with immigrants is made unclear, as Madam Xiang thinks he's actually selling them for cheap labor to rich owners instead of the good life he promises them.Maddie: I'm not convinced. There could be more to Father Donovan's generosity than meets the eye.
- Anti-Hero: As you learn throughout the case, the victim was this in life. While he was a revered fireman seen as a hero by everyone, he also cheated on his fiancee with prostitutes and conducted an illegal gambling circle in New Haven. It's no surprise that this investigation leads to a lot of Broken Pedestal regarding Otis.
- Blackmail: During the Additional Investigation, you discover that the reason why the fire began was because someone blackmailed rookie cop John Koll into burning evidence (which eventually spread to the whole room and eventually the city) or else they would kill him.
- Call-Back: Edward Whimple, the Desk Jockey you met in the previous case, reappears here as a suspect.
- Call-Forward: You find Otis had bought travel tickets for The Gigantic.
- Crusading Lawyer: Justin Lawson, a District Attorney who is convinced Father Donovan is a good man and wouldn't rest to prove it even with the evidence that he might not be so good after all.
- Da Chief: You meet Talmadge Baldwin in this case, the commissioner of the Concordian Police Department who was also in charge of putting together the Flying Squad, essentially making him Chief Wright's boss.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Baldwin hated Otis, who was dating his daughter, because he was conducting an illegal gambling ring and pretended to be a hero. He even bribed him with money so he would leave the city and his daughter alone.
- Fiery Cover-Up: As it turns out, the reason why the fire started in New Haven was because someone blackmailed a rookie cop into burning some evidence from the police station's evidence room, which accidentally spread throughout the city as a result.
- The Gambling Addict: Otis was a well-known underground gambler who even conducted an illegal gambling ring somewhere in the city, which Commissioner Baldwin saw as unfitting for a hero like him.
- In the Back: The victim was killed by being shot in the back with a revolver.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: The killer shot Otis then dragged his body into the fire so it would appear like he died because of it, but it didn't manage to burn his entire body and therefore the bullet wound remained visible.
- Miss Kitty: Madam Xiang, a brothel owner who dresses like a Dragon Lady and makes it clear that her "girls" are valuable and should be protected.
- Mistaken for Prostitute: When you go talk to Madam Xiang during the Additional Investigation, she asks Maddie if she has come "looking for new employment." Maddie tells her no but thanks her for the offer.
- Professor Guinea Pig: When Dick gives you the autopsy report, you see him with his arms full of intravenous medicine he created and now is testing, and even asks you if you don't want to help him.
- The Real Heroes: At the start of the case, both the suspects and the Squad tend to praise Otis for his astonishing work in the police department, calling him a real hero. Then you star learning more about him...
- Rebellious Spirit: Adelia, Commissioner Baldwin's daughter and the victim's fiancee, is shown to be this.Adelia: I'm not a regular "lady." I smoke, drink, and even take my father's automobile for joyrides when he's not paying attention.
- Rousing Speech: Commissioner Baldwin is introduced giving one of these regarding Otis and how his killer will be caught no matter what, dead or alive.
- Shout-Out: Both A Midsummer Night's Dream and Book of Proverbs are quoted.
- Skewed Priorities: When you inform her about her fiance's death, Adelia sems more concerned about her trip to Paris being cancelled than him being murdered. Justified later when you learn she didn't actually love him and only wanted him to escape from Concordia.
- Slave to PR: When Commissioner Baldwin is introduced, Chief Wright appears to be very concerned about maintaining a good image regarding the Flying Squad with him, since he's the one who put it together in the first place.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: Billy Thompson, Otis' best friend, saw his affairs with Madam Xiang's girls and his gambling problem as him slowly becoming a Fallen Hero that needed to be stopped before it was too late, so he decided to kill him.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Billy, the one who helped Otis get out of the streets and got him a job in the firemen force, was starting to disrespect Billy and become ashamed of him, to the point Otis had been badmouthing Billy and didn't want to be his friend anymore. Coupled with him Slowly Slipping Into Evil made Billy kill him in retaliation.
- We Used to Be Friends: Otis and Billy were best friends until Otis became an Ungrateful Bastard towards him.
- Wham Line: One said at the beginning of the case, no less, which serves to confirm your suspicions from the previous one.Billy: That's not all, <Player's Name>! We have reason to believe the fire was not an accident!
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: When you inform Billy about Otis' death, he appears to be distraught due to Otis being his best friend when in fact he's the one who kill him.
