Recap / Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past - Case 20: Eyes Wide Shut

Isaac: <Player's Name>, I must say that being in such an establishment is causing me a moderate to high amount of discomfort.

Isaac and the player go to the Scarlet Road, the brothel quarter of Sinner's End, to investigate more about Finley "Mad Dog" Flanagan and possibly uncover enough dirt to put him behind bars, as he's the one controlling the entire prostitution business in the district. However, their investigation gets put on hold when they're informed by Miss Kitty Madam Xiang that Kristopher Bauer, one of her clients, has been found dead in her brothel after getting stabbed through the eyes with a candlestick holder.

Tropes:

• All for Nothing: In the end, Elias Willingham committed murder for no reason as the victim actually didn't know where his daughter was, and Judge Lawson simply confirms that she went to Paris by consulting with the ferry company of Concordia.
• Amusement Park: Wonderland Fun Fair, a travelling fair currently operating in Sinner's End, serves as a crime scene.
• Asshole Victim: In addition to being a pimp that attempted to force Gladys back into the prostitution business, the victim was also an abuser who either hit or underpaid the prostitutes he slept with, and lied to a grieving Elias claiming that he knew where his daughter was just to scam him, which led to his death.
• Band of Brothels: All of them controlled by the Irish gang, of course, which makes the "legal" part questionable but still exist nonetheless.
• Bigotry Exception: Finley claims he usually only allows Irish women to administer his brothels, but the girls that Madam Xiang provides are "delicious" and therefore decides to make an exception with her.
• Blackmail: The victim had been blackmailing Elias with telling his wife he had been soliciting prostitutes if he didn't regularly pay to him, and during Elias' arrest, he reveals that Kristopher was also blackmailing him with his daughter's whereabouts, which led Elias to kill him.
• Call-Back: Madam Xiang and Gladys Perrin return as suspects in this case after their previous appearances in Case 3 and Case 6, respectively.
• Continuity Nod: The same barber shop Gladys works in and appeared as a crime scene in Case 6 returns here.
• Cop Hater: Finley certainly doesn't take kindly the fact that there are cops investigating his business in Sinner's End, and threatens you with physical violence if you keep messing with him.
• The Corpse Stops Here: The reason why Adrienna left the crime scene after seeing the body without saying anything was because she thought this would happen.
  Adrienna: I... I was so scared that I'd be blamed! I know how it is, the first person on the scene is always presumed guilty! So I ran away!
• Creepy Doll: A doll you find at the fair isn't actually creepy, but there's blood and something else on her dress. The mystery stuff turns out to be candy apple, according to Viola. Meaning the killer handled the other wise beautiful doll.
  Isaac: If our victim's blood ended up on this doll then it means the killer must've handled it! And that means that they enjoy candy apples!
• Disposable Sex Worker: After the case is solved, Madam Xiang informs you that some of her girls have been disappearing over the past few months without leaving any trace, and you find a bloody dress pertaining to one of them, implying that they're being killed.
• Enfant Terrible: It's heavily Implied by Finley's diary and his interrogation that he and his sister murdered their own parents while they were sleeping, which also happened when both siblings were still small children. Needless to say, this implication disturbs the Flying Squad.
• Eye Scream: The victim was killed by having both of his eyes stabbed with a candlestick holder.
  Isaac: Spare us the details, Richard. I am quite squeamish when it comes to the subject of eyes, and this investigation has already begun on a most unpalatable note!
• Gangbangers: This case properly introduces Finley "Mad Dog" Flanagan as a suspect. leader of the Irish gang and the reason why the Flying Squad decided to investigate the district in the first place.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Adrienna Brassiere is a pretty nice girl who just happens to be a harlot, even if she (fairly) stole the victim's wallet due to him underpaying her.
• Implied Death Threat: Finley sent one of these to the victim in the form of his picture with a bullet wound on the head, as Kristopher had started a brothel in Mad Dog's territory without paying him
• Improvised Weapon: The victim was killed with a candlestick holder.
• Insult Backfire: Rose attempts to insult Finley after you discover he "probably" murdered his own parents as a child, which he takes as a compliment.
  Rose: A man such as yourself... I wouldn't be surprised if you had discovered your talent for violence at a young age, Mr Flanagan!
  Finley: Ta very much for the compliment!
• Kinky Spanking: You find a paddle used for this while analyzing a clue found in the brothel, which makes Isaac wonder what it might be used for...
• Mistaken for Thief: Finley is introduced when you find his knife lying around and he mistakes you for a thief attempting to steal it.
• Mundane Solution: Elias paid the victim to know the whereabouts of his daughter, as Kristopher claimed to know where she was (she told her father she had decided to leave for Paris, but Elias didn't believe it), and ultimately murdered Kristopher when he "refused" to tell her where she was (something the victim didn't actually know). In the end, Elias went through all this trouble... when he could've simply asked the ferry company if his daughter truly boarded a ship to Paris, something that Judge Lawson reveals during his trial while also confirming Elias' daughter had indeed left to the country.
• Never Found the Body: Annie, the murdered prostitute you learn about in the Additional Investigation, completely disappears without leaving trace apart from a bloody dress you find in a crime scene.
• Not Proven: Despite being the two most obvious suspects, Finley and his sister Fiona were never found guilty of murdering their parents due to lack of solid proof, specially since they were just children at the time. This also continues with Finley in his adulthood, as there's no reliable proof of him doing anything illegal due to Eleanor Halsted refusing to say anything incriminating him.
• Papa Wolf: Elias Willingham is this regarding to his daughter, to the point he accepted being blackmailed by the victim because he believed Kristopher had information about her.
• Perfumigation: One of the killer's traits is that they use "Lavender Lust fragrance", which Isaac finds disgusting when he smells it.
• The Runaway: Elias' daughter ran away from home and went to Paris due to finding the old mannerism of her house unbearable.
• Self-Made Orphan: Heavily implied to be what happened to the Flanagan sibling's parents, as Evie finds in Finley's diary that "he and Fiona had a plan" and a report of their parents dying by being bashed to death while sleeping, something that only Finley and Fiona could've done since police reports indicate the house was completely locked from the inside at the time of the murders.
• Shout-Out:
  • The case's title comes from the film of the same name.
  • The Importance of Being Earnest is mentioned.
• Skewed Priorities: Madam Xiang is shown to have these regarding the murder.
  Madam Xiang: <Player's Name>, you must remove that body immediately! I cannot have other clients seeing a customer in that state! It will kill their good spirits!
  Isaac: Madam Xiang, please! A man is dead!
• Smug Snake: Finley is extremely cocky and rude whenever you talk to him during his interrogations, apparently finding pleasure of being "above the law" as the Flying Squad has no grounds to arrest him.
• Sweet Tooth: One of the killer's traits is that they eat candy apples.
• Too Desperate to Be Picky: According to Madam Xiang, she had to accept Finley's offer of running a brothel for him in Sinner's End after her previous one burned in the New Haven fire, claiming that she was desperate for options and "beggars can't be choosers".
• Unproblematic Prostitution: Averted. Both Gladys and Adrienna claim that being prostitutes brought/brings a lot of trouble that almost makes it not worth it, such as suffering abuse from their clients of being underpaid.
• Villain Respect: Finley acquires one for Rose when she accompanies you to interrogate him, calling her a lady with character after she stands up to him and his insults.
• Who Murdered the Asshole: Every suspect had an absolutely solid reason for murdering the victim, as he abused both Madam Xiang and Adrienna (while also underpaying the latter), tried to force Gladys back into prostitution, wanted to start a business rivalry with Finley in his own territory, and was blackmailing Elias with both telling his wife that he was visiting brothels and the whereabouts of his daughter.