Recap / Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past - Case 30: How the East Was Won

Isaac: Every second we spend looking for Vittorio gives him a better chance at escaping. We need to find this hacienda, now!

After interrogating Vittorio Capecchi's captured goons, Isaac and the player manage to get the coordinates of the hacienda Vittorio has run off after their gunfight confrontation. Rushing to the mobster's home to arrest him once and for all, Isaac and the player receive a rather unpleasant surprise when they find Vittorio dead in his own private chapel, killed by having a cactus shoved down his mouth.

Tropes:

• All-Natural Snake Oil: One of the killer's traits is that they use this, which according to Viola is completely useless.
  Viola: Your killer was probably fooled by a sales pitch similar to the one I gave you. It's the sort of dubious list a swindling Snake Oil Salesman might deliver while hawking their wares.
• Ascended Extra: By the end of this case, Diego del Lobo has become an official member of the Flying Squad after having his notion approved by Chief Wright.
• Asshole Victim: Apart from being The Don controlling a very dangerous Italian mafia, Vittorio had also been forcibly removing people from their homes so he could sell their lands to a railroad company, had no qualms about killing the Flying Squad on a shooting showdown, and also tried to murder Seamus for no reason other than being an Irishman in his home, which got him killed. Also, he was overprotective.
• Back for the Finale: Giulietta Capecchi, Seamus O'Neill, and Franca Capecchi all return as suspects in this case, which is the last one set in Coyote Gorge.
• Big Fancy House: The entire case takes place in Vittorio's private hacienda, which is big enough to have its own chapel and also as fancy as you'd expect from the home of a rich mafia boss.
• Bleed 'Em and Weep: Subverted. Isaac and the player theorize that the culprit probably felt remorse for killing Vittorio and that's why they dragged him to the chapel, but Seamus confesses that he did it so Giulietta wouldn't see her father dead.
• Call-Back: Adrienna Brassiere returns as a suspect here after being absent since the finale of Sinner's End.
• Childhood Friends: According to Marvin, he and Vittorio have been friends ever since they where children, which is why he acted as his hacienda's security guard. He also mentions a third friend named Ludovico who died a rather funny Undignified Death.
• Churchgoing Villain: Judging by the private chapel on his hacienda, it's safe to say that Vittorio was a very devoted man while also being a murderous mafia leader.
  Isaac: I wasn't of the impression that Vittorio was very religious...
• The Climax: For Coyote Gorge.
• Covert Distress Code: The code for Vittorio's safe is the bible passage Mark 9:29, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."
• Cruel and Unusual Death: As a result of having a piece of cactus shoved down his mouth, Dick declares that Vittorio's gums and tongue were shredded and he died chocking in his own blood
• Curse Cut Short: The following interaction between Viola and Isaac:
  Viola: Well, that purple substance is actually a lotion with aphrodisiacal properties. They help people feel more inclined to-
  Isaac: I'm sure <Player's Name> knows what aphrodisiacal means, thank you, Viola!
• "Dear John" Letter: Giulietta breaks up with Seamus this way, claiming that killing her father is something entirely unforgivable and that she'll be leaving Coyote Gorge with her mother for good.
• Don't Celebrate Just Yet: Despite Vittorio being dead, Franca's threatening message where she hints at starting a Mob War between the Irish and the Italians in Crimson Banks leaves the Flying Squad on a race to chase her down and Prevent the War in the next district.
• Elopement: The reason why Seamus decided to infiltrate Vittorio's hacienda while he was away fighting the Squad is because he wanted to take Giulietta to the city hall and marry her there, but Vittorio's sudden return made things go awry.
• Enemy Mine: Giulietta decides to help you catch her father's killer by letting you enter her home to look for clues, as Marvin stubbornly refuses to let you in.
• Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: Since Marla decided to convert the Moulin Rose prostitutes into cabaret dancers, Adrienna had to leave Sinner's End and become a prostitute for the Italian mafia instead, which she claims is worse due to Vittorio only paying her with snake oil and beef jerky.
• Family Honor: Marvin's reason for not killing Vittorio, according to him.
  Marvin: We was blood! You can fight with blood, and you can stop talking to blood. But you don't kill blood!
• Force Feeding: Vittorio was killed by having a cactus piece shoved down his mouth.
• Foot-Dragging Divorcee: When you find the divorce letter between Franca and Vittorio, you notice that only Franca agreed to sign it, implying that Vittorio refused to go with the proceeding.
• Forging the Will: During the Additional Investigation, you recover the forged documents claiming that the citizens of Coyote Gorge willingly gave Vittorio their lands instead of being forcibly evicted by him, and thanks to Diego and his insight, you manage to prove in court that all of this was illegal, giving Judge Lawson the power to return their homes to the evicted people.
• Improvised Weapon: The murder weapon is a cactus piece.
• Killing in Self-Defense: Seamus was forced to kill Vittorio after he pinned Seamus to the ground with the intent of murdering him. Due to this, Judge Lawson agrees to rule it as manslaughter and gives him a 10-year sentence as a result.
• Lack of Empathy: After the trial, Chief Wright calls Seamus "a ruffian that is getting exactly what he deserves" despite the fact he only killed Vittorio (who mind you, also tried to murder the Squad just a few hours prior) in self defense.
• Last Episode, New Character: Marvin Ferrari, Vittorio's childhood friend and security guard of his hacienda, is introduced in this case as a suspect.
• The Mole: The only reason Adrienna accepted Vittorio's offer working as a prostitute for his men is that she wanted to spy on his mafia, as she's still loyal to the Irish gang.
• Ominously Open Door: Isaac and the player find Vittorio's body after they hear the door of his chapel creak due to being open.
• Removed from the Picture: Giulietta did this with a portrait of her father, shredding it in a fit of anger due to his overprotectiveness towards her.
• Revenge Before Reason: The reason why Giulietta dislikes the ongoing rivalry between the Irish and Italian gangs, whose results have been countless of deaths, including her own father's.
  Giulietta: All of this gang fighting, all of this violence and hatred, this was bound to happen!
  And for what? Nothing! Some lose their lives, and the survivors lose their loved ones!
• Revenge by Proxy: To an extreme degree: after the case is solved and Seamus is exposed as the killer, Franca leaves Coyote Gorge and goes to Crimson Banks, a district where Italians and Irish coexist in peace, with the intent of starting a Mob War and kill every Irish person living there just because an Irishman murdered her husband.
• Shout-Out:
  • The case's title comes from the film How the West Was Won.
  • A Gospel of Mark and Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned.
• Toilet Seat Divorce: Franca wanted to divorce Vittorio because he confessed to her that he was afraid of dying, which Franca saw as Vittorio showing weakness and being unfitting of leading the gang.
• Undignified Death: Marvin recalls how Ludovico, a childhood friend of him and Vittorio, had one of these.
  Marvin: Vici died years ago. Man was an artist. Burned to death when he tried to build a Tower of Pisa outta matches.