Recap / Criminal Case: The Conspiracy - Case 05: Too Cruel for School

Class is in session.

Having realized that all the victims of the Rocket Cow Killer are parents of students at Fairview High School, Gloria and the player decide to investigate the school itself to search for leads. However, the serial killer's case is put on hold when they're first tasked with solving the murder of high school senior Vicky Lopez, found strangled and with chemical burns on her face in the science lab.

Tropes

• Amazing Technicolor Population: Carter turns green when he ingests a dose of canthaxanthin in Amir's lab, although he claims it to be harmless.
• Bioluminescence Is Cool: Apart from turning green as mentioned above, Carter also gets to glow in the dark after ingesting canthaxanthin, which he finds cool due to the cosplaying potential.
• The Bore: Rupert continues with these tendencies in this case, much to Amir's pain.
  Rupert: Contrary to its name, ginger beer is a non-alcoholic soft drink. It was invented in Yorkshire in the mid-18th century, allegedly by a couple of miners, who-
  Amir: Blink twice if you want me to save you, <Player's Name>! Rupert may never stop talking about Yorkshire without intervention!
• Bullied into Depression: As a result of spending a year in juvie for manslaughter, Julian has been avoided by his classmates and teachers alike, which has made him fall into a deep depression.
• The Bus Came Back: Julian Ramis returns, now a teenager and still bitter over his arrest five years ago.
  Julian: Hey, I... recognize you, <Detective Rank and Name>! You're the detective who put me in prison all those years ago. Are you here to ruin my life some more?
• Call-Back: Pippa Goldfinch returns as a suspect, while Dr. Greg Gibbs and Principal Rosamund Wilcox reappear during the Additional Investigation.
• Cliffhanger: The case ends with Gloria getting kidnapped by the Rocket Cow Killer, putting you on a Race Against the Clock to rescue her before it's too late.
• Creepy Gym Coach: Coach Kirk, who is revealed to be the culprit, murdered Vicky because she had found out he was perving on his students in the locker room.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: As if having sulphuric acid thrown at her face wasn't bad enough, Vicky was also slowly strangled with a cable until she died.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Coach Kirk accused Vicky of getting the cheerleader squad dress provocatively, which distracted the football team and made them perform worse during their training. It even appears it also had an effect on him.
• Drama Queen: Gloria accuses Chelsea of being one of these when she threatens to commit suicide... by setting herself on fire with a single match. She's still worried about her well-being, though.
• The Eeyore: As a result of spending a year in juvie and getting Bullied into Depression, Julian has turned into this, to the point he wrote a 50,000 word autobiography describing his depressed life.
  Gabriel: Listen to what Julian writes: "Rejected and despised by all, I walk a dark and tormented path, leading to despair. And I long to embrace it, for it is my only friend."
• Facial Horror: The killer first threw sulphuric acid on Vicky's face before strangling her, which got her disfigured as a result.
• Frivolous Lawsuit: Dana, Vicky's mother, wanted to sue her because Vicky's dad set up a trust fund for her, which made her practically rich while Dana was left with nothing to pay the bills.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Carter, Gloria's teenage son, decides to hang around the lab during this case, helping Cathy during one of her analysis and even coming up with a plan himself to catch the Rocket Cow Killer.
• He Knows Too Much: Vicky found out Coach Kirk was peeping on students in the locker room. When he tried to get Vicky to keep it a secret, she refused, which led to him murdering her.
• How Dare You Die on Me!: Chelsea says this when you inform her about Vicky's death, as she was her best friends and, as you later discover, crush.
• Improvised Weapon: The murder weapon is a computer cable. According to Coach Kirk during his arrest, he grabbed the first thing he found to silence Vicky during her murder.
• Insufferable Genius: Pippa accused Vicky of being this, claiming she was a very bright but appalling student who made a whole essay to humiliate her after Pippa made a mistake in class that Vicky corrected her in front of everyone.
• Interrupted Intimacy: Implied by Martine, who tells you the story about who she had a huge crush on her chemistry teacher until she caught him "experimenting" with someone in the lab.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Chelsea had a secret crush on Vicky, and was heartbroken when she didn't return her feelings.
• Lured into a Trap: After you discover the Rocket Cow Killer targets parents who have had an argument with their kids in Fairview High, Carter comes up with a plan to lure them by pretending to fight with Gloria. It works... and Gloria gets kidnapped as a result.
• Never My Fault: During his arrest and trial, Coach Kirk blames Vicky for ruining his life by forcing him to kill her after she caught him spying on the girls' locker room.
• Not Good with Rejection: Chelsea didn't take very well the fact Vicky rejected her due to their Incompatible Orientation.
• Pet the Dog: During the Additional Investigation, Dr. Gibbs, Jones, and the player help Julian get out of jail for smoking weed on accounts of his depression, offering him psychiatric help if he accepts.
• Properly Paranoid: When Carter tells the team his plan to attract the Rocket Cow Killer, Cathy expresses her discomfort with the idea due the fact the Rocket Cow Killer could change their modus operandi and murder Gloria on the spot if they felt cornered or threatened. Then her concerns turn out to be justified when the Rocket Cow Killer kidnaps Gloria at the end of the case.
• The Radio Dies First: Gloria's radio dies when the Rocket Cow Killer kidnaps her after she lures them into a trap.
• Self-Immolation: Chelsea Bloom threatens to do this after Vicky is murdered... with a single match.
• Shout-Out:
  • The case has references to Riverdale:
    • The victim, Vicky Lopez, is a clear reference to Veronica Lodge, complete with wearing pearls and coming from New York.
    • The victim's mother, Dana Lopez, is a reference to Hermione Lodge.
    • Likewise, Chelsea Bloom is one to Cheryl Blossom.
    • The grown-up version of Julian Ramis looks a lot like Jughead Jones.
  • In the Drive-In scene, there is a car with artwork of a horse on the rear fender, referencing Mustang.
  • Netfilms is a parody of Netflix.
  • Jean-Paul Sartre is mentioned.
• Stern Teacher: Pippa shows shades of this during the investigation due to her attitude towards Vicky, who she considered a rulebreaker and Insufferable Genius.
  Gloria: Carter's always saying Miss Goldfinch is obsessed with discipline. I'm starting to see his point.
• The Stoner: Julian has started to smoke pot to cope with his depression and solitude, which gets him in trouble until Dr. Gibbs asks you to release him in favor of psychiatric help. Vicky, the victim, was also starting to become one due to the pressure her mother put on her, stealing from Julian's stash in the process.
• Talking Down the Suicidal: Gloria and the player do this with Chelsea after she attempts to commit suicide via Self-Immolation.
• Tempting Fate: Carter and Gloria are more than convinced that their plan to lure the Rocket Cow Killer towards them will go smoothly without nothing wrong. Cue Gloria getting kidnapped.
• Theme Serial Killer: In addition to what you've already discovered about them, it's also revealed that the Rocket Cow Killer targets parents whose children had had a fight with them, much like The Puppeteer.
• Troubled Teen: As a result of spending a year in juvie for accidentally killing his best friend, Julian has spiraled into deep depression due to feeling like an outcast in his school, to the point he has resorted to smoke weed to cope.
• Useless Bystander Parent: Dana Lopez was clearly a terrible mother towards Vicky, from putting too much pressure onto her to basically trying to sue her out of the money her father was giving to her.
  Gloria: Mrs Lopez, I know from experience divorce can be hard on kids. Do you think Vicky was emotionally vulnerable?
  Dana: "Vulnerable"? Please, do I look like I'd pander to that kind of thing in my house? Vicky knew I had expectations of her.
• Valley Girl: Chelsea Bloom.
• With Friends Like These...: Gloria says a variation of this when you meet Vicky's mother Dana.
  Gloria: With a mother like Dana Lopez, poor Vicky didn't need enemies...