When one piece goes down, we all follow after.
Having lost communication with Rupert's Hidden Wire after someone walked in on him talking to the department, Jones and the player rush back to the dome to try save him from any trouble DreamLife could put him through if his identity was revealed. Tragically, they're proven to be too late when they stumble onto Rupert's poisoned body in the forest at the edge of the dome.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: You find a circular saw used for agriculture near Rupert's body, which according to Rita is also used by gangs to dispose of bodies. This implies that someone (most likely Barb) was about to chop up Rupert's body to get rid of it before being interrupted by the police arriving.
- All for Nothing: All the planning, preparation, and studying Rupert and the police department went through the Maple Heights arc to infiltrate DreamLife is effectively rendered moot in this case with his death. The only thing that slightly downplays it is the fact he managed to steal the meteorite access card from Hoover for the department to find, and even then, that's just a small consolation for a colleague's death.
- Blame Game: When you inform Barb about the murder, she immediately starts blaming you for it, claiming that ever since you arrived things have started gone wrong inside the dome.
- Broken Tears: Amir constantly cries throughout the case due to arguably being hit the hardest with Rupert's death, plus the fact his boyfriend also gets flagged as a suspect after it's revealed he's been lying and keeping information away from him.
- Call-Back: Jasper Everett, Tony Marconi, Barb Bellamy, and Dr. Catherine Kelly reappear as suspects.
- Cathartic Crying: Jones. He tries to hold his crying during the whole case until the killer got her sentence. As soon as that ended, he just said a few words before breaking down.
- Chekhov's Gun: During his second interrogation, Dr. Hoover tells you Rupert tried to steal his access card for the meteorite lab room, but he caught him in the act. Later during the Additional Investigation, you discover Rupert did manage to steal the access card, which you recover from his room and decide to use to infiltrate the meteorite lab in the middle of the night.
- Cliffhanger: The case ends with Jones and the player going back to the dome to infiltrate the meteorite lab in the middle of the night.
- Continuity Nod:
- When Martine informs you that one of the killer's traits is that they're right-handed, Jones immediately adds it to Marconi's profile, recalling how this already was known by you.
- Dr. Kelly becomes a suspect when you find she lent Rupert a copy of User 404.
- Martine getting bitten by the Demon Fish is mentioned.
- Contrived Coincidence: Turns out, Marconi had been researching about nerve gas on his cellphone, something Jones finds extremely suspicions and convenient due to how Rupert died. According to him, he was just researching it because of his job sometimes requiring stuff more potent than pepper spray.
- Deadly Gas: Rupert was killed by being sprayed with a gas laced with hemlock, which affected his nerves and gradually ceased all of his transmissions.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Dr. Kelly says this word for word during her trial, justifying murdering Rupert due to his betrayal of DreamLife.Judge Powell: Dr. Catherine Kelly. You stand here accused of the murder of an esteemed member of the Grimsborough police force. What do you have to say for yourself?
Catherine: I did what I had to do. That is all I will say. - Didn't See That Coming: The fact that one of DreamLife's employees not only knew and dated Mortimer before, but was also aware of the impersonation shtick he had with Rupert is something the police department definitely didn't prepare for at all, which resulted in his death and the whole infiltration being rendered almost useless.Jones: I can't believe that woman knew the real Pickering from college! How could we ever have seen this coming?!
- Disposing of a Body: It's implied Barb was going to chop Rupert's body up and do this with the pieces, but you never get to prove such a thing.
- Drowning My Sorrows: As a result of having his mentor murdered and his boyfriend flagged as a suspect after lying to him, Amir gets absolutely plastered at the end of Chapter 2, leaving Gabriel to take care of him and Martine doing his analyses for the rest of the investigation.
- Ending Memorial Service: The last task to be done in the case is attending Rupert's funeral with the rest of the team plus Alex.
- Everybody Cries: Every single member of the team is seen crying during Rupert's funeral.
- Good News, Bad News: Cathy says this when she tells you the card Rupert stole and you found in his room is to access the meteorite (the good news), since you also require a DNA sample from Hoover to complete the authorization (the bad news). Fortunately, you manage to get one pretty easily.
- Heroic BSoD: Jones and Amir, especially the latter due to Rupert being his mentor and his boyfriend Jasper becoming a suspect.
- Humans Are Bastards: When Martine asks how the universe can be so cruel during Rupert's autopsy, Jones has the following thing to say.Jones: I don't know about the universe being cruel, but I know people can be.
- The Infiltration:
- When DreamLife offered Jasper a job under the dome, he pretended to be interested in the interview as a means of infiltrating the premises and investigate on his own. Unfortunately, not only this gets him flagged as a suspect, but the fact he hid said job offer leads to his boyfriend distrusting him.
- At the end of the case, Jones and the player infiltrate the dome in the middle of the night to access the meteorite lab and see what's going on with it.
- It's All My Fault: Jones blames himself and by extension the department multiple times throughout the case for Rupert's death, as he was killed after being caught speaking with you.
- Lack of Empathy: Dr. Philip Hoover leaves clear he doesn't feel bothered by "Pickering's" death in the slightest.Philip: I'll admit I expected more from this renowned expert. I had read his blog and was looking forward to meeting him...
...but more than once it felt like I was more of an expert than he was! It was a rather considerable waste of time.
Jones: Oh, I'm sorry another human being and fellow colleague wasted your time before being brutally KILLED. - Literalist Snarking: Marconi delivers one to Jones when you discover he went inside the dome without alerting you.Jones: All these lies and schemes... I don't know how you sleep at night!
Tony: I sleep fine! I take sleeping pills.
Jones: You think you're so clever! - Mistaken for Betrayal: Both Jasper and Marconi are subjected to this throughout the case; the former when Amir finds out he went under the dome and DreamLife offered him a job without telling him, and the latter when Gloria sees him exiting the dome despite claiming not having clearance to do so.
- Nervous Wreck: Amir suffers from this across the entire case, considering himself incapable of doing anything right inside the lab without Rupert and needing to be given a rest for Chapter 3 after his Drowning My Sorrows moment.
- Not Proven: It's heavily implied Barb was informed about "Pickering"/Rupert's death and was about to get rid of his body with a circular saw before you came across his body, but the lack of solid proof makes it impossible for you to do anything against her.Barb: I told you, <Player's Name>. I never even saw the body. You can't prove anything.
- Older Than They Look: Dr. Hoover is 40 years old, and looks at least half that.
- One of Our Own: In a way. Despite not being an official team member, Jasper has been acting as a pseudo-consultant during the season when it comes to things related to the dome, up to doing an analysis for you in a previous case.
- Please Wake Up: Jones asks Rupert if he can hear you or if he can breathe moments before realizing he's dead.
- Poverty Food: When Jones asks Phillip if he can have the rest of his sandwich as a ploy to get a sample of his DNA, Phillip says the following.Philip: You want to eat my leftovers?! The police needs to start paying its officers more...
- Prone to Tears: Amir is seen crying multiple times throughout the case.
- Psycho Psychologist: The killer of this case is Dr. Catherine Kelly, the therapist under the dome.
- I Regret Nothing: Catherine says she doesn't regret murdering Rupert during her arrest and trial, even claiming she'd do it again if presented with the opportunity.
- Revealing Cover Up: Dr. Kelly stomped on Rupert's Hidden Wire while killing him to prevent you from hearing it. Doing so, however, ends up leading to her undoing when Cathy calculates the weight of the person who stomped on the watch, giving you a clue against her.
- Selective Obliviousness: Amir initially refuses to believe Jasper went under the dome without telling him despite there being concrete DNA proof of it, even believing he contaminated the samples you sent to him.
- Shout-Out:
- The case's title may come from the novel of the same name.
- In the Rupert's Bedroom scene, there is a picture of Albert Einstein.
- So Proud of You: Chief Parker tells you this at the beginning of the Additional Investigation, saying it couldn't have been easy investigating Rupert's murder.
- Spanner in the Works: Dr. Kelly turns out to be this for Rupert infiltrating the dome and the police department investigating DreamLife. She is the only employee in the place who recognized him, as she attended school with Rupert and Mortimer, even dating the latter, and was aware of their switching places routine.
- Spared, but Not Forgiven: During the Additional Investigation, Amir says that Gabriel has made him realize Jasper had nothing to do with Rupert's death, but he still refuses to forgive him for the time being due to lying to him about entering the dome.
- There Are No Coincidences: Jones refuses it is a coincidence Marconi had been researching about nerve gas and entered the dome the exact same day Rupert died, though it turns out to be just that.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: Due to constantly being on the edge about wasting time, Phillip only gives a single bite to his sandwich before discarding it inside Rupert's lab, which gives you the perfect DNA sample from his saliva that allows you to enter the meteorite lab late at night.
- Time-Delayed Death: According to Martine, Rupert slowly succumbed to the poison gas effect after being sprayed with it, which is why you found him outside the dome despite the true crime scene being his room.
- Tragic Keepsake: Rupert's favorite vinyl of Sunshine Highway becomes this for Amir, who requests you to find it so it can be played during his funeral.
- Trying Not to Cry: Throughout the case, Jones holds back his tears to focus on catching Rupert's killer. He finally breaks down crying after Dr. Kelly's trial, though.
- Unishment: When Judge Powell sentences Dr. Kelly to life in prison, she seems unbothered by the fact, claiming to be capable of enduring it and feeling no regrets about killing Rupert.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: A variation. After Dr. Kelly's trial, Jones says he thought bringing the killer to justice would make him feel better, but he still breaks down crying after realizing nothing will ever bring Rupert back.
- Villain Takes an Interest: Thanks to his geology skills, DreamLife sent Jasper a job offer to work under the dome, which Jasper pretended to be interested in as a mean of infiltrating the dome on his own.
- Wham Episode: Rupert dies not even halfway though the district, pretty much making the entire infiltration pointless and letting DreamLife know the police department is now on their tails.
- Wham Line: Jones delivers the following one after collecting the body at the first crime scene.Jones: <Player's Name>, he's... he's dead. Rupert's dead.
- Wham Shot: Rupert's dead body lying at the edge of the dome in the first crime scene.
