The Stakes Are High

The Stakes Are High is the fourth case in the province of Rocksfellow, created by Tuxedo!. It is the fourth case in Bumberborough Bay.

Plot
Jackson Walters went with the player to the convention Chief Connie Tolentino told them about in the previous case. Everything seemed fine and the two cops spent time seeing the attractions until they heard a scream in the bottom floor. When they reached the chocolate fountain, they found a man collapsed next to a table with a visible wound on his heart. The body was sent to Ferdinand Amado to start the investigation.

Ferdinand noted that the victim was impaled through the heart. The killer then took the weapon out and left the victim to slowly bleed to death. This left him some time to write something on a piece of cloth with his blood. He held on to the cloth, which Ferdinand retrieved. The cloth read “SHE KILLED ME”. Alden Holmes assured that the writing was not false evidence, meaning the killer was female.

The victim’s identity was initially a mystery. Gabriella Harrison said that she could not find photos and records of the victim in their database due to an error. The first few suspects Jackson and the player interrogated said that they did not know the victim’s true identity. Officer Baxter McDonald introduced himself to the player and said that he found some records of the victim on April Perkins-Zimmer’s person. April said that the victim’s name was Logan Knightley, a foreign cosplayer. Jackson and the player also found out that the suspects actually did know Logan.

After unraveling the victim’s identity and finding clues in the convention, the costume shop, and the local casino, Jackson and the player arrested Flora Ward for the murder of Logan Knightley.

Flora pretended that he only knew the victim as an amazing cosplayer but a really terrible person who flirted with every girl he laid eyes upon. Jackson asked her if the victim’s flirtatious attitude was her motive for killing the “Neo-Dracula”. Flora insisted that she did not kill the cosplayer. Jackson then flirted with her. Flora snapped and admitted that she killed Logan.

Flora said that she met Logan in the Ideal Beauty Costume Shop and she immediately fell in love with him. She slowly got to know Logan who also fell in love with her. Flora said that she felt like someone actually respected her, unlike her previous relationships where her partners focused on only her looks. In the convention however, Flora caught Logan kissing another woman. She ran away to the bathroom where she found a wooden stake. After resolving to kill Logan, she covered her face with a mask, and drove the wooden stake into Logan’s heart as he was entering the bathroom. Her mask fell off and Logan recognized her as someone he knew. Too weak to speak or to remember Flora's name, Logan wrote his dying message.

In court, Flora admitted to Judge Exodus Allegri that she overreacted. At the time, she thought that the weapon in the bathroom relating to the victim’s costume was a surefire sign. She expressed regret for the murder. Judge Exodus was sad that Flora resorted to murder over a man’s infidelity, leaving her with a 20-year prison in sentence.

After the trial, Li Huang told the police something about the murder methods in their most recent cases – it followed the Wu Xing scheme in traditional Chinese medicine. She asked the team to ask all the previous killers, including Flora and excluding May Perkins, about how they were convinced to use the weapons. Flora admitted that the wooden stake also had a message which she threw on the convention floor. Avery Johnson and Emma Campbell both told a similar story. The player retrieved the message and Alden, with the help of Baxter, pinpointed a certain Carolina Tate as the writer of the message.

Meanwhile, Aaron Zimmer, April’s husband, said that he caught a photo with proof of the victim being a true vampire. The team told Aaron that he himself admitted the victim’s identity was a ruse but he insisted that he was being manipulated from the truth as proved by the evidence he had. The player eventually found Aaron’s bag in the casino. It contained a ripped up photo of Erica Washington biting Logan sensually. Jackson and the player immediately interrogated Erica, who said that she did kiss the victim. Jackson then asked if Erica did it to trick Flora into thinking the victim was a cheater. Erica angrily said that the police had no proof and told them to leave her alone.

Chief Tolentino told the player to go on patrol to find Carolina Tate and to assure no one got murdered. She said that the modus operandi meant that the next case could possibly be due to a fire, which could pose danger to a lot of people.

Victim

 * Logan Knightley (Collapsed next to the food table in a convention)

Murder Weapon

 * Wooden Stake

Killer

 * Flora Ward

Suspects
'''Erica Washington (Event manager)''' '''Li Huang (Shopper)''' '''Aaron Zimmer (Conspiracy theorist)''' '''April Perkins-Zimmer (Attorney)''' '''Flora Ward (Cosplayer)'''

Killer's Profile

 * The killer is female.
 * The killer drinks whiskey.
 * The killer wears makeup.
 * The killer has scratches on their face.
 * The killer has blue eyes

Chapter 1

 * Investigate Convention Hall. (Clues: Victim’s Body, Fake Fangs)
 * Autopsy Victim’s Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: Killer is female)
 * Ask Erica Washington about the victim. (Prerequisite: Investigate Convention Hall)
 * Examine Fake Fangs. (Result: Small Logo)
 * Examine Small Logo. (Result: Ideal Beauty Costume Shop)
 * Investigate Costume Shop. (Prerequisite: Small Logo identified; Clues: Bloody Cape, Locked Laptop)
 * Prevent Li Huang from entering the crime scene. (Prerequisite: Investigate Costume Shop)
 * Examine Bloody Cape. (Result: Unknown Liquid)
 * Analyze Unknown Liquid. (03:00:00; Attribute: Killer drinks whiskey)
 * Examine Locked Laptop. (Result: Conspiracy Blog)
 * Analyze Conspiracy Blog. (06:00:00; Result: Aaron Zimmer’s blog)
 * Talk to Aaron Zimmer about the “Neo-Dracula”. (Prerequisite: Conspiracy Blog analyzed)
 * Talk to April Perkins-Zimmer about her husband’s conspiracies. (Prerequisite: Talk to Aaron)
 * Go to Chapter 2.

Chapter 2

 * Talk to April Perkins-Zimmer about the victim’s identity. (Available at start)
 * Investigate Casino. (Clues: Bloody Handkerchief, Ripped Paper)
 * Examine Bloody Handkerchief. (Result: Blood)
 * Analyze Blood. (06:00:00; Result: Li Huang’s blood)
 * Talk to Li Huang about being bitten by the victim. (Prerequisite: Blood analyzed)
 * Examine Ripped Paper. (Result: Contract)
 * Analyze Contract. (01:00:00)
 * Talk to Aaron Zimmer about his contract with the victim. (Prerequisite: Contract analyzed)
 * Talk to Flora Ward about what she witnessed. (Available at start)
 * Analyze Flora Ward’s Statement. (03:00:00)
 * Investigate Mannequins. (Prerequisite: Flora's Statement analyzed; Clue: Paper Bag)
 * Examine Paper Bag. (Result: Wooden Stake)
 * Analyze Wooden Stake. (12:00:00; Murder weapon registered; Attribute: Killer wears makeup)
 * Go to Chapter 3. (1 star)

Chapter 3

 * Investigate Poker Table. (Available at start; Clues: Torn Paper, Victim’s Phone)
 * Examine Torn Paper. (Result: April’s Message)
 * Talk to April Perkins-Zimmer about withdrawing from the victim’s case. (Prerequisite: Torn Paper restored)
 * Examine Victim’s Phone. (Result: Unlocked Phone)
 * Analyze Unlocked Phone. (06:00:00; Result: Flora’s Nudes)
 * Find out why the victim had Flora Ward’s nudes. (Prerequisite: Unlocked Phone analyzed)
 * Ask Erica Washington why she tried to stop Logan from being awarded posthumously. (All tasks must be done)
 * Investigate Food Table. (Prerequisite: Talk to Erica; Clues: Broken Gold Pieces, Cloth Scrap)
 * Examine Broken Gold Pieces. (Result: Mask)
 * Examine Mask Interior. (Prerequisite: Mask fixed; Result: Skin Cells)
 * Analyze Skin Cells. (15:00:00; Attribute: Killer has scratches on their face)
 * Examine Cloth Scrap. (Result: DNA)
 * Analyze DNA. (09:00:00; Attribute: Killer has blue eyes)
 * Take care of the killer now!
 * Go to Elementary, My Dear: Part 4.

Elementary, My Dear: Part 4

 * See what Li Huang knows. (Available at start)
 * Talk to Flora Ward about the murder method. (Prerequisite: Talk to Li)
 * Investigate Food Table. (Clue: Faded Paper)
 * Examine Faded Paper. (Clue: Sinister Message)
 * Analyze Sinister Message. (06:00:00; Result: Carolina Tate)
 * Confirm Li Huang’s suspicions. (Prerequisite: Sinister Message analyzed; Reward: 10000 Coins)
 * Help Aaron Zimmer. (Available at start; Reward: 30 XP)
 * Investigate Casino. (Clue: Aaron’s Bag)
 * Examine Aaron’s Bag. (Result: Torn Picture)
 * Examine Torn Picture. (Result: Costume)
 * Examine Costume. (Result: Costume Shop)
 * Investigate Costume Shop. (Clue: Locked Cash Register)
 * Examine Locked Cash Register. (Result: Receipt)
 * Analyze Receipt. (09:00:00; Result: Erica Washington’s purchase)
 * Talk to Erica Washington about her kiss with Logan Knightley. (Prerequisite: Receipt analyzed; Reward: Burger)
 * Move on to the next case! (1 star)

Trivia

 * Credits for the case image
 * Further credits go to Phatpuppyart