A Crushing Defeat

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A Crushing Defeat
General information
Season	1
City	Easthaven
District	Ridgeview Academy
Case #	35
Initial release date	28th March 2020
Partner(s)	Nancy Miller (All Chapters)
Case chronology
← Preceded by	Succeeded by →
Brain Drain	Space Race (in Andromeda Junction)

“	The Chessmaster's sinister plan for the university ends in bloodshed and tears as Prom Night meets a bloody end! Can you solve a murder as an investigation pushes you to your limits... or will the crown belong to the Chessmaster by the end of the day?	„
	—Case Teaser

A Crushing Defeat is a case featured in Criminal Case, it appears as the thirty-fifth case in The Syndicate and the thirty-fifth case overall. It takes place as the fifth and final case in the Ridgeview Academy district of Easthaven.

Plot

Blood drips down from the vice, splattering against the floor in a sickly orchestra, bathing all in red. The team and Margot rush to the university ballroom to stop the recruits murdering the Prom Queen, As Velma tells them that she can't see Barbara's patrol car, they hear the Prom King and Prom Queen announcements. Natalie Redwing heads onto the stage, opening an envelope, soon announcing Parker Aveiro and Christi du Lune as the Prom King and Prom Queen respectively. As Christi thanked the crowd, a pale Mildred told the team to rush to the inventor's hall. There, as they stepped in, they found a blood trail leading to a vice... where university dean Magnus Hartmann was, his skull crushed and his eye hanging out.

As the police bagged up Magnus' crushed body, they found reason to suspect university student Europa Cummings, gothic girl Bellona Fortuna, Parker, the Prom King, and investigative journalist Noah White, who was writing an article to expose BISHOP and the Chessmaster once and for all. As Velma panicked over hearing no word from Barbara, William gravely revealed technology was going haywire across the city, before they heard Christi screaming from nearby. They hurried to the woodlands behind the collage, finding Christi fending off shadowy attackers. After stitching up a bloody head wound, they questioned her. They also reluctantly suspected Margot and her mother, their own coroner Daphne, who had been acting increasingly erratic since Margot's arrest. Then, the team gathered in the ballroom, where William revealed traffic was piling up, planes were being rerouted, and phone signal had crashed across all of Easthaven. Then, suddenly, the team spotted a figure disposing of evidence, but before they could apprehend them, the lights cut out and drenched them in darkness.

After a while in the ominous dark, Nancy returned with candles for the team. Despite the electricity in the university down, the team continued to investigate. They discovered Magnus had talked Bellona down from suicide but angered her when he reported the incident to get Bellona help. Europa and Magnus were also discovered to be brother and sister, but Magnus kept it secret to avoid bias. Christi's affair with Magnus was then exposed, angering Parker, who believed Magnus was using her. They then discovered Margot had been searching for Magnus, wanting to confront him, after he ruined her life, which Daphne covered up. After they discovered Noah had made himself an enemy of BISHOP after researching them, the clues came together... revealing Parker as the murderer.

They soon confronted Parker in the ballroom, where he admitted his guilt, insisting he did it to protect Christi. When asked what he meant, he recounted how Christi came to his dormitory crying, admitting the affair and telling him how Magnus was abusing her. Knowing Christi feared for her life, Parker tried to get Christi to report Magnus, but she refused, tearfully saying the only way to end it was to eliminate Magnus. Reluctantly agreeing, Christi sent a text to Magnus, asking him to meet for a rendezvous, where she drugged him. Parker then dragged him to the workshop per Christi’s instructions, placing him in the vice. Parker tried to stop Christi, but she begged him to do it, asking him to protect her. With a guilty heart, Parker turned the handle… and killed Magnus. Parker then confessed he saw Christi meeting with conjoined twins on campus as he questioned what he’d done, before the pair handcuffed him. As they took him away, Christi rushed up to them, kissing Parker and vowing she loved him. Suddenly, Parker turned to the team and insisted he was retracting his statement, decreeing he worked alone. Angered, they turned to a "heartbroken" Christi, her eyes gleaming with intelligence, as she promised she’d never harm a fly, that she was devasted about Parker, and needed space – revealing she was moving out of Easthaven. Believing Christi was involved in the recruitment scheme, the team knew they needed to find evidence on Christi and fast – or she’d get away with everything.

They soon hurried to question the twins in their prison cell, where Thelma wanted to confess, but Rebecca hushed her. After an angered Nancy ordered them to talk or suffer an extended sentence, tired of BISHOP's games, the twins admitted Christi met with them to speak about potential recruits and recounted how they stole her hairpin as insurance. After finding Christi's hairpin in the woods, they rushed it to Matthew, who shockingly revealed Christi's DNA matched that of Christine Palucci, Serena Palucci's daughter. Armed with their evidence, they confronted Chrisi once more in the woodlands.

There, a furious Christi confessed that she was Alekhine, the mastermind behind the recruitment. She told them how her mother suggested her as a member of BISHOP and thanks to her connections to the university, the Chessmaster placed her in charge of the recruitment scheme. Christi then revealed how she organized the competitions covertly to find new recruits, but when Alekhine's codename was uncovered, she knew she needed to bury it. She revealed she seduced Magnus and while he was distracted, slipped his brooch into Annie's bag to frame him. Then, she manipulated her boyfriend to kill him to tie up the investigation neatly, while she distracted everyone with fake threats on her life. Christi then told them had to be the best, that she was a child prodigy who faked her stupidity, and how she couldn't let BISHOP down. After Jake successfully disarmed Christi, they sent her to trial. Christi was then sentenced to life imprisonment, while Parker was sentenced to twenty years with psychological counselling.

Later, the team regrouped in the precinct, where Velma worriedly revealed she'd still heard no word from Barbara. Just then, the team received a videocall from TJ Coster, who held a gun to a muscular woman with a paper bag over her head. TJ, who joined BISHOP out of gratitude for his release, then gave the team an ultimatum; transfer their funds to BISHOP, through an offshore bank account, and Barbara would live. A tearful Velma then insisted they had to rescue Barbara, insisting she couldn't lose her best friend. At her request, they transferred the funds. TJ then revealed the Chessmaster knew how Velma would react, explaining why they had Velma kidnapped by Miguel Sanchez, so she'd feel in Barbara's debt. TJ then removed the paper bag, revealing Karen Cutler - who had a similar body shape to Barbara - before the videocall ended. An hour later, Barbara hurried in and hugged the team, where she confessed the technological outages had left her stranded on the other side of the city.

The next day, after William was able to repair the city's technology, Judge Watson told the team she and Mayor Murdoch had agreed to pardon Margot, thanks to being under duress, her clear remorse, and her continued assistance to the team. Daphne then celebrated with Margot, promising to never let her go. Margot then told them she'd begin to turn her life around, signing on as an intern with Noah to uncover the Chessmaster's identity. Finally, as the team were left in a quiet precinct, stripped of their funding, Chief Campbell told the team they'd received a message from Gregory Charles. Gregory then confessed he joined BISHOP to work as a double agent, telling them he didn't have much time. He then instructed them to head to Andromeda Junction as the Chessmaster had assigned every BISHOP member to the district, believing something important would happen. Knowing it was their only lead against BISHOP, they hurried to the district - to infinity and beyond!

Summary

Victim

• Magnus Hartmann (found with his head crushed and his eye hanging out)

Murder Weapon

• Vice

Killer

• Parker Aveiro, masterminded by Christi du Lune

Suspects

Europa Cummings
University Student

Height	5'6"
Age	19
Weight	119 lbs
Eyes	Black
Blood	O-

Suspect's Profile

• The suspect knows astrology.
• The suspect drinks beer.
• The suspect rides a bicycle.

Suspect's Appearance

• The suspect is a university student.

Bellona Fortuna
Europa's Girlfriend

Height	5'2"
Age	19
Weight	121 lbs
Eyes	Blue
Blood	AB-

Suspect's Profile

• The suspect knows astrology.
• The suspect drinks beer.
• The suspect rides a bicycle.

Suspect's Appearance

• The suspect is a university student.

Parker Aveiro
Star Quarterback

Height	6'3"
Age	20
Weight	203 lbs
Eyes	Blue
Blood	AB-

Suspect's Profile

• The suspect knows astrology.
• The suspect drinks beer.
• The suspect rides a bicycle.

Suspect's Appearance

• The suspect is a university student.
• The suspect wears confetti.

Noah White
Investigative Journalist

Height	5'10"
Age	35
Weight	155 lbs
Eyes	Brown
Blood	A-

Suspect's Profile

• The suspect knows astrology.
• The suspect drinks beer.
• The suspect rides a bicycle.

Suspect's Appearance

• The suspect wears confetti.

Christi du Lune
Prom Queen

Height	5'4"
Age	19
Weight	119 lbs
Eyes	Blue
Blood	A-

Suspect's Profile

• The suspect knows astrology.
• The suspect drinks beer.
• The suspect rides a bicycle.

Suspect's Appearance

• The suspect is a university student.

Margot Valentine
BISHOP Recruit

Height	5'4"
Age	19
Weight	130 lbs
Eyes	Brown
Blood	A+

Suspect's Profile

• The suspect knows astrology.
• The suspect drinks beer.
• The suspect rides a bicycle.

Suspect's Appearance

• The suspect wears confetti.

Daphne Valentine
Coroner

Height	5'5"
Age	48
Weight	137 lbs
Eyes	Brown
Blood	A+

Suspect's Profile

• The suspect knows astrology.
• The suspect drinks beer.
• The suspect rides a bicycle.

Suspect's Appearance

• The suspect wears confetti.

Quasi-Suspect(s)

Rebecca and Thelma
BISHOP Members

Height	5'5"
Age	24
Weight	300 lbs
Eyes	Brown
Blood	B-

TJ Coster
Assassin

Height	5'8"
Age	40
Weight	164 lbs
Eyes	Green
Blood	A-

Nicolette Watson
Judge

Height	5'9"
Age	46
Weight	145 lbs
Eyes	Blue
Blood	AB-

Killer's Profile

• The killer knows astrology.
• The killer drinks beer.
• The killer rides a bicycle.
• The killer is a university student.
• The killer wears confetti.

Crime Scenes

Invention Hall	Bloody Vice	Invention Hall Bonus
University Ballroom	Prom Stage	University Ballroom Bonus
University Woodlands	Rock Cave	University Woodlands Bonus

Steps

Chapter 1

• Investigate Invention Hall. (Clues: Victim's Body, Hall Tools, Black Purse; New Suspect: Europa Cummings)
• Question Europa on the murder on Prom Night. (New Crime Scene: University Ballroom)
• Investigate University Ballroom. (Clues: Broken Crown, Bag of Confetti)
• Examine Broken Crown. (Result: Engraving)
• Analyze Engraving. (08:00:00; New Suspect: Parker Aveiro)
• Interrogate Parker on the murder after his crowning.
• Examine Bag of Confetti. (Result: Notepad; New Suspect: Noah White)
• Question Noah on his notes about the Chessmaster.
• Examine Black Purse. (Result: Pendant; New Suspect: Bellona Fortuna)
• Question Bellona on her pendant.
• Examine Hall Tools. (Result: Vice Handle)
• Analyze Vice Handle. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer drinks beer)
• Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The suspect knows astrology)
• Go to Chapter 2. (No stars)

Chapter 2

• Stop Christi's attack. (Attribute: Christi drinks beer; New Crime Scene: University Woodlands)
• Investigate University Woodlands. (Clues: Pile of Bushes, Rock Pile, Bloody Glove)
• Examine Pile of Bushes. (Result: Locket; New Suspect: Margot Valentine)
• Question Margot on the locket in the woodlands. (Attribute: Margot knows astrology)
• Examine Rock Pile. (Result: Old Photo)
• Analyze Old Photo. (06:00:00; New Suspect: Daphne Valentine)
• Examine Bloody Glove. (Result: Blood Sample)
• Analyze Blood Sample. (08:00:00; Attribute: The killer rides a bicycle)
• Interrogate Daphne on the photo. (Attribute: Daphne knows astrology and drinks beer)
• Investigate Prom Stage. (Clues: Drinks Bucket, Wallet)
• Examine Drinks Bucket. (Result: Phone Number Sheet)
• Analyze Phone Number Sheet. (05:00:00)
• Speak to Bellona about the victim giving her a list of suicide prevention numbers. (Attribute: Bellona knows astrology, drinks beer, and rides a bicycle)
• Question Europa on her brother's murder. (Attribute: Europa knows astrology, drinks beer, and rides a bicycle)
• Examine Wallet. (Result: Surveillance Photos)
• See why Noah was being followed. (Attribute: Noah knows astrology, drinks beer, and rides a bicycle)
• Go to Chapter 3. (No stars)

Chapter 3

• Hear Christi's confession. (Attribute: Christi knows astrology and rides a bicycle)
• Confront Parker over Christi's affair with Magnus. (Attribute: Parker knows astrology, drinks beer, and rides a bicycle; New Crime Scene: Rock Cave)
• Investigate Rock Cave. (Clues: Locked Box)
• Examine Locked Box. (Result: Dartboard of Magnus)
• Analyze Dartboard. (07:00:00)
• Confront Daphne over the dartboard. (Attribute: Daphne knows astrology)
• Question Margot over making the dartboard. (Attribute: Margot and Daphne ride a bicycle)
• Investigate Bloody Vice. (Clues: Workshop Cupboard, Vice Pads)
• Examine Workshop Cupboard. (Result: Bicycle Chain)
• Analyze Bicycle Chain. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer is a university student)
• Examine Vice Pads. (Result: Unknown Substance)
• Analyze Unknown Substance. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears confetti)
• Take care of the killer now!
• Go to Be the Best... Or Nothing at All (5/5). (No stars)

Be the Best... Or Nothing at All (5/5)