Isaac: I must say, I'm looking forward to the cheer of a bustling town. I just hope there won't be too many horses about!
Isaac and the player go to the town of Devil's Ridge, an important commercial hub in Coyote Gorge, to investigate more about the Italian mafia's business in the district after discovering in the previous case that they had control over the Stonewall Prison. There, not only Isaac and the player find the town completely desolated and devoid of life, but also stumble onto the body of local man Will Wyoming hanging from a tree.
Tropes:
- Alliterative Name: Will Wyoming, and Lucy Liang.
- Asshole Victim: The victim was thief and scammer who stole often valuable mail from the post office, discriminated Franca just because she's Italian (telling her to "go back to her country"), and wanted to leave the cowboy caravan to die in the desert just because they wouldn't pay him more for his services.
- The Bard: Ennis Sparhawk, a member of the travelling caravan who is always seen singing songs with his banjo.
- "Begone" Bribe: Franca does this with the player during the Additional Investigation to make you go away since you've been bothering throughout the whole case and now you're accusing her husband of being a criminal.
- Call-Forward: Constable Ramirez' fear of ghosts references Officer Ramirez suffering from the same fears in Grimsborough.
- City of Gold: El Gordado, a town that, according to Lucy Liang, is a place bursting with precious jewels and gold, and it's the reason her caravan is crossing the desert in the first place. Unfortunately, it seems to be quite difficult to reach.
- Closet Gay: The victim was apparently this, as he refused to accept his feelings with Ennis and instead kept breaking up and coming back to him in a whim.
- Continuity Nod: Dick makes himself glow in the dark by testing on himself a sample of Aurora's blood.
- Cowboy: Jeb Wyoming, Ennis Sparhawk, and Lucy Liang are all cowboys staying in Devil's Ridge; Jeb as its last remaining inhabitant, and Ennis and Lucy on their way to El Gordado.
- Faux-To Guide: Will pretended to be a Native Guide for Lucy's caravan so he could make them go in circles, travel through some of the most dangerous places in Coyote Gorge, and attempt to leave them to die in the desert if they didn't pay him more. This last action was the last straw for Lucy, who decided to intoxicate him with whiskey and then murder him.
- Forced from Their Home: It's revealed that, for some reason, the Italians forcibly evicted the residents from Devil's Ridge out of their homes by threatening their lives, which makes the Flying Squad wonder what the Italian mafia could gain from it.
- Gay Cowboy: Both Will and Ennis are this.
- Ghost Town: Devil's Ridge, once one of Coyote Gorge's biggest commercial hubs, has been reduced to this after the Italian mafia forced its residents to leave for unknown reasons. The only people remaining are Jeb Wyoming, who is a stubborn old man who refuses to leave his home behind, and Walter Abernathy, who still has hopes of people returning.
- Grumpy Old Man: Jeb Wyoming, the victim's father, is a stubborn old man who points at you with his shotgun every time you try to talk to him due to not accepting outsiders.
- Hanging Around: The victim was killed by being hanged with a rope on a tree.
- I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: Chief Wright says he'll pretend he didn't hear Maddie talking about her alcohol stash when she lets it slip out in his presence, as alcohol is still banned in Concordia.
- Jive Turkey: Evie attempts to speak like a cowboy during one of her analyses. The results are.. not that good.Evie: Howdy, <Players Name>, great to see you're above snakes! I trust everything's in apple pie order?Isaac: Come again, Evie?Evie: I'm just trying out the cowboy lingo from this buckaroo dictionary I found! "Above snakes" means "alive," and "apple pie order" signifies "in top shape"! Isn't it fun?
- Left for Dead: Will attempted to do this with the caravan travelling to El Gordado if they didn't pay him more, threatening with leaving them to die in the desert. Of course, this only led to Lucy becoming even more enraged by his greediness and murdering him because of it.
- Lice Episode: One of the killer's traits is that they have head lice.
- Mistaken for Undead: Constable Ramirez mistakes Dick for a ghost after he tests some of Aurora's blood on himself, making him glow in the dark.
- Native Guide:
- The caravan travelling to El Gordado hired Will as this, claiming to know the way due to living in Coyote Gorge all his life. However, he only wanted to steal the caravan's money and left them to die in the desert, which got him killed.
- Later, you convince Walter to become the caravan's new guide due to knowing the entirety of Coyote Gorge thanks to his work as a mailman, making him a more straight example.
- Never Suicide: Isaac believes for a moment that the victim committed suicide due to seeing him hanging, but quickly concludes he was actually murdered when you see his hands and feet have been tied.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: Franca has this reaction when you talk to her during the Additional Investigation, getting tired of speaking with the Flying Squad and even giving you a "Begone" Bribe to leave her alone.
- The Queenpin: As Vittorio Capecchi's husband, Franca Capecchi is this.
- Relationship Revolving Door: Ennis tells you how Will broke up and came back to him a lot due to not accepting his feelings and being a Closet Gay, which Ennis eventually grew tired of and decided to break up with him for good.
- Shout-Out:
- Will Wyoming and Ennis Sparhawk are parodies of of Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar, respectively.
- Lucy Liang is a parody of Lucy Liu.
- El Gordado is a parody of El Dorado.
- Silly Love Songs: You learn Will and Ennis were in a relationship when you hear a cheesy love song Ennis composed for Will.
- Tempting Fate: At the beginning of the case, Isaac hopes he won't be seeing any horses during the case due to being afraid of them, which inevitably leads to both of you encountering one.
- Unstoppable Mailman: Walter Abernathy, Devil's Ridge mailman. However, he's later forced to retire when the postal office gets closed down due to everyone leaving the town, although he quickly lands himself another job by becoming the caravan's new Native Guide.Walter: But I'm as sure as sure can be that they'll be comin' back real soon! That's why I've stayed here, to get their post all good and proper for when they decide to come on home!
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: As shown in the page's quote, Isaac is deeply afraid of horses, to the point he momentarily believes Maddie's joke of horses supposedly being able to climb up to the Squad's airship.
