Recap / Criminal Case: The Conspiracy - Case 03: The Saddest of All Keys

Most murderers go up to 10...

Chief Parker assigns the player to work with Jones at the Grimsborough Arena as security, as it is holding the reunion concert for the legendary English rock band The Henge. As the player and Jones arrive there, they find the body of the band's lead vocalist Ian Devine bleeding out of his ears and eyes.

Tropes:

• Bad Boss: Kevin St Kevin, The Henge's manager, murdered Ian just to boost sales of the concert tickets.
• The Band Minus the Face: Ian attempted to quit The Henge and leave the band like this, which would've impacted their low ticker sales even more.
• Big Friendly Dog: One of the killer's traits is that they own a Irish Wolfhound, and Boris Chiswick's dog is seen during Chapter 3.
• Blood from Every Orifice: As a result of having his brain liquefied, Ian's body bled from every orifice of his head.
• The Bore: Seems like Rupert could give Dupont a run for his money in this regard, judging by this interaction between him and Amir.
  Amir: <Player's Name>, thank goodness you're here. Now Rupert can tell YOU about 50 types of Earl Grey! I'm out of here!
  Rupert: But a thorough knowledge of Earl Grey tea is essential for anyone, Amir. Someday you must see the bergamot trees in Calabria! I assure you that-
  Jones: They're breathtaking, Rupert, I'm sure, but we have a small matter of a murder to solve.
• Brown Note: Ian was killed with a device that played a frequency capable of liquefying a person's brain.
• Call to Agriculture: Ian wanted to retire from The Henge to stay in Wales and become a sheep farmer, although Kevin managed him to make one last tour.
• I Can't Hear You: As a result of his old age and playing the bass loudly for years, Boris's hearing isn't that good during his interrogations.
• Claustrophobia: One of the killer's traits is that they suffer from this. Kevin, the killer, is understandably terrified when he's condemned to 25 years of prison in a tiny cell.
• Conspiracy Theorist: This case introduces one in Izzy Ramsey, who will be appearing throughout the season. Here, she's promoting the theory that Ian Devine actually died in a 1969 shipwreck and the one who is dead now is an impostor, and during the Additional Investigation, she's convinced that there's a chemical warfare going on due to multiple people dying in mysterious circumstances.
• Contrived Coincidence: Emma, Tank's late wife, is revealed to have died by ingesting the lethal dose of Rocket Cow and amlodipine just like the man from the previous case did, which gives you enough insight to conclude there's a Serial Killer on the loose.
• Cool Old Guy: Tank, who is 55, and Boris, who is 67, are quite cool when talking with the player, with the latter deserving a special mention when Alex meets him and offers him an autograph without prompt.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The victim died by having his brain liquefied with a powerful sound wave.
• Dead Artists Are Better: Ian was killed by Kevin for this reason, as The Henge's ticket sales were so low he figured out the death of an important band member would make people curious and buy tickets.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Izzy is convinced the real Ian Devine died in 1969 and the one you found murdered was an impostor who got killed because she was getting too close to the truth.
• Delicious Distraction: Jones distracts Boris's dog with the rest of his hot dog after he growls at him and the player.
  Jones: That was close! Looks like this dog is hot for hotdogs!
• Fanboy / Fangirl: Both Alex Turner and Rose Sweet are this for The Henge. Specifically, Alex is a huge fan of Boris Chiswick while Rose was one of Ian, to the point they often slept together.
• Firing Day: Ian wanted to fire Boris because he thought his bass sounds were too loud and he refused to lower the volume, although nothing came out of it.
• Foreshadowing: As stated above, Izzy claims the real Ian Devine died in a shipwreck in 1969. In the next season, your first case taking place in 1969 has Ian as one of the suspects. No mention of any ships, however...
• Frivolous Lawsuit: Ian threatened Rose with a lawsuit if she published a book that contained their "adventures" together, which makes her a strong suspect.
• Gene Hunting: Implied with Izzy, who stole a toothbrush from the victim which gave Rupert the DNA sample necessary to conclude Ian was Izzy's father. She claims she had no idea, but considering her tendencies...
• Innocently Insensitive: Ian sent a teddy bear as a gift to Tank after his wife passed away, which Tank found tasteless because what he needed was money because the medical debt was drowning him.
• Kinky Cuffs: Rose Sweet is introduced as a suspect when you find a pair of handcuffs she gifted to the victim for this reason.
• Luminescent Blush: Alex deeply blushes when you and Cathy take him to meet Boris Chiswick, as he's a huge Fanboy of him.
• Missing Steps Plan: Or rather, Missing Steps Conspiracy Theory regarding Izzy.
  Izzy: He was the victim of a bizarre boating accident off the Isle of Wight, but the government didn't want anyone to know!
  Jones: Why exactly would any government anywhere try to hide something like that?
  Izzy: I'm still working that part out.
• Must Have Caffeine: Jones admits he used to be addicted to energy drinks while in the police academy.
• Old Flame: Rose Sweet tells you she and Ian had something back in 1975, and she wanted to revive the flame with him in the present day.
• Only One Name: Tank. He even officially changed his name to it in 1979.
  Jones: Um... Mr... Tank?
  Tank: It's just Tank, man. Just Tank.
• Post-Stress Overeating: At the end of Chapter 2, Jones is seen eating a hot dog because he claims he's getting stressed out by the case.
• Retirony: Ian accepted Kevin's offer of giving one last tour before he finally retired to become a sheep farmer in Wales, but he got killed during it.
  Jones: So he changed his mind and decided to perform again?
  Kevin: Yes, I found the button to press: the fans! I described just how disappointed they'd be! So Ian signed on for one last rock 'n' roll hurrah!
  Jones: Well, it was his last hurrah, that much is certain.
• The Reveal: There's a Serial Killer using adulterated Rocket Cow cans laced with amlodipine. Counting David from the previous case and Emma is this one, they've already got at least 10 victims.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Izzy tells you too many mysterious deaths are occurring in Fairview and even investigates on her own, acquiring a rather sizable list of these aforementioned deaths. However, she accounts them to one of her usual conspiracy theories claiming there's a chemical warfare going on when in fact they're the victims of a Serial Killer.
• The Roadie: One of the suspects, Tank, served as this for The Henge.
• Rockers Smash Guitars: Boris becomes a suspect when you find his smasher guitar in a crime scene, which he did out of tradition.
• Shout-Out:
  • The case as a whole is one to This is Spın̈al Tap, what with the image for this page serving as the image for Chapter 3, and the title coming from a quote from the movie:
    Nigel Tufnel: It's part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I'm working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find.
  • Boris Chiswick is a parody of John Entwistle.
  • Izzy Ramsey's conspiracy theory is a parody of the "Paul is Dead" theory, which states that Paul McCartney died in 1966.
  • In the Rock Stage scene, there is a crystal skull. The stage itself is a parody of the one at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.
  • In the Gear Crates scene, there is a magazine featuring Billy Gibbons.
  • Chapter 3's cover image is a reference to Up to Eleven.
  • Jimi Hendrix is mentioned.
  • Long Live Rock is a parody of Rolling Stone.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Martine seems to be on the hunt of a good man in Grimsborough, but seems like the results haven't been good.
  Martine: You have brought me an interesting puzzle indeed with this body...
  ...but not as interesting a puzzle as where all the decent men have gone in this town...
• Tampering with Food and Drink: You and the rest of the GBPD discover the Serial Killer has been using cans of Rocket Cow energy drink mixed with amlodipine to kill people.
• Tempting Fate: Jones delivers one of his classic gems at the beginning of the case.
  Jones: <Player's Name>, it's me and you again today! What do you think, will we last a whole shift without a gruesome murder?
• Unwanted Assistance: During the autopsy report, Martine tells you her last date attempted to explain French grammar to her, a Frenchwoman.