And we mean that literally, not like something you see on a tourist t-shirt.
After being informed that a body has been discovered at a sacrificial chamber in the Xerdan ruins, Chief Parker sends Jones and the player to the ancient temple to take care of the investigation. There, they collect the body of tomb robber Kayla Markham with her heart cut out of her chest.
Tropes:
- Amnesia Missed a Spot: During the Additional Investigation, Zoe manages to recover a memory of her being strapped in a chair surrounded by doctors, implying she was subjected to some kind of experimentation while missing. Unfortunately, she still doesn't manage to deduce how Marconi is involved in all of this, hence why she goes to confront him.
- Ancient Tomb: The murder scene is one of these, used by the Xerdans as a sacrificial chamber.
- Asshole Victim: Kayla was a criminal who enjoyed manipulating and using people for her own gain if that meant she'd keep getting profits from her desecrating and tomb-robbing business, such as lying to Laura about splitting the money if she helped her steal relics and artifacts from the ruins or pretending to be in love with Bruno so he'd take the blame when she robbed a tomb back in Egypt. She also mocked her uncle Ray after he attempted to stop her, knowing he wouldn't turn her to the authorities due to Kayla being all he had left from his late sister.
- Attack on the Heart: Kayla was killed by having her heart cut out of her body with a ceremonial knife.
- Better Living Through Evil: This is how Kayla convinced Hazel to buy stolen relics from her, telling Hazel she'd make more money for her antique shop this way.Hazel: The truth is, Kayla came to me with a deal that I couldn't refuse! People aren't content with buying ugly 70s side tables anymore...
They want something more exotic! Kayla swore to me she could smuggle artifacts out of Xerda without getting caught, and that my sales would rocket! - Burn Baby Burn: During one of his interrogations, Steven tells you he likes burning pictures of him in the Xerdan ruins, believing it allows his spirit to be reborn from the flames.
- Call-Back:
- Bruno Camper, Steven Crowe, Laura Crosby, and Ray Parker reappear as suspects. Tony Marconi and Zoe Kusama also reappear during the Additional Investigation.
- The whole case brings to mind Temple of Doom from Pacific Bay, only this time the Indiana Jones Expy is the killer and not the victim.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Hazel was in love with Kayla, but couldn't confess her feelings for unknown reasons. And just when she had bought a gift for Kayla with the intent of making her feelings clear, Kayla was murdered.
- Cliffhanger: The case ends with the police department learning from Gabriel that The Higher Truth is planning to conduct a mass suicide in two days, prompting Jones and the player rush to arrest Crowe and stop it from happening.
- Continuity Nod: Desmond Galloway's antique store appears again, now being managed by his daughter. Jones also recalls how he bought a deer head clock from it five years ago.
- Crime After Crime: As if robbing tombs wasn't enough, Kayla also involved other people in her schemes that either directly or indirectly made them her accomplices: she convinced Laura to aid her breaking into the tomb to steal artifacts, manipulated Hazel into buying said artifacts, and made her uncle Ray cover for her in the whole ordeal.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: When Cathy reads Zoe's digital diary, she tells Jones that Zoe is tired of feeling like he's walking on eggshells because of her and being treated like a victim.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Laura says this word for word when you confront her about being in the victim's tomb raiding scheme, as Kayla lied about splitting the profits and never gave any to Laura.
- Evil Niece: Kayla was this for her uncle Ray, becoming a tomb rider (which, as a historian, was bound to hit Ray particularly hard) and disregarding his warnings and pleas to stop.
- Face Your Fears: During the Additional Investigation, Zoe finally decides to confront Marconi about his involvement in her disappearance, demanding for answers before Jones and the player come to calm her down.
- Family Business: Desmond retired from managing his antique shop sometime during the five years you were out of Grimsborough, and now it's being worked by his daughter Hazel (until her arrest, at least)
- Five-Finger Discount: You find a security tape of Steven shoplifting a book about rituals from Galloway's antique shop, something he excuses by claiming knowledge belongs to everyone and should be shared freely.
- Foreshadowing:
- When you interrogate Steven for the murder, he says he wouldn't mourn Kayla's death, since The Higher Truth has plans for all. Later, during the Additional Investigation, you discover exactly what these plans entail.
- Zoe's Amnesia Missed a Spot described above involving being strapped to a chair and surrounded by doctors foreshadows her being used as a test subject for DreamLife's human experimentation under the dome, which you don't fully learn until Case 34.
- Freudian Excuse: For Bruno, his misogynist and women-hating tendencies appeared when Kayla double-crossed him back in Egypt by pretending to be in love and marrying him, which was part of a ploy to rob a tomb that led to Bruno being blamed and losing his job over it.
- Human Sacrifice: The victim was murdered in this fashion. During his arrest, Bruno says this is how the Xerdans dealth with traitors: by sacrificing them with a heart removal.
- In Love with Your Carnage: Hazel fell in love with Kayla due to her braveness and interesting stories... that involved travelling around the world stealing relics from ancient tombs.
- Instant Sedation: Kayla was first sedated with a cloth dampened in chloroform before having her heart cut open. Considering the killer most likely ambushed and sedated her right in the tomb, it couldn't have taken that long to have an effect.
- Liquid Courage: The killer left traces of whiskey on the ceremonial knife they used to murder Kayla, which Rita interprets as the culprit giving themselves some "Dutch courage" before committing the deed.
- Love Hurts: Kayla was the first and only woman Bruno ever fell for, which hit him particularly hard when he discovered she only used him to raid a tomb back in Egypt.
- Misplaced Retribution: During his Motive Rant, Bruno explains that Kayla robbed a tomb back in Egypt, and since they were married, everyone assumed Bruno participated too and thus was expelled from the expedition. In return and in another example of the trope, this event prompted Bruno to start hating everyone woman he'd come across.
- Mushroom Samba: Gabriel tells you Steven is planning to reveal his big event to The Higher Truth followers, but not before letting themselves be bit by a species of Xerdan bugs capable of provoking powerful hallucinations with their venom. To avoid getting affected by it, one of the missions during the Additional Investigation is creating an antidote exclusive for Gabriel, which is tested on Amir after he lets himself be bit by one of the bugs.Amir: Woah, that was freaky, <Player's Name>. I could've sworn you had snakes for hair, but I wasn't the tiniest bit scared!
Gloria: That fearlessness must be the effect the cult leader wants the bugs to induce in his followers! - Nephewism: Kayla was raised by his uncle Ray after his sister died during a fishing accident.
- Never My Fault: When Judge Powell sentences him to life in prison, Bruno blames Kayla for everything going wrong in his life, including not finishing his exploration of Xerda.
- Redemption Rejection: Ray was aware of his niece Kayla being a tomb raider, and even attempted many times to get her to quit before something bad happened. Of course, Kayla always refused, believing herself to be invincible.
- The Reveal: The big event planned by The Higher Truth is a mass suicide by drinking hemlock tea, putting the police department on a Race Against the Clock to stop it.
- Revenge: Bruno's ultimate reason for killing Kayla. Back when they were married, Kayla robbed a tomb back in Egypt and part of the blame went to Bruno despite not being part of the robbery, which led to him losing his job. So after he discovered she was in Grimsborough to continue her bandit business in the Xerdan ruins, he decided to enact his revenge.
- Secret Diary: Zoe has been keeping one of these in her cellphone, which per Cathy's analysis shows she's tired of being treated like a victim and has been keeping tabs on Tony Marconi, finally deciding to confront him in this case.
- Secret-Keeper: Ray knew about Kayla being a tomb robber, but refused to turn her to the authorities since Kayla was all Ray had left from his late sister. This understandably angers his wife when she finds out.
- Secret Circle of Secrets: The Higher Truth does one of these in the Xerdan ruins during the Additional Investigation, which is where Steven informs his followers of his mass suicide plan.
- Shout-Out:
- The victim was a tomb robber who had previously used the alias "Zara Loft."
- In the Sacrificial Chamber scene, there is a familiar fedora.
- In the Temple Entrance scene, there is a can of soup parodying Campbell's and a statue of Poseidon.
- The Higher Truth's plan for mass suicide by poisoned tea is a reference to the near identical event in the People's Temple cult.
- Sketchy Successor: Despite being a pretty unpleasant Insufferable Genius, Desmond was still a competent law-upholding citizen who successfully managed his antique shop in Season 1. Here, apart from apparently barely getting anything sold, his daughter Hazel is also a criminal who's been trading with a tomb robber, and thus gets arrested.
- Spit Take: Rupert tells you he almost did this with his tea after he saw the heart you sent him to analyze.
- Spycam: Gloria and the player put one in a skull to spy on The Higher Truth's meeting, which is how they discover the cult is planning to perform a mass suicide.
- Suicide Pact: Steven convinces his followers to do this with hemlock tea, telling them their physical bodies will die, but their souls will ascend to another plane of existence and reach the higher truth.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: The killer ends up being Bruno Camper, Kayla's ex-husband.
- Using You All Along: Kayla did this with both Bruno and Laura, the former by pretending to be in love with him so she could rob one of the tombs he was exploring back in Egypt and the latter by telling her they'd split profits from the stolen artifacts if she helped Kayla steal them.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Bruno, the one who reports Kayla's body to the authorities, is also the killer.
