Welcome back, Detective.
"Criminal Case: The Conspiracy" is the fifth game of the Criminal Case series.The player character returns to Grimsborough and its police department and reunites with Jones and meets other friends old and new. The story details the mystery surrounding a meteorite crash that took place a year before the story, and Dreamlife, a shady technology company established after the crash. The restructured Grimsborough features ten districts - Fairview, Money Mile (Financial Center), The Greens (Industrial Area), Old Town (Historical Center), Maple Heights, Misty Grove, the University district, Spring Fields, the Airport district, and Newmark.
Tropes
- Anyone Can Die: This season does not shy away from killing established characters early on in the season, and even characters who return from previous seasons or recently introduced characters can become victims. For example, Nathan Pandit, Martha Price and Tony Marconi, all of whom are major characters from Season 1, end up becoming victims as early as the first case of the game. The biggest example is lab chief Rupert Winchester's death in Things Fall Apart, which comes during the second case in the district.
- Exaggerated in the last two cases of the season, where aside from the murder victims, many characters get killed off at certain points of the story without warning. The last three Ad Astrans, Martin Davenport, Otto Kessel and even weapons expert Rita are all victims of this.
- Back for the Dead:
- Nathan Pandit, GPD's ex-coroner, is the victim in the very first case, before he can even have a reunion with the player and Jones.
- Edward Ramis is the victim in Hear My Cry and has no appearances in Season 5 before his death
- Ash Bison, who was introduced in the first case of Season 1, is also killed, in Byte the Dust.
- Martha Price, the mayoral candidate from Season 1's Maple Heights, appears as a suspect in one case and is then the victim of Blood in the Water.
- Tony Marconi ends up being murdered in Up in Flames.
- Zoe Kusama is killed in Head Case, 18 cases after she was last seen.
- Big Blackout: Lights Out involves one caused by an EMP, done under Ad Astra orders. In addition, the murder takes place around a power plant and the victim is a power plant manager.
- The Bus Came Back: The Grimsborough police team (sans Grace) and many of the recurring characters from Season 1.
- Curse Cut Short: Gloria cuts off Jones when she learns Marconi has been released for good behavior.
- Darker and Edgier: The plot of The Conspiracy is this to the previous four seasons, with a villainous organization whose deeds could give The Crimson Order and SOMBRA a run for their money. And unlike the previous four seasons, absolutely no character is safe, as anyone can become a murder victim and/or villain -including returning characters from other seasons, recently introduced characters and even a main character halfway through the season. The story also keeps reminding the player just how much of a crapsack world the characters are surrounded by, with themes such as mental illness, human experimentation, mind control and loss of loved ones being far more prominent than they were in previous seasons.
- Deconstruction: In Death in My Hand, the police force's usual Black-and-White Morality view on murder is challenged when Zoe Kusama, Jones's kind and mellow girlfriend, is arrested for the murder of Dr. Ernesto Vega. Up to this point, the main characters believed that nothing justifies murder and that it is a crime that can't ever be forgiven no matter what the circumstances. However, when Zoe is convicted, a shocked Jones asked her why she would commit murder, and she tells of how she was experimented on for a year by the victim and it was her built-up rage that caused her to lash out and kill him by accident. Jones is taken aback by this, and though Zoe is arrested and put into custody, he can't bring himself to give his usual "nothing justifies murder" speech and is willing to forgive her, understanding that the circumstances of the crime make her a Sympathetic Murderer.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Rita, the team's military-trained weapons expert, takes the overpowered, lethal Berzelium serum and manages to destroy most of Otto Kessel's neohuman army before her powers cause her to explode, taking all of the neohumans with her.
- Extremely Short Timespan: The Airport district only takes three in-game days to be completed, as the police department arrives to the district and solves the blackout on the first day, returns to the dome and solves Zoe's murder on day two, and investigates Leroux's office and solves his murder on day three.
- Foreshadowing:
- Zoe's plot arc revolving her amnesia (in particular, remembering who Marconi was) is later revealed to be the result of Dreamlife kidnapping and experimenting on her.
- In addition, Marconi's involvement protecting the dome. He's later killed during the final case around the dome.
- During Spring Fields, rookie cop Mia asks various times if she can borrow your car. In the end of the district, she's later blown up in your own car.
- Louis Leroux, a recurring character, is quite involved in the main plot of the story-mostly pertaining to the truth about the meteorite and being Zoe Kusama's friend. However, Jones and the rest of the Grimsborough PD always detect something fishy with him. Not only is he a member of Ad Astra and Rozetta's ally, but he had been keeping tabs on Zoe after she was experimented on.
- He Is All Grown Up: Julian Ramis, a 12-year-old boy from Season 1's In the Dead of Night, returns in Too Cruel for School as a 17-year-old.
- I Know You Know I Know: This is part of Rupert Winchester's plan to disguise as Mortimer Pickering result in his death in Things Fall Apart; The killer, Dr. Kelly, had dated the real Pickering in Oxford, and was shocked that "Pickering" didn't know who she was. When he kept cancelling therapy sessions from her, she put two and two together and realized that it was Rupert playing a prank.
- Mundane Solution: A recurring criminal gains the power to produce toxic gas from her fingers that can knock people out in an instant. How do the police contain her? With standard gas masks. She even complains how she got superpowers that are so easily countered when she's arrested.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant:
- Meera Kat, an important character in the Money Mile district. She sees nothing wrong with exploiting natural disaster and death for art, and shows no remorse for any suffering she causes in the process. She freaks out the Grimsborough PD with her excitement over such events, and Gabriel becomes convinced that she's a danger to society because of it. She's killed by psychopath Christian Bateman when he lowers the cage she's in into a pool of lava, so she's also an Asshole Victim as her suffering actually thrills him, so it's Laser-Guided Karma as well.
- Christian Bateman, especially after his release from prison. Although he appears to be a relatively normal and affable businessman, he revels in the pain he can cause others and even himself, to the point where his "release" is eating extra hot food and having fantasies about torturing women. What makes this creepy is the way he carries himself-he not only speaks about this as if it's completely normal, but is fully convinced that he's the most sane person in Grimsborough. When he moves back in with his mother, he becomes a full-blown Manchild who still refers to her as "Mommy", but still has fantasies of pain and torture, this time approaching them with childish glee.
- Persona Non Grata: In "Case 25: Muddying the Waters", Aubrey Coprolite, the victim's wife, explains they had been trying to adopt for years before they were given a chance. Unfortunately, Jordan completely blew it when, during the home inspection, he got so drugged he actually thought they were going to adopt the adoption agent. This led to their family getting blacklisted from every adoption agency in the country, which didn't sit well with Aubrey at all.
- Wham Episode: The Conspiracy could give World Edition a run for its money with how many it has:
- Snake in the Grass: When the player comes back to Grimsborough, the first murder they have to solve there is Nathan's, on the day they were supposed to reunite with him no less. The episode also reveals that a satellite fell to Grimsborough a year before the events of The Conspiracy, with some heavily guarded secrets behind it.
- Too Cruel for School: Julian Ramis returns, making him the second character from past seasons to reappear and beginning a trend of bringing back old suspects that will last throughout this season.
- Hear My Cry: Edward Ramis, another returning character is killed, the first signal that no one is safe during the events of The Conspiracy, even characters from previous seasons. Also, an earthquake hits Grimsborough, which causes massive damage througout the city and unearths an ancient civilization that will play an important role in later districts.
- The Art of Murder: Zoe Kusama, revealed to be Jones's girlfriend in an earlier case, is found with amnesia, with Tony Marconi being the only person she can recognize. Marconi is revealed to be running a business in The Greens, which prompts the team to investigate further into the titular conspiracy.
- Murder on the Dance Floor: Tony Marconi's business was revealed to be hired by a company called DreamLife, which is guarding the satellite that fell to Grimsborough a year ago. He mentions to the team that DreamLife is up to no good, and the team often find themselves crossing paths with the company many times in the future.
- The Lost City: A cult called The Higher Truth is discovered, whom believe the satellite to be their savior that fell from the sky. It's being lead by Steven Crowe, yet another returning character.
- Muddying the Waters: After disbanding The Higher Truth, the team goes to Maple Heights to tighten security measures, only to find the area deeply flooded. In the midst of the floods, the team finds some strange "Demon Fish", which came from the lost city of Xerda and were feared by the locals there.
- Bone of Contention: The Demon Fish are revealed to be highly venomous, and start causing severe and even fatal bites to whomever they come into contact with. It's also revealed that someone released them on purpose, having blown up a Xerdan cave to allow them to escape into the flood waters.
- Dead Men Tell No Tales: Midway through the case, Martine is bitten by a Demon Fish and is nearly killed, forcing Rupert to work quickly to find a cure for the venom.
- Blood in the Water: The mayor, Martha Price, is assassinated, which puts Grimsborough in chaos when the news breaks out. After the killer is caught, Rupert switches places with fellow scientist Mortimer Pickering in order to spy on DreamLife, which leads the team into their next district, Misty Grove.
- Things Fall Apart: Rupert's cover is blown and he is murdered, with Jasper being a suspect in the investigation. This establishes just how ruthless Dreamlife is under the dome, and that from now on no character is safe. However, Rupert manages to acquire an access card that allows the Grimsborough PD to infiltrate the dome.
- A Rock and a Hard Place: Barb Bellamy is murdered, and Dreamlife CEO Rozetta Pierre loses all affability as she attempts to pin the murder on Jones throughout the case. Later on, Amir is promoted to lab chief and Mortimer Pickering begins to help analyze clues in the lab, as he vowed to help take Dreamlife down after they killed Rupert.
- Death in My Hand: Dr. Ernesto Vega is killed, and the killer is Zoe Kusama, who remembers everything about the experiments performed on her by Dr. Vega-including the fact that everyone who went under the dome was killed by the experiments. The team then launch an investigation on what Dreamlife is researching, revealing that they intend to create a drug called Protozane and release it to the public.
- In Cold Blood: The murder of this case turned out to be the result of Dreamlife scientists sedating the killer with Protozane, the drug found in the previous case. Besides turning patients into submissive subjects, Protozane was proven to have killed the people being experimented on under the dome and caused Zoe's amnesia. Also, it turns out Dreamlife's experiments on the meteorite had caused the earthquake in Money Mile and the floods in Maple Heights, finally giving Judge Powell the evidence she needs to warrant the shutdown of Dreamlife.
- Up in Flames: Tony Marconi, who had been important since the beginning of Grimsborough is killed, and the team learns more about him than they knew when he was alive. On top of that, our oldest partner, Jones is a suspect in this case, and the events of Misty Grove drive him to nearly leave the Grimsborough PD. Rozetta and her team are safely behind bars, but it's still unclear what drove her to want to suppress the population of Grimsborough in the first place, leading the team to try and uncover her past at the University.
- Pain in the Neck: After finding nothing but false information about Rozetta in the previous case, the Grimsborough PD finally gets a break in investigating Rozetta's past when they discover Ad Astra, a secret society she had been a part of during her University years. Although nothing else is revealed, there's a very suspicious aura surrounding the group that prompts the main cast to look into it further.
- Deadeye: The team discover that Ad Astra had re-established itself right after the meteorite hit Grimsborough. However, the group's true nature is still kept secretive, with one of its members refusing to comment.
- Game, Set, Murder: The team discovers a hidden manuscript written by Rozetta while studying philosophy, detailing the motives of the group. It turns out that her entire motives for founding Dreamlife were a result of her believing in a selective concept similar to illusory superiority.
- Trick or Treat: After receiving a tip-off from a prisoner, the team discover that Rozetta had recently met up with a fellow Ad Astra member, Azeeb Patel, and gave him the task to get rid off her old philosophy teacher, Kevin Charles.
- Lashing Out: Kevin Charles is murdered, and in a surprise turn of events, his murder is revealed to have been planned and committed by all five current Ad Astra members. The team then discover that Rozetta's motivations for having Charles murdered was because he knew the identity of all original Ad Astra members. After the only evidence of the original Ad Astra members is found destroyed, the team decide to investigate Spring Fields in search of Fornax, the only other known member besides Rozetta.
- Fields of Murder: The team discover that Fornax had bribed the killer of the case to burn down the corn fields. After finding the bribe, they discover that Fornax is a member of one of Grimsborough's two food companies, GrimFoods or AgriMeadows, and decide to investigate the cattle fair to find both.
- A Crime Like No Udder: It is discovered that Fornax may be part of AgriMeadow, headed by Julia Brine. It is also discovered that AgriMeadows planned the burning of the corn fields as they planned to sell corn seedlings at a lower price, prompting the team to interrogate Brine yet again.
- A Pointy End: It is revealed that Fornax is actually Julia Brine. Brine had been behind the burning of the crop fields so she could sell Protozane-filled corn seedlings to the farmers, in a much more discreet way to control the population. In addition, the codenames of the other three Ad Astra members are revealed - Perseus, Orion, and Cassiopeia.
- Like a Pig to the Slaughter: After solving the murder, the team discovers the identity of another Ad Astra member. Christian Bateman, who was convicted of murder five districts ago, is Orion and the one providing Julia Brine with the funding she needed to build Agri Meadows. However, when the team goes to the prison to ask him what he knows, it turns out that he was released due to the prison deeming that his mental state made him not responsible for murder.
- In Vino Veritas: The team finds Christian, who refuses to tell them anything about what Ad Astra is planning next. However, he lets slip that they have a "Plan Supernova" meant to deal a devastating blow to the Grimsborough PD's efforts, and before the team can figure out what this plan is, an explosion takes place right next to the police station and the case just ends there.
- To Kingdom Come: The bombing in the previous case turns out to have killed Mia Loukas, the beat cop who's been giving new leads to the player since Maple Heights. It's revealed that Mia wasn't the intended target of the bomb, but the player was-and the hit was ordered by Mayor Joe Warren, who is unmasked as yet another member of Ad Astra. The team plan to intercept Mayor Warren as he returns from a business trip, prompting them to investigate the organization further in the Airport district.
- Lights Out: After finding nothing that could take down Mayor Warren, the team is engulfed in a blackout. After solving the murder, it's discovered that Ad Astra was behind it, and that they're venturing into human enhancement. They decide to return to the dome to find new leads on Ad Astra and the meteor.
- Out of Breath: It's discovered that Ad Astra's human enhancement involves making them completely invincible. Given that Zoe Kusama may have possibly been tested on, Jones and the player decide to go to the psychiatric hospital to talk to her.
- Head Case: Zoe is found murdered, and shockingly, the killer turns out to be her friend, Louis Leroux. Right after the killer is arrested, Jones tries to commit suicide, and only survives due to the player's quick thinking. The team also learns from Louis that Zoe had suddenly developed telekinesis-a side effect of the Berzelium that had been tested on her, and probably what Ad Astra had wanted to use for Plan Supernova. The team then decides to investigate Louis's workplace to make sure he isn't hiding any more secrets.
- Playing Dead: After solving the murder of Savannah Blake, the player discovers the identity of the fifth Ad Astran: It's Louis Leroux, who not only covered up the truth about the meteorite with his broadcasts, but also conspired to kill Zoe on more than one occasion since she escaped the dome. When questioned about Plan Supernova, he freaks out, telling the player to stay out of it. Before the player can interrogate him again, Cathy informs the team that he had suddenly died.
- Breaking News: Louis' death is discovered to have been ordered by the real Ad Astra leader, claiming that said leader wanted them death because they had outlived their usefulness. When trying to get more information, Rozetta and Julia escape with the use of superpowers gained by Berzelium, and kidnap Jake and Carter Hayes to convince them that the Ad Astran leader is their real enemy. The team them go to Newmark to search for Jake and Carter.
- Running Scared: Jake is found dead in a construction site, while Carter and the Ad Astra members are missing. After the team arrest the two accomplices to the kidnapping, they find out that not only is the leader of Ad Astra Rozetta's mother, but that S.A.R.A. chief Denise Daniels is looking for them, as well.
- To Eternitya and Beyond: After wrapping up a murder in S.A.R.A.'s HQ, it's discovered that not only is Denise Daniels the real mastermind behind Ad Astra, but also [Rozetta's estranged mother, but before anything else can be found out, Denise runs away, leaving nothing behind. The team then find out that Christian is planning to get the Ad Astrans out of Grimsborough by air, leading to their next port of call.
- Reap What You Sow: Christian is found dead, with Julia and Joe being brought back into custody and Rozetta still in hiding. However, it's later revealed that Christian's death was actually a Mercy Kill done by Joe, as Christian had been driven crazy and ill by the Berzelium superpowers. After sentencing Christian, Rozetta reveals that Louis had discovered a secret lab owned by Denise that not even the Ad Astrans could justify.
- Extinguished: The team discover the laboratory, only to discover that Denise, alongside the case's victim, had been creating a completely invincible and extremely resilient species of humans within the lab. However, the real kicker is that not only was Denise behind the activity behind DreamLife, but that she intends to destroy Grimsborough with a repeat of the same earthquake from earlier in the plotline to create a new world order. The team then rush back to the S.A.R.A. headquarters to stop the catastrophe.
- Eve of Disaster: The team find Jon Benson killed by Martin Davenport, S.A.R.A.'s lawyer, who had taken a piece of the meteorite's core for Denise to start the earthquake with. Although the team manage to stop the earthquake, they don't stop Denise from killing Martin and unleashing her neohumans on Grimsborough. With the city on the brink of destruction, Joe Warren and Julia Brine volunteer to defend the city against Denise's army, and Rozetta joins them after the team finally finds her. As they go into battle however, the Ad Astrans realize too late that the neohumans are immune to their powers, and Denise shoots and kills Rozetta before Julia and Joe are caught in an explosion, and the case ends on a cliffhanger.
- Blaze of Glory: Julia is revealed to have died from the explosion, and shortly after, the team finds Denise's severed head in front of city hall. The team has to solve the case as the neohumans run amok around the city, controlled by Denise's killer, and Jones is nearly killed by a blast near the destroyed dome. The killer is found to be Otto Kessel-who reveals himself to be one of Denise's neohumans, disguised as her assistant, who killed her after he could no longer take her abuse. He runs off to lead the army under his control, and Amir ends up creating a superhuman serum that could stop him, but kill whoever takes it. Joe Warren, who had been badly injured by the prior explosion and his powers, dies before he can take the new serum, forcing Rita to do so and sacrifice herself to save Grimsborough. Five months afterwards, while the team still mourns Rita's death, they celebrate Jasper and Amir's wedding...where Jack Archer from 10 years in the future picks up the player, saying that his team needs their help.
