Dead Carpet

Dead Carpet is a case featured in Criminal Case, appearing as the ninety-fourth case of the game and the thirty-eighth case of Pacific Bay. Also, it is the eighth and final case to take place in Pacific Bay's Ivywood Hills.

Plot
All Roxie Sparks and Frank Knight were looking forward to was the Ivywood Film Awards occurring in a few hours, but Amy Young and the player made it clear that they were more concerned about the notorious Utopians' devilish scheme: to recruit new followers and fulfill the "Prophecy" through a brainwashing attack intended to affect millions of viewers watching the ceremony's live broadcast, by simply replacing the original tape with that of a certain brainwashing film. In response, Frank said that the Utopians couldn't possibly function without their leader, Holly Hopper, who was last seen blowing her brain up about a week ago. Russell Crane then took a moment to voice his opinion, saying that the police force shouldn't let its guard down under any circumstances. And so, with Chief Marquez on sick leave (due to what happened to her in the previous case), Amy and the player headed to the red carpet of the Ivywood Awards Theater to ensure safety.

In an unexpected turn of events, Amy and the player found a movie producer named Tyler Snakes dead on the red carpet, looking as if he suffocated to death. Ironically, Tyler was a Utopian as well as the person in charge of supervising the Awards ceremony. Given that no human being would just drop dead like that, and with the ceremony scheduled to get under way in just a few hours, the duo immediately shipped Tyler's corpse to Roxie for autopsy. Shortly afterward, Amy and the player had to subdue the television room of the Awards Theater which the Utopians had supposedly reserved to execute their brainwashing attack. Also, with the help of Hannah Choi, the location of the Utopian temple was exposed for investigation.

As the investigation went on, Holly was surprisingly discovered to have faked her suicide, with Hannah managing to retrieve text messages Holly had sent to Tyler prior to his death. Hannah would also intercept Holly's call on the victim's phone from the Ivywood Heights Hotel, only to find the gossip columnist dressed up as a socialite to keep a low profile.

The cover didn't work very well as Amy and the player were wise enough to expose Holly right on the spot before sending her to the interrogation room at once, where the columnist disclosed that she had to lay low for a while and that all it took to make sure that happened were some special effects—which consisted of a good make-up artist, and two friends disguised as paramedics.

In the middle of the case, Amy was unexpectedly found in a brainwashed state, forcing Russell to take over her place for the remainder of the investigation. Russell proved his determination by eventually helping the player find a cigarette case within the TV room, allowing Yann Toussaint to identify the poisonous cigarettes inside it as the weapon used to off the movie producer. And soon enough, in spite of the twists and turns the police force had to deal with during the investigation, Tyler's killer was incriminated to be a femme fatale and fellow Utopian named Velma Bannister.

During the moment of her arrest, Velma offered a smoke to the player as a condition to have her rights read while she waited for her husband's lawyers to arrive. In a smart move, Russell then asked the femme fatale to refrain from smoking—especially with poisoned cigarettes, like the ones she'd given to Tyler. Velma then proceeded to state that the police had nothing against her—but Russell continued his manipulative demeanor, pointing out that everyone admired Velma's persistence, unlike Tyler, who had the guts to reject her and bruise her ego immensely. This striking insult by the profiler pushed Velma to the limit, causing her to finally admit that she was indeed responsible for Tyler's death—though her actual motive was to gain access to the TV room of the Awards Theater.

Velma believed she could "save" Ivywood from the Utopians' brainwashing plan even though she knew this would contradict what her cult desired: she wanted to use her own recording instead of the intended one the Utopians wanted. However, Tyler was in charge of broadcasting the Awards ceremony and Velma needed access to the TV room by any means necessary in order to replace the Utopians' tape with hers, leaving her with no choice but to take him out of her way. As the statement came to an end, Russell and the player shipped the femme fatale to trial.

In court Velma cited the fact that she had to use her charm all her life to seduce people to get what she wanted, and the older she became, the more difficult it got, as she believed that there was always going to be someone younger and more beautiful than herself, with Tyler making her realize that her powers were slowly fading with age. However, Velma refused to be uglier than someone else, so she ultimately decided to take the Utopians' brainwashing plan to her own hands by poisoning Tyler to death, replacing the Utopian-standard brainwashing tape with a brainwashing tape of her own so that people would have to obey her and also worship her as the most beautiful woman in Ivywood—and to love her forever. Fame was what Velma yearned for, although she knew that the brainwashing effect could be nullified by a cure and that her fame wouldn't last forever. Hearing enough, Judge Dante finally sentenced the femme fatale to 18 years of hard time for the premeditated murder of Tyler Snakes, not to mention forcing the Judge and the court members to miss out on the Awards ceremony.

Following the indictment, Russell and the player had to interrogate psychiatrist Trevor Neuman, a Utopian who was liable for inventing the brainwashing method for the cult. Trevor admitted that he created the brainwashing technique, but felt that there was no way to reverse its effects, which Russell refused to accept. So the player had Trevor arrested for being a part of the illicit scheme prior to checking the TV room for the brainwashing tape. The player succeeded in finding the tape and Hannah had to give her all to deliver the psychological cure, thus healing Chief Marquez and Amy (not to mention Frank and Roxie who'd unknowingly watched the accidental airing of the brainwashing tape) by fluke and luck. Hannah would also make sure the cure get aired on all the channels worldwide, in an effort to save each person—including Russell's father Jupiter—under the effects of the brainwashing.

With Ivywood psychologically cured, Holly was arrested for good. Furthermore, Chief Marquez praised the player's skills before the Utopian temple was checked for one final time in order to ensure no additional threats ensued. Luckily, there were no more threats. Meanwhile, Russell and his father finally settled their differences after all the years of separation and hatred. The Chief was also impressed by the player's leadership in her absence (per Amy's reports), so as a reward, she opted to transfer her entire team to the district of Rhine Canyon.

Victim

 * Tyler Snakes (murdered on the red carpet on Awards night)

Murder Weapon

 * Poisonous Cigarettes

Killer

 * Velma Bannister

Killer's Profile

 * The killer has seen A Puff of Death.
 * The killer takes Nevrax.
 * The killer is a Capricorn.
 * The killer has blonde hair.
 * The killer's blood type is A+.

Chapter 1

 * Investigate Red Carpet. (Clues: Victim's Body, Envelope, Photo of Velma)
 * Examine Photo of Velma. (Result: Velma's Message to Tyler)
 * Ask Velma Bannister about the photo she gave to the victim. (Prerequisite: Message on Velma's Photo unraveled)
 * Examine Envelope. (Result: Awards Building Plan; New Crime Scene: TV Room)
 * Investigate TV Room. (Clues: CCTV Terminal, Torn Poster, Victim's Badge)
 * Examine Torn Poster. (Result: Utopian Prophecy Poster)
 * Ask Brett Nolan about the Utopian Prophecy. (Prerequisite: Poster restored)
 * Examine CCTV Terminal. (Result: CCTV Control)
 * Analyze CCTV Control. (12:00:00)
 * Ask Jupiter Crane why he was kicked out of the Awards Theater. (Prerequisite: CCTV Control analyzed)
 * Analyze Victim's Badge. (06:00:00; Clue given: Molecule)
 * Examine Molecule. (Attribute: The killer takes Nevrax)
 * Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The killer has seen A Puff of Death)
 * Go to Chapter 2. (No stars)

Chapter 2

 * Investigate Utopian Temple. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; Clues: Shrine, Nevrax Box, Torn Photo)
 * Examine Shrine. (Result: Card)
 * Analyze Card. (06:00:00; Attribute: The killer is a Capricorn)
 * Examine Torn Photo. (Result: Photo of a verbal argument)
 * Ask Brett about his row with the victim. (Prerequisite: Photo restored)
 * Examine Nevrax Box. (Result: Doctor's ID)
 * Analyze Doctor's ID. (12:00:00)
 * Ask Dr. Neuman about the Nevrax box found in the Utopian Temple. (Prerequisite: Doctor's ID analyzed)
 * Investigate Theater Front Desk. (Prerequisite: Talk to Dr. Neuman; Clues: Faded Photo, Locked Phone)
 * Examine Faded Photo. (Result: Photograph)
 * Ask Jupiter Crane about his wife's photograph. (Prerequisite: Photograph unraveled)
 * Examine Locked Phone. (Result: Victim's Phone)
 * Analyze Victim's Phone. (12:00:00)
 * Ask Holly Hopper how she came back from the dead. (Prerequisite: Victim's Phone analyzed)
 * Go to Chapter 3. (No stars)

Chapter 3

 * Investigate Utopian Altar. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Torn Page, Faded Note, Holly's Purse)
 * Examine Torn Page. (Result: Experiments)
 * Analyze Experiments. (09:00:00)
 * Ask Dr. Neuman about the document found in the Utopian Temple. (Prerequisite: Experiments analyzed)
 * Examine Faded Note. (Result: Velma's Note)
 * Ask Velma about her argument with the victim. (Prerequisite: Velma's Note unraveled)
 * Examine Holly's Purse. (Result: Newspaper)
 * Ask Holly Hopper about her rivalry with the victim. (Prerequisite: Newspaper found)
 * Investigate Control Panels. (All tasks prior to this must be done first; Clues: Broadcasting Equipment, Capricorn Brooch)
 * Examine Broadcasting Equipment. (Result: Cigarette Case)
 * Analyze Cigarette Case. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer has blonde hair; Murder Weapon registered: Poisonous Cigarettes)
 * Examine Capricorn Brooch. (Result: Blood Sample)
 * Analyze Blood Sample. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer's blood type is A+)
 * Arrest Killer.
 * Go to Ivywood Confidential 8. (No stars)

Ivywood Confidential 8

 * Ask Dr. Neuman to reverse the brainwashing. (Available after unlocking Ivywood Confidential)
 * Investigate TV Room. (Prerequisite: Talk to Trevor; Clues: Locked Chest)
 * Examine Locked Chest. (Result: Videotape)
 * Examine Videotape. (Result: Brainwashing Movie)
 * Analyze Brainwashing Movie. (09:00:00)
 * Arrest Holly Hopper once and for all. (Prerequisite: Brainwashing Movie analyzed; Reward: Burger)
 * Investigate Red Carpet. (Prerequisite: Arrest Holly; Clues: Faded Script)
 * Examine Faded Script. (Result: Script Title)
 * Ask Brett about the script. (Prerequisite: Script Title unraveled; Reward: 20,000 Coins)
 * Investigate Utopian Temple. (Prerequisite: Arrest Holly; Clues: Holly's Belongings)
 * Examine Holly's Belongings. (Result: Letters)
 * Examine Letters. (Result: Letters to Russell)
 * Analyze Letters to Russell. (06:00:00)
 * Bring Jupiter and Russell back together. (Prerequisite: Letters analyzed; Reward: Red Carpet Suit)
 * Investigate Next Case. (1 star)

Trivia

 * The Ivywood Film Awards is most likely a parody of the Hollywood Film Awards, an American motion picture award ceremony held annually since 1997.
 * This is one of the various cases in which Amy and Frank interact with each other.
 * This is one of the several cases in which more than one suspect gets arrested.
 * This case is one of the only district finales which entirely feature familiar suspects.
 * The Additional Investigation chapter is named differently in this case, as with all other cases of Ivywood Hills. In this case, the chapter is dubbed "Ivywood Confidential 8".
 * This case is currently unavailable for play on the iOS version of the game.