Charles Dupont


 * "Charles" and "Charlie" redirect here. For the botanist, see Charles Parker. For the moonshine dealer, see Charlie Watchbird.

Charles Armand "Charlie" Dupont is a main character featured in Season 4 of Criminal Case, where he serves as the Inventor of the Concordian Flying Squad.

Profile
27 years of age, Charles has green eyes, blond hair, and a blond mustache. He wears a beige vest over a white shirt and a red striped necktie. He also wears golden glasses, a magnifying device on his head, a strap, and a pouch strapped onto his left forearm.

Charles is known to be enthusiastic and reckless. Because of his childlike optimism, he is more prone to overly trust others. He enjoys playing horseshoes, reading the works of Jules Verne, and inventing many objects, which he often does in his tenure in the Concordian Flying Squad.

It is known that he is friends with Wilhelm Röntgen, discoverer of X-rays, and Louis Pasteur, renowned microbiologist.

Per his first suspect appearance, it is known that Charlie is right-handed and rides a bone-shaker. He also does not wear his tie during the events of the case.

Meeting Charles
Charles was first mentioned in The Darkest Hour when his great-grandson Armand Dupont asked the player to find his notebook, where Charles had narrated his adventure with an agent who happened to have much the same characteristics as the player. Dupont, on his deathbed, then entrusted the notebook to the player.

In the notebook, the story began with Charles and Maddie welcoming the aforementioned agent to the city of Concordia in the late 19th century.

Behind the Mask
After discovering George Buchanan's killer, Charlie requested to speak with the player and Maddie. He explained that while Maddie was drunk from absinthe, she ended up taking a piece of equipment from his lab, and it was vital to the machine he and Dick were making for the World Exhibition. Since the deadline to submit it was today, Maddie and the player decided to search the pool, as that was where Maddie last remembered having it.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling
After arresting Norah Barnlow's killer, Viola requested the player's help with finding a missing case filled with bodily fluids. They found it by the ferris wheel, and she found Charlie's fingerprints on the case. When confronted about this, he first tried to dodge the subject, but he later explained he borrowed some of her sample for the DNA machine he and Dick were working on for the World Exhibition. Though he was not intending to keep the samples, he did end up misplacing the case by accident, so Viola and the player decided to leave Charlie with a warning for now.

Electrical Hazard
Having heard of the saboteur previously, Charlie was worried about everything that has happened in the exhibition. Maddie offered him to come with her and the player to the Exhibition Hall, where they discovered the body of Arnold Nottingham. After processing the initial scene, Charlie believed he was the saboteur, wanting to wreak havoc after the Luddites' leader was incarcerated. After which, Charlie returned to the airship, only for Maddie and the player to be informed later that he got into a fight with the Luddites.

Due to his hatred of the Luddites, and the victim being a Luddite, they had no other choice but to treat him as a suspect in Arnold's murder. Maddie was surprised he was so willing to get into a fight with them, but Charlie explained he wanted to convince them with rational arguments, but they barely listened to him. But he was convinced they were the ones behind everything wrong at the Exhibition, as well as the sabotage. Considering the timing, Maddie informed him he was to be suspended until the investigation was over, much to Charlie's shock saying he would never hurt anyone.

Charlie was spoken to again after they found a locket with the picture of Susie Nottingham, the victim's daughter, in his toolbox. He explained he met her at the Brass Compass last week, and he fell in love with her. It came as a surprise to him it was mutual, as pretty girls do not usually give him a second glance. For their first date, he invited her to the Inventor's Hall, meaning he was the gentleman Susie mentioned previously who gave her chocolate. When it was suggested that her Luddite father would not approve of this, Charlie said he was not there at the time, he did not even know who he was when they found him. The only reason he did not tell them earlier was because he felt it was his personal life.

In the end, and much to Charlie's shock, he was found innocent after the team incarcerated Susie Nottingham for Arnold's murder.

Death is a Cabaret
After discovering the Scarlet Slayer's true identity, Charlie requested the player's help immediately. He said he just lost his entire life-savings; he was speaking to someone when they informed him a prince from the African monarchy of Mazunda had been kidnapped. They said they needed money and he would be repaid once he was free, but it was all gone. When asked who took it, he traced them to the cabaret but lost them after that.

After following their lead and receiving help from Diego del Lobo, Maddie and the player managed to find the crook's radiotelegraph and were working on finding his money. Charlie was thankful to them for finding it, and swore to be more careful when he was talking to strangers on his radiotelegraph.

Little Murder on the Prairie
Midway through the investigation into Benjamin Galls' murder, the team got reports that Charlie was in trouble with the victim's daughter, Adaline Galls. He had tried to convince her to try his cow milking machine, but Adaline did not want his help and threatened him with a shotgun. Luckily, Isaac and the player arrived in time to settle the situation before things got out of hand.

After arresting Benjamin's killer, Charlie needed the player's and Maddie's help. He explained he wanted to demonstrate his milking machine, to help Adaline and her grandmother with the workload on the farm. However, in the heat of the moment, he ended up dropping his machine at the farm, so Maddie and the player decided to look for it. Once they found it and Charlie made sure it worked, they went back to speak with Adaline. In the end, Charlie managed to get through to her about the machine, and on top of that ended up going on a date with Maddie.

Death Comes to Lunch
After arresting Clarissa Rochester's killer, Charles asked the player to accompany him to talk to Maddie as he wanted to ask her if he could move in with her after being evicted. As Maddie was still hungover, she asked them to get her some Ginger Storm, a fizzy refreshment that would cure her hangover. After curing her hangover, Charles then asked Maddie if he could move in with her, to which she agreed. Maddie then helped the player and Charles look for his gift to her. The player was able to fix Charles' key rack, symbolizing the two becoming roommates.

Talk of the Town
After the arrest of Hector Harvey, Eileen demanded that Charles propose to Maddie to spare her from scandal. Fearing that Maddie's reputation would suffer, Charles agreed to the proposal. Charles and the player then went to the Grand Concordia Hotel to find Eileen's great-grandmother's ring for the proposal. After finding the ring, Charles attempted to ask Maddie to marry him. However, Maddie rejected his proposal and berated him for allowing her mother to get into his head. They then went to confront Eileen for her interfering behavior. Maddie then told her mother that Charles was to move from the spare bedroom to hers, before the two kissed, causing Eileen to leave in a huff. Maddie and Charles then invited the player to join them at the hotel pool.

After their date, Maddie and Charles found out that the Concordia Telephone Company, whose bonds Leopold Rochester endorsed, was merely a scam set up by Joseph Pryor and his partner. To prevent another financial crisis due to this, Charles volunteered to make the company a real enterprise with the help of the money the Squad confiscated from Leopold, as long as Diego helped him with the finance.

Turn for the Worse
During the murder investigation of Lynn Hart, Charles accidentally made Maddie disappear and asked the player for their help. She was soon released thanks to the help of Evie and berated Charles for his reckless actions. After arresting Lynn Hart's killer, Charles, accompanied with the player, asked Harold Coppersmith to teach him some magic tricks. After finding a magic box, Charles was able to impress Maddie with some magic tricks in order to ask for her forgiveness. His attempts worked and Maddie forgave him.

Tipping the Scales
After arresting Archie Rochester's killer, Charles asked the player for their help. He said that he was worried about Maddie as she had fainted earlier that day and complained about feeling unwell. After following her to the Rochester warehouse, they found a broken bottle stained with blood which, per Viola, confirmed that the blood belonged to Maddie and that she was pregnant. Charles and the player then talked to Maddie, who explained that she had known about the pregnancy for a while and had gone to the warehouse to break her last bottle as Dick had told her that she wouldn't be able to drink for a while. The two then assured each other that they would be excellent parents and hoped that their baby would get the both of them.

A Study in Pink
After all the events, Maddie said that she and Charlie were engaged and that they were to be married soon.

Analyses
As the Inventor of the Concordian Flying Squad, Charles has the responsibility of analyzing various devices and inventions, along with inventing numerous objects, and to inform the team of such results after a certain amount of time or a speed-up process using Criminal Case Cash. His task-wait rates vary depending on the difficulty of the task, but they all cost 1 Criminal Case Cash per 30 minutes.

Below is the list of analyses Charles performs throughout the course of the game:

Case #1: Welcome to Concordia!
 * Strange Device (12:00:00)
 * Control Panel (06:00:00)

Case #4: A Murder Carol
 * Strange Device (06:00:00)

Case #5: Shear Murder
 * Unknown Device (12:00:00)

Case #7: Let Me Down Gently
 * Open Box (12:00:00)
 * Chain (12:00:00)
 * Dolly's Belt (09:00:00)

Case #8: The Talking Dead
 * Spirit Board (12:00:00)
 * Painting (09:00:00)

Case #9: Sweet Revenge
 * Chess Pieces (06:00:00)

Case #10: Let Her Eat Cake
 * Strange Machine (06:00:00)

Case #11: That Sinking Feeling
 * Broken Device (12:00:00)
 * Gigantic Blueprint (06:00:00)

Case #12: Behind the Mask
 * Machine Part (09:00:00)
 * Hair (06:00:00)

Case #13: Breaking the Glass Ceiling
 * Paper Thread (09:00:00)

Case #14: Checkmate
 * Formula (03:00:00)
 * Film Reel (03:00:00)

Case #15: Out of Steam
 * Calculations (09:00:00)

Case #16: Monkey Business
 * Strange Device (09:00:00)
 * Camera (06:00:00)

Case #17: Electrical Hazard
 * Telegraph Machine (06:00:00)

Case #18: The Higher You Rise
 * Automaton (09:00:00)

Case #26: Giving up the Ghost
 * Phonograph Cylinder (09:00:00)

Case #27: Little Murder on the Prairie
 * Cow Milking Machine (09:00:00)

Case #29: Blood Bath
 * Charred Cans (12:00:00)
 * Metal Dishware (06:00:00)

Case #31: Bridge over Troubled Water
 * Odd Contraption (15:00:00)
 * Spying Device (06:00:00)

Case #32: Civil Blood
 * Glove (06:00:00)

Case #33: Hold Your Tongue
 * Telegraph Machine (06:00:00)

Case #37: Death Comes to Lunch
 * Recording Device (09:00:00)

Case #38: Stockbroken
 * Device (09:00:00)

Case #39: Apprehend Me If You're Able
 * Film Reel (06:00:00)

Case #44: Graveyard Shift
 * Recording Device (09:00:00)

Case #45: Doctor, Interrupted
 * Audio Cylinder (09:00:00)

Case #46: Turn for the Worse
 * Magic Box (06:00:00)

Case #47: Doom Service
 * Unknown Machine (06:00:00)

Case #48: Unsafe Haven
 * Blood (09:00:00)

Case #49: The Machiavellian Candidate
 * Film Reel (09:00:00)

Case #53: A Family Affair
 * Unknown Machine (06:00:00)

Gameplay
The player may choose Charles to join the investigation of each crime scene (in any Mysteries of the Past case) and provide hint bonuses. He is available as a 5-hint partner. (This feature is only available in the mobile variant of Criminal Case.)

Trivia

 * Charles is one of the few characters to physically appear in two different seasons.
 * Charles is one of the characters who animate (or move) during at least one cutscene in the game.
 * Charles is one of the main characters who were flagged as a suspect for plausible reasons.
 * Charles is one of the characters to appear as a quasi-suspect four times.
 * In Blood Bath, when Charles is supposed to be sent the charred cans for analysis, it is shown as being sent to Evie instead. This is most likely a developer oversight.