Off with Their Heads

Off With Their Heads is a case featured in Criminal Case as the one-hundred seventeenth case of the game. It is the second case of the game's World Edition (Season 3) and also the second case to take place in Europe.

Plot
Chief Ripley was bothered about Armand Dupont's finding about a manuscript used as a vehicle for a murder previously. The lead led to France, given that an auction used for a death threat for Enid Grimshaw to commit the involuntary murder previously. Ripley wanted the player to protect Annette Sommeur (Pretty Fair's editor-in-chief) from any violence resulting from the bid of such manuscript at the Hall of Mirrors inside Versailles with Carmen Martinez. Ripley warned the player about Carmen being mentally tough, so they should be prepared at all times.

Tough luck hit the player and Carmen as Annette was found beheaded by a guillotine (which was confirmed to be the murder weapon by Angela Douglas) in the Hall of Mirrors. There were many uncooperative suspects in the investigation, but what mattered the most was a quasi-architect named Constantin Perrier being found guilty of manslaughter after evidence pointed him out as the killer.

Constantin hated Carmen's sudden accusation of homicide, but the journalist-turned-detective took time to snap at him with the player's findings during the murder investigation. Constantin tried to pin the murder at Grace Goude (in which she hated Ms. Sommeur's guts) but Carmen continued her brow-beating at Constantin for the homicide. Money was the key reason as to why Constantin beheaded Annette as he wanted to live his life like a royal instead of looking after historic properties for a living. The same organization that threatened Enid to kill Prince Albert previously or else offered Constantin a high sum of money if he was able to execute Annette and steal the manuscript for that organization's retrieval. Carmen wanted to know who the party offered Constantin money for blood, but Constantin refrained from saying a word relaying a suspicion Carmen has about an organization having manuscripts for benefit. Constantin only did it for money, and recalled nothing about the theft of the manuscript, but knowing an audit was necessary, Carmen opted to ship Constantin to Judge Adaku for the meantime.

The last time Judge Adaku heard of guillotine use was 38 years ago before events of this game, but Constantin took advantage of the guillotine being in the Hall of Mirrors to execute Annette for money. Judge Adaku threw some Camus beliefs that "no cause justifies the deaths of innocent people", so with those words spoken, Judge Adaku sentenced Perrier to 25 years in jail.

Carmen had to interrogate Constantin as she promised to the player for clues as to where he hid the manuscript at. All Carmen knew was that the same group of people who threatened Enid to kill Prince Albert or else used a torn page from the manuscript Constantin seized. Money was the reason why Constantin opted to return the manuscript to the wrong hands, so she had to initiate the audit and as long as this group was on the loose, given more lives would be a risk. All Constantin remembered was that he left the manuscript at the Louvre gardens, but could not remember the exact spot. The moment Carmen and the player found what Constantin stole, they required Armand's intervention to decipher as to why the manuscript happened to be important to Perrier.

All Armand knew was the manuscript was the source in which a threat to Enid was from. A cult called the Promethians (which was extinct long ago) engaged in human sacrifice for benefit, to which Carmen assumed that the murder orders came from. Armand was not good at decrypting, so it took intervention from Jacqueline Proust to decode the whole thing. All Proust knew that tomorrow something bad would happen in Germany, but she needed the manuscript to continue her work. Carmen refused to let Proust keep the manuscript since it was evidence against the fraternity that ordered the two murders (including this one), but with the Bureau's permission, Proust made copies of the manuscript so she could keep it and share her findings with the agency. Meanwhile Sofia of Girona was caught in between the fiasco as Carmen and the player caught a couple of findings implicating her and Grace of the wrongdoings behind the scenes due to her wanting to run a right-wing faction in Spain.

All Chief Ripley wanted out of the player is the neutralization of the Promethian Cult which was thought to be extinct, but still going strong. The town of Bierburg was an easy target given the Oktoberfest celebrations, so the player had to head to Germany for the next call with whoever Chief Ripley wanted as the player's partner in the next case.

Victim

 * Annette Sommeur (found decapitated by a guillotine)

Murder Weapon

 * Guillotine

Killer

 * Constantin Perrier

Killer's Profile

 * The killer eats camembert.
 * The killer smokes.
 * The killer reads French philosophy.
 * The killer wears a black beret.
 * The killer wears a Fleur de Lys brooch.

Chapter 1

 * Investigate Hall of Mirrors. (Clues: Victim’s Body, Business Card, Antique Chest)
 * Examine Business Card. (Result: Card Details; New Suspect: Grace Goude)
 * Talk to Grace Goude about the victim’s photoshoot. (Prerequisite: Card Details unraveled; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Boutique)
 * Investigate Boutique. (Prerequisite: Talk to Grace Goude; Clues: Champagne Bottle, Torn Cardboard)
 * Examine Champagne Bottle. (Result: Champagne Label)
 * Analyze Champagne Label. (09:00:00; New Suspect: Sofia of Girona)
 * Ask Sofia of Girona about the champagne she offered to the victim. (Prerequisite: Champagne Label analyzed)
 * Examine Torn Cardboard. (Result: Cardboard Cut-out)
 * Examine Cardboard Cut-out. (New Suspect: Jacqueline Proust)
 * Talk to Jacqueline Proust about her autograph for the victim. (Prerequisite: Cardboard Cut-out identified)
 * Examine Antique Chest. (Result: Camera)
 * Analyze Camera. (06:00:00; Attribute: The killer smokes)
 * Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Murder Weapon registered: Guillotine; Attribute: The killer eats camembert)
 * Go to Chapter 2. (No stars)

Chapter 2

 * Investigate Louvre Gardens. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; Clues: Luggage, Bloody Note, Faded Article)
 * Examine Luggage. (Result: Wig; New Suspect: Marcel Robin)
 * Question Marcel Robin about his Annette Sommeur wig. (Prerequisite: Wig found)
 * Examine Bloody Note. (Result: Blood)
 * Analyze Blood. (12:00:00; Attribute: The killer reads French Philosophy)
 * Examine Faded Article. (Result: Article Headline; New Suspect: Constantin Perrier)
 * Ask Constantin Perrier about his connection to the victim. (Prerequisite: Article Headline unraveled)
 * Investigate Cafe Table. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Faded Coffee Cup, Clothes on Sale)
 * Examine Faded Coffee Cup. (Result: Coffee Cup Message)
 * Talk to Grace about her message to the victim. (Prerequisite: Coffee Cup Message unraveled)
 * Examine Clothes on Sale. (Result: Torn Paper)
 * Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Magazine Cover)
 * Question Sofia about the “Pretty Fair” cover. (Prerequisite: Magazine Cover restored)
 * Go to Chapter 3. (No stars)

Chapter 3

 * Ask Jacqueline about the manuscript. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3)
 * Investigate Fountain. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Torn Silk, Locked Smartphone)
 * Examine Torn Silk. (Result: Silk Scarf)
 * Examine Silk Scarf. (Result: White Substance)
 * Analyze White Substance. (09:00:00)
 * Talk to Marcel about the victim’s torn silk scarf. (Prerequisite: White Substance analyzed)
 * Examine Locked Smartphone. (Result: Unlocked Smartphone)
 * Question Constantin about his text message to the victim. (Prerequisite: Smartphone unlocked)
 * Investigate Antique Table. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Philosophy Book, Instant Photo)
 * Examine Philosophy Book. (Result: Black Fuzz)
 * Analyze Black Fuzz. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears black beret)
 * Examine Instant Photo. (Result: Strange Symbol)
 * Analyze Symbol. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears Fleur De Lys broche)
 * Take care of the killer now!
 * Go to Europe in Crisis 2. (No stars)

Europe in Crisis 2

 * Question Constantin about the whereabouts of the manuscript. (Available after unlocking Europe in Crisis)
 * Investigate Louvre Gardens. (Prerequisite: Talk to Constantin Perrier; Clues: Wheelbarrow)
 * Examine Wheelbarrow. (Result: Locked Manuscript)
 * Examine Locked Manuscript. (Result: Unlocked Manuscript)
 * Analyze Unlocked Manuscript. (09:00:00)
 * Ask Jacqueline about the decryption tool. (Prerequisite: Unlocked Manuscript analyzed ; Reward: Burger)
 * Investigate Hall of Mirrors. (Available after unlocking Europe in Crisis; Clues: Cigarette Case)
 * Examine Cigarette Case. (Result: Orange Substance)
 * Analyze Orange Substance. (06:00:00)
 * See what Grace was doing on the crime scene. (Prerequisite: Orange Substance analyzed; Reward: French Beret)
 * Investigate Boutique. (Prerequisite: Talk to Grace Goude; Clues: Faded Note)
 * Examine Faded Note. (Result: Sofia’s Signature)
 * Quesiotn Sofia about her request for a photoshoot. (Prerequisite: Sofia’s Signature unraveled; Reward:  20,000 Coins)
 * Move on to the next case! (1 star)

Trivia

 * The case's name is an allusion to the Queen of Hearts's quote, "Off with her head!" from Alice in Wonderland.
 * This case is one of the cases in which the killer has to be interrogated once again during the Additional Investigation.
 * When Constantin Perrier gets arrested by the player for homicide, his profile changes from his normal clothes to prison clothing to denote that per the game's canon, he was interrogated moments after his arrest to find leads as to why Europe has been embezzled in a series of violence per Chief Ripley.