Ashes to Ashes

Ashes to Ashes (Case #55) is the fifty-fifth case of the game.

Case Background
Tess Goodwin was reported on the loose following Ramirez's news about the convict escaping from jail. Inspector Jones, along with the player and Astrid (the dog Jones took care of at Margaret Littlewood's request) found Tess burnt to death at the stake at the Nautical Museum.

The team surprisingly received a letter from Tess to consult Constance Bell to investigate the docks in the natural harbor as it was in 1649, the year in which Mary Goodwin was executed. Constance agreed to help the team (appearing to be more cooperative as opposed to her Historical Center appearances) through the power of storytelling as if Mary was to be executed by a burning stake in 1649. Constance politely gave the artifacts from the library's archives to the team provided that it was of significance, and alas determined that Mary's execution was linked to Tess's murder. After tedious investigation, Luna Hecate, a modern-day witchcraft practitioner of Grimsborough, was incriminated to be Tess's killer.

Luna found out that Tess spent hours in the detention center's library trying to study how her ancestor died and couldn't afford to let Tess get away with it. Luna mailed a pendulum to Tess's detention cell so Tess could hypnotize the guards and escape. Luna's plan went well as she was able to corner Tess in the Nautical Museum (which looked like a pilgrim ship in the past). Luna tied Tess the same way Mary was tied up and then killed Tess the same way Mary was murdered in 1649. Luna admitted that she was a member of the Crimson Order, but she refused to out the name of the leader as her family had been Crimson Order members for generations, alas the Hecates were very good in keeping secrets.

In court, Luna stated that she did the city a favor but the Judge countered that Tess's guilt didn't warrant a murder, which were grounds for a 25-year jail sentence for Luna.

Towards the end of this case, the team finally solved the big puzzle--why Chief Samuel King committed suicide. King would do anything in order to protect his granddaughter Cathy from the notorious Crimson Order. He knew he was soon to be arrested by the team after committing the murder of socialite Adam Bentley. He knew if the team caught him alive, the Crimson Order would kill him after executing Cathy just like they executed his wife Donna back in 2004 to prevent King from quitting the Crimson Order. Thus, King was afraid that if he ever talked, he would be passing harm to himself and his granddaughter. For this reason, Chief King shot himself to death, to protect Cathy, for she was all he had.

The team, at the finale of the case, couldn't risk telling all of this to Cathy since she would probably come to them looking for answers, and thus requested Constance to keep this secret until they could finally put an end to the Crimson Order.

Although the team solved the big puzzle, they were still left with two more tasks to complete: to find out why King murdered Adam and to unmask the Crimson Order's leader.

Victim

 * Tess Goodwin (died burnt at the stake)

Murder Weapon

 * Bonfire

Killer

 * Luna Hecate

Killer's Profile

 * The killer knows witchcraft.
 * The killer has scratch marks.
 * The killer owns a black cat.
 * The killer's blood type is A-.
 * The killer has blond hair.

Chapter 1

 * Investigate Ship Replica. (Clues: Victim's Body, Pile of Ashes, Burning Planks)
 * Autopsy Body. (18:00:00; Murder Weapon found: Bonfire; Attribute: Killer has scratch marks)
 * Stop Rebecca Moire from taking pictures. (Prerequisite: Play Ship Replica as a task; New Clue: Rebecca's Memory Card)
 * Analyze Memory Card. (09:00:00; Prerequisite: Stop Rebecca from taking pics)
 * Ask Luna Hecate about her interest in Tess Goodwin. (Prerequisite: Memory Card analyzed)
 * Examine Pile of Ashes. (Result: Bones)
 * Analyze Bones. (00:05:00; Attribute: Killer knows Witchcraft)
 * Examine Burning Planks. (Result: Locket of Tess and Morgan)
 * Talk to Morgan Goodwin about her sister. (Prerequisite: Tess and Morgan Locket found)
 * Investigate Warden's Office. (Prerequisite: Conversation with Morgan Goodwin; Clues: Computer)
 * Examine Computer. (Result: Tess's escape from prison)
 * Talk to Milton Grimmes about Tess's escape from prison. (Prerequisite: Tess's escape examined)
 * Go to Chapter 2. (1 star)

Chapter 2

 * Ask Constance about Tess's Letter. (Available at start of chapter)
 * Investigate Docks, 1649. (Prerequisite: Talk to Constance; Clues: Rope, Faded Records)
 * Examine Faded Records. (Result: Execution Order)
 * Examine Execution Records. (Result: Black Hair)
 * Analyze Black Hair. (06:00:00; Attribute: Killer has a Black Cat)
 * Examine Rope. (Result: Skin Cells)
 * Analyze Skin Cells. (15:00:00)
 * Investigate Desk. (Prerequisite: Skin Cells analyzed; Clues: Torn Newspaper, Tess's Belongings)
 * Examine Tess's Belongings. (Result: Letters)
 * Examine Letters. (Result: Fan Letters)
 * Ask Rebecca about the Fan Letters. (Prerequisite: Fan Letters unraveled)
 * Examine Torn Newspaper. (Result: Articles)
 * Ask Milton Grimmes about the newspaper article. (Prerequisite: Articles restored)
 * Go to Chapter 3. (1 star)

Chapter 3

 * Investigate Drop-Off Point, 1649. (Available at start of chapter; Clues: Ancestor Papers)
 * Ask Morgan about the notes from her ancestor. (Prerequisite: Play Drop-off Point, 1649 as a task)
 * Examine Ancestor Papers. (Result: Notes)
 * Talk to Luna about her family's involvement with the Crimson Order. (Prerequisite: Notes unraveled)
 * Investigate Ship Entrance. (Prerequisites: Talk to Luna and Morgan; Clues: Garbage Bag, Broken Badge)
 * Examine Broken Badge. (Result: Prisoner Tag)
 * Examine Prisoner Tag. (Result: Blood)
 * Analyze Blood. (09:00:00; Attribute: Killer's Blood Type is A-)
 * Examine Garbage Bag. (Result: Burned Matches)
 * Examine Burned Matches. (Result: Matchsticks)
 * Analyze Matchsticks. (15:00:00; Attribute: Killer has Blond Hair)
 * Arrest Killer.
 * Go to Additional Investigation. (No stars)

Additional Investigation

 * Analyze Tape Recordings. (09:00:00; Clue: Audio Tape)
 * Examine Audio Tape. (Result: Voice Recordings)
 * Talk to Morgan Goodwin about the cassette. (Prerequisite: Voice Recording deciphered; Reward: Burger)
 * Investigate Warden's Office. (Available from start; Clues: Box of Records)
 * Examine Box of Records. (Result: Killer's File)
 * Examine Killer's File. (Result: Kolinksky's File)
 * Ask Milton Grimmes about Shane Kolinsky. (Prerequisite: Kolinksky's File Restored; Reward: [MALE] Wizard's Hat, Wizard's Robe, [FEMALE] Witch Hat, Witch Dress)
 * Ask for Constance Bell's permission to look into her files. (Must complete Morgan Goodwin's and Milton Grimmes's legs before doing this task!)
 * Examine Nautical Museum Plan. (Prerequisite: Talk to Constance; Result: Nautical Museum Plan)
 * Investigate Ship Replica. (Prerequisite: Nautical Museum Plan unraveled; Clues: Cryptex)
 * Examine Cryptex. (Result: Hidden Letter)
 * Tell Constance Bell about your discoveries. (Prerequisite: Chief King's letter examined; Reward: 18,000 Coins)
 * Investigate Next Case. (1 star)

Trivia

 * The case's name is a reference to David Bowie's famous song "Ashes to Ashes".
 * In the crime scene, "Warden Office", you can see a collectible object called "White Mask", which strongly resembles V for Vendetta's mask.
 * In the crime scene, "Desk", you can spot the face of Mikhail Levin on the "Wanted" poster pinned to the wooden box beside the desk.
 * When you examine the box of records found at Milton's office, you can spot photos of Tyler McAlister, Trish Colletti and Esteban Vallez from A Deadly Game, The Grim Butcher, and One Wedding and a Funeral.
 * This case, The Final Journey, Murder on Campus, At the End of the Rope, An Elementary Murder, The Rorschach Reaper, and Cloudy with a Chance of Murder are the only cases that include only one male suspect.