Archie Rochester

Archibald "Archie" Rochester, also known as Mr Alastor, was a suspect in four murder investigations and a quasi-suspect in two other cases before being murdered in Tipping the Scales (Case #51 of Mysteries of the Past).

Profile
Archie was the 19-year-old Rochester heir. He had chocolate brown hair and wore glasses. He donned a black suit jacket with cranberry red lapels and a red peony in his breast pocket and a white buttoned shirt with a red bow tie underneath.

As per his first suspect appearance, Archie was right-handed, had contact with horses and was asthmatic.

In his second suspect appearance, he had a gold and green brooch on his suit, and was discovered to sniff tobacco, play billiards and eat caviar.

In his third suspect appearance, he sported a dark gray top hat with red feathers. He donned a dark gray jacket over a white shirt and a pastel blue striped tie. He was also revealed to eat macarons and use sunscreen.

In his fourth suspect appearance, he reverted back to his second suspect appearance, and was noted to drink sangria, read Edgar Allan Poe and know clockworks.

In all of his quasi-suspect appearances, he would don the outfit from his third suspect appearance, minus the top hat.

Sweet Revenge
Archie was first spoken to by Isaac and the player upon finding a book that was dedicated to him by the victim. Archie was shocked when he found out that Jack was dead because he considered him a friend. When asked about the book, Archie said that Jack gave him the book so that he could become "more like him", Jack said that Archie had potential even if he was shy.

Archie was later spoken to again regarding the presence of his cough syrup in Jack's system. Archie said that he put cough syrup in Jack's drink so that he would show his true colors and make a fool of himself. He said that Jack dumped him after finding out that he didn't like all the things that he liked, like partying. Wentworth, Archie's valet, then came in and gave Archie his nebulizer, fearing that he would have an asthma attack and prevented Isaac and the player from interrogating him any further.

Archie was later found innocent after they incarcerated Violetta Blue for Jack's murder.

Behind the Mask
Archie became a suspect again after the player and Isaac heard from his valet, Wentworth, that the party was taking place at his mansion. Though he rented the place out to Alastor, he was given a letter with the request and he acquiesced. He was enjoying having all these people around, almost like he was actually having friends over. He was already aware of George Buchanan's murder, but he said he never knew him.

Archie was spoken to again about a newspaper saying the victim was accused of slander by the Rochester family. He said he was not responsible, and could not give two hoots about his family's grudges. But besides that, Archie explained the victim dug some dirt on his late Uncle Monty while he was alive, but he said George was not the first.

Archie was found innocent again after it was revealed that Wentworth was behind George's murder. But after that, Isaac and Justin Lawson came to the conclusion that Wentworth committed the murder for Archie, which meant he was Alastor. Justin went with the player to confirm it, but Archie ended up denying it. They decided to look for some evidence linking Archie to Alastor, and after some searching, they found a gift sent to Giulietta Capecchi from Alastor, and from there they found the gift was purchased by Archie.

It was at that point that Archie confessed he was Mr Alastor, responsible for organizing the parties, as well as the murders within them. He had already made the identity so society would flock to him, but when he saw Giulietta he thought he could woo her by killing off those who wronged her, since she is the daughter of a mobster. Despite remaining unconvinced that Giulietta would not love him, Justin and the player arrested him for his crimes, but Archie insisted he did not kill anyone, especially thanks to Wentworth. Later, a report came from Chief Wright that Archie was released due to a lack of definitive evidence, and he was sent abroad so nothing more could be done for him.

Get Off Your High Horse
Archie became a suspect for a third time after he greeted Isaac and the player at the Ascroft Races, revealing he had returned from Switzerland. After being informed of the murder, he said that he last saw her at his family's department store, leading Isaac and the player to investigate there.

Archie was spoken to again about a romantic dedication the victim left for him. He explained that, while the victim was in love with him, he did not feel the same way, saying that common girls were too much trouble for him. After Giulietta, he explained that only a thoroughbred woman would do for him.

Archie was found to be innocent a third time after the team incarcerated Eliza Rheinberg for Anna's murder. But he was later spoken to by Diego and the player about the Concordia Telephone Company. He said that the bonds were an excellent investment, and that many people were buying them in the Grand Enclosure. However, when asked about how the bonds actually worked, he said that he didn't bother himself with boring details.

The Heart of the Matter
Archie became a suspect yet again after Isaac and the player identified his asthma medication on a reworking of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven". When asked if he saw the victim at the party, he denied seeing her as it was a masked ball. However, he said he wouldn't have recognized her if she was wearing a mask or not, before revealing his disdain for her. He was later involved in an altercation with Elisa Melody, resulting in him being punched.

Archie was spoken to again about a clock tower sketch on which he wrote a threat to the victim. He explained that the clock tower was to be built for the city center as his way to saw thank you to Concordia for welcoming him home. However, Sandra had denied its creation, saying it wasn't what the city needed. He then complained that no one appreciated his genius.

Archie was found to be innocent for a fourth time after the team incarcerated Larry Rochester for Sandra's murder.

The Machiavellian Candidate
After the murder investigation of Lissa Avery, new deputy mayor Justin Lawson came to the Concordian Flying Squad. Justin said that Archie had requested to become his advisor, and was concerned he was sent by his family to spy on him, due to him not being fond of the family. The team then went to discuss with Mayor Castletown, who stated that in order to be the deputy mayor's advisor, the candidate would have to have a law degree.

After finding a supposed degree from Geneva University in Switzerland, Diego investigated the degree and confirmed that the degree was not fake. This forced Justin to accept Archie's request as his advisor. Justin seemed very suspicious of him, but Archie assured that he only wanted to get to know him.

Murder details
Cleaning maid Sarah Brown discovered Archie's body in the courthouse, split into two and placed on the scales of justice. Per Dick, the killer used chloroform to subdue the victim and then immediately sliced him in half with a handsaw. Considering that sawing bones was a strengthening task, and because the body was transported to the crime scene, the team concluded that the killer was physically fit.

Killer and motives
The killer turned out to be education lobbyist Samson Drake.

Upon admitting to the murder, Samson claimed the murder was a message to Archie's father, Senator Malcolm Rochester. He said that Malcolm promised him that he would be the education minister of the New Concordia Republic, but he found out that the Republic would only have schools for the rich to make the masses easier to govern. Realizing what his ambitions made him do, Samson realized he needed to send a message to the Senator. He then put Swiss chloroform in Archie's inhaler, subduing him enough to saw him in half with a handsaw. He then carried the body to the courthouse, displaying his body on the scales to tell Malcolm his just punishment for his plans for the Republic would befall him. Judge Takakura sentenced him to life in prison.

Trivia

 * Archie is one of the characters to appear as a suspect in four cases.
 * Archie is one of the characters to physically appear in three districts in Mysteries of the Past.

Case appearances

 * Let Me Down Gently (Case #7 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * The Talking Dead (Case #8 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Sweet Revenge (Case #9 of Mysteries of the Past)
 * Let Her Eat Cake (Case #10 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * That Sinking Feeling (Case #11 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Behind the Mask (Case #12 of Mysteries of the Past)
 * Breaking the Glass Ceiling (Case #13 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Out of Steam (Case #15 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Monkey Business (Case #16 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Blue Blazes (Case #21 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Civil Blood (Case #32 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Get Off Your High Horse (Case #40 of Mysteries of the Past)
 * The Heart of the Matter (Case #42 of Mysteries of the Past)
 * The Machiavellian Candidate (Case #49 of Mysteries of the Past)
 * The Swan Song (Case #50 of Mysteries of the Past)
 * Tipping the Scales (Case #51 of Mysteries of the Past)