Locked-Room Mystery is the first Forensics level in Trauma Team.
Story[]
This is the first job that Naomi Kimishima is sent to do while working with Navel after their 'reunion'. When she first arrives at the scene, the police officers report to her what they know seems like an open and shut case of suicide with the fire happening shortly after by coincidence. While they are talking, Naomi's phone rings and gets the last words of the dead. With the words of frustration, she realizes that the man didn't die because of suicide. He was murdered.
When the body is first examined by Naomi at the CIFM, she sees the index finger on the right hand that is twisted in a weird direction, which was caused by a fracture. The player gets quizzed about it, the question, "The corpse's index finger was bent in an odd direction. This was caused by...", the correct answer is, "a fracture." If you don't know what the answer is to the quiz, you can cancel the quiz and answer it later. Naomi also finds a weird flower-shaped bruise on the torso of the body. Naomi also finds the slashed wrist in which the policemen were talking about, assumed to be the cause of Dennis' death, but Naomi believes that the slashed wrist had something weird about it. The reason is that the wound was made with such proficiency, that it only took one try to hit the artery. The fact is that if Dennis tried to cut his wrist, he would have reacted to the pain, flinched and tried again. The player receives another quiz, the question being about, "Let's consider the slash wound on the wrist. If the victim did commit suicide in this way, the wound is odd in that..." The correct answer ended up being, "There were no signs of pain reaction to the wound."
Naomi also later finds petechia or red specks in the eyes which she can then consult with "Little Guy" about. The player gets quizzed again, the question being, "The abnormality that I noticed in the corpse's eyes was..." The correct answer is, "Red spots in the eyes." Later, "Little Guy," tells Naomi that petechia is a usual sign of asphyxiation or suffocation and "Little Guy" also comes in with the results of the knife, and finds out that the knife is a common brand sold all over the country. However, the blood on it is definitely the victim's, with no other fingerprints than his own on the handle, either. A quiz will come up, saying, "The fingerprints and the blood on the knife came from the body. This proves that..." The correct answer is "The knife cut Dennis". The card "Knife" will become "Deadly Knife". Compare the card with the knife with the wound card, which proves the blade matches the shape of the wound. A quiz will say, "The shape of the knife blade matches the wound on the body's wrist. This shows that..." and the answer is "The knife was used on his wrist". You will then get the card "Slashing Knife". Upon turning your attention to the broken finger, a quiz will ask, "There were no traces of healing in the fractured finger. What this means is that..." with the correct answer being "The bone broke after he died". The "Wounded Finger" card will become a "Fractured Finger" card. Next, put the knife wound card with the finger card. You will be asked, "What seems odd about the broken finger and the slashed wrist is that..." and the answer will be "The knife was in an injured hand".
You will obtain the "Injured Hand" card. With the assumed cause of death being suicide, a few odd things stand out to her, but she keeps a calm head and keeps investigating. She has a few different suspects to deal with in this case. One of them is Stella Abbot, the ex-girlfriend of the victim who reveals a hidden side to the man, that he was a drug dealer. Then there's an electrician, Liam Richardson, whose statements counteract each other. The witness/least likely suspect is Kirsten Langley, an elderly woman living next door to him. She reveals that the next (primary) suspect which was an electrician came that day and then the fire started 3 hours later. Finally, the victim's best friend, James Morton, reveals a clue that can help you solve the case. After hearing Richardson's story, you are able to obtain both his approximate time of death and the condition he was in when he was last seen. Combine these cards and you will be asked "From the information at hand, the last time Dennis was seen alive was..." and the answer is "Between noon and 1 PM". Answering correctly prompts the secondary quiz "The electrician said that when he saw Dennis, Dennis seemed..." with the answer "He seemed depressed". A third quiz will follow, "From the information at hand, it's believed that the last time Dennis was still alive was at..." and the answer is "Around 3 PM". This gives you the card "Dennis's Condition".
Putting the electrician and neighbor cards together prompts the appearance of the card "Repair Confirmation". At this point, all you have left to do is ask Little Guy for help directly. After reviewing the facts, a quiz will pop up, "The incident that led to the discovery of Dennis Taylor's body was..." and the answer is "A fire". There will be a second quiz, "When the body was first discovered, it appeared that Dennis Taylor had committed suicide because..." with the answer "The knife and the slashed wrist". A third quiz will pop up, "Another reason why the death was initially believed to be a suicide was..." and the answer is "The door was locked". A fourth question will come up, "The reason why the wrist wound seemed unnatural for a suicide was..." and the answer is "No pain reaction wounds". A fifth question, "If we do assume that this was a suicide, another discrepancy is that..." and the answer is "The knife was in his right hand". A sixth question, "If the victim died from blood loss, then there was something odd about the condition of the body..." and the answer is "Hemorrhaging in eyes". After all these questions are answered, you will be able to move to the crime scene.
The room is a mess. There is an obvious bloodstain on the bed. Pointing it out will bring up the quiz "From the bloodstains on the bed, it appears that the position Dennis had died in was..." and the answer is "Lying on his back". A table in the center of the room is overturned with something burned nearby. You will be able to have it analyzed later. Above the table, the room's timer-operated ceiling fan has a broken blade. A quiz will ask "It seemed strange that the ceiling fan was broken in Dennis's room. This is odd because..." and the answer is "A repairman came that day". Noticing the bulletin board will prompt Little Guy to look into the deceased's background. Little Guy or rather Navel will aid you by giving you a light source which is the ALS (Advanced Light Source) and Luminol which will reveal bloodstains with the ALS after you've sprayed it around. (When you get the Luminol, don't be afraid to spray everywhere. There is no limited usage of the things in Forensics, except for mistakes made in each level.) The ALS will reveal a large amount of white powder on the floor, with footprints in it. It will give the card "White powder on floor". It also forms a trail leading to the shelves, which will reveal a secret hole in the wall hiding the victim's drugs. This will grant the card "Hidden hole in wall". The Luminol will reveal a large bloodstain on the floor, granting the "Bloodstains on floor" card. Traces of blood located in the shaft of the ceiling fan alerts us to a rope wrapped around it, bringing up the card "Mysterious Rope". The chain holding the door will have traces of blood on the screw holding the doorknob end as well. Cards obtained: "Loose Screw" and "Bloody Screw".
After this, you can re-examine the evidence and compare it with the new clues. When asking Little Guy to analyze the bloodstain, it will ask "About 800ml of blood was on the bed, but a lethal amount of blood loss for an adult male is 1500ml. What this means is..." Answer: "He might not have bled to death". This grants the card "Not enough blood". Compare the shirt he died in with his friend's account: "There is a large discrepancy between the clothes found on the body and the testimony of the one who saw him earlier..." Answer: "Different color". Card obtained: "Changed Clothes". Try combining the story of Dennis's depression with the source of his income: "The two accounts from the people who saw Dennis seem to differ drastically. This difference is..." Answer: "Dennis's behavior". Solid Evidence obtained: "Dennis the Pusher". Analyzing the ashes will reveal that they contain slaked lime and quicklime, which are highly volatile when mixed with water. A quiz will ask, "A great amount of heat is released when calcium hydroxide reacts with water. This heat was used to..." Answer: "Start the fire". Card obtained: "Burnt Chemicals".
Putting the fan damage together with the electrician visit will obtain the card "Electrician's Activity". While listening to his story again, ask about the part where he says he fixed the heater: "Supposedly, the electrician came to Dennis's room to fix the heater. This seems odd because..." Answer: "It's too hot to need the heater". Card obtained: "Heater Repair". Compare the bloodstain found on the floor and the stain on the bed: "Of the two bloodstains found in the victim's room, which one was created first?" This quiz uses pictures as answers; select the one on the floor. Card obtained: "Moved Corpse". Analyzing the white powder all over the floor will ask "The footprints found in the drugs were all from firefighters, policemen, and myself. This tells us that..." Answer: "They fell when the fire started". Card obtained: "Drugs on Floor". Combine the drugs with the hole in the wall: "A white powder was found on the floor in Dennis's apartment. This powder was revealed to be..." Answer: "Drugs". A second quiz: "The hole discovered in the wall in Dennis's room was..." Answer: "A place to hide his drugs".
A third quiz: "One thing all the footprints found in the drugs on the floor had in common is..." Answer: "They were made after the fire". Quiz 4: "There were no footprints in the drugs that were made prior to the start of the fire. This indicates that they were..." Answer: "Scattered just before the fire". Quiz 5: "The drugs were placed on the floor at around the time the fire started. They were on the floor because..." Answer: "Whoever took them dropped them". This grants you the Solid Evidence card "Missing Drugs". Try to get the electrician's initial story straight with his statement that he repaired the victim's heater: "The reason most people use a ceiling fan is because..." Answer: "Air circulation". Card obtained: "Broken Fan". This fan card can be compared with the rope card: "Breaking the Fan" card obtained. Next, compare the fan with the fire residue: "What happens when calcium hydroxide reacts with water...?" Answer: "Heat is created". Quiz 2: "The reason the killer used such an elaborate trick to start a fire was..." Answer: "To delay when the fire started".
Quiz 3: "The two things used to start the fire in the room were..." Answer: "The ceiling fan and a rope". The killer attached one end of a rope to the fan and the other to the leg of the table. When the fan's timer turned it on, it activated and wound the rope up, knocking the table over and causing the glass of water to pour on top of the quicklime, starting the fire. After this realization, another quiz asks, "The reason why the killer went to such lengths to cause a fire is because..." Answer: "So Dennis's body would be found".
Quiz 5: "The reason why the killer wanted to intentionally have the corpse discovered was..." Answer: "To create an alibi". Solid Evidence obtained: "Secret of the Fire". Analyzing the bloodstains will reveal that they both came from the victim. Screw on door: "The reason Dennis's blood was found on the screw in the door is..." Answer: "It touched the murder weapon". Quiz 2: "Something that is needed to place screws that came in contact with Dennis is..." Answer: "A screwdriver". Card obtained: "Real Murder Weapon". What's more, the screw was loose: "When the body was discovered, the door to Dennis's room was..." Answer: "Locked only by the chain". Problem is: "The killer was able to go through the door with the chain shut by..." Answer: "Removing one screw". Solid Evidence obtained: "Locked-Room Trick". Notice that the bruise left on his torso was suspiciously shaped like the grip of a screwdriver: "The distinctive bruise on the corpse's abdomen was created by..." Answer: "A screwdriver handle". Card obtained: "Screwdriver Wound". After this, now we know why his eyes were hemorrhaging, obtaining the card "True Cause of Death". After Dennis died, we can retrace the killer's footsteps by noting that the victim both suffocated and that his body was moved: "The murder weapon that was used to kill Dennis was..." Answer: "A screwdriver".
Quiz 2: "Dennis suffered pulmonary emphysema, causing respiratory failure. In other words, he died of..." Answer: "Asphyxiation". Quiz 3: "After murdering Dennis, the killer moved the body to the bed in order to..." Answer: "Make it look like suicide". Solid Evidence obtained: "Murder Timeline". When examining the effects, there are bloodstains on the sleeve of his dress shirt, which line up with the wound. This will grant the card Interestingly, the hole where the bruise should be is missing. A quiz will ask, "Judging from the damage to the corpse, the one thing that should be on the clothing at the same location is..." The correct answer is "Bloodstains from the stab wound". Card obtained: "Inconsistent Clothing". Compare this card with the account of the two different articles of clothing: "According to the friend's testimony, Dennis had been wearing a..." Answer: "Red T-shirt". Quiz 2: "When Dennis's body was found, it was wearing..." Answer: "White shirt". Quiz 3: "The white shirt the corpse wore doesn't fit the facts because..." Answer: "No indication of the stab wound".
Quiz 4: "The external trauma on the body doesn't match that on the clothing. This means that..." Answer: "The killer changed Dennis". Quiz 5: "The reason the killer changed Dennis's clothing after the murder was..." Answer: "To make it look like suicide". Card obtained: "Camouflage". Now we know that Dennis was killed and then changed to hide the fatal wound and make it look like he committed suicide. But one thing still seems off. How could he have injured his hand, unless it was when his corpse was tampered with: "The victim's finger was broken after death and his clothing was changed. This shows that..." Answer: "It was broken while changing". Solid Evidence obtained: "Appearance of Suicide". At this point, the only question left is the identity of the killer, whose fingerprints were not found at the crime scene. The killer was most likely wearing gloves. There is one part of the task that would require bare hands: Examining the effects will reveal buttons on the dress shirt, the perfect place for an incriminating fingerprint. Simply ask Little Guy to analyze them and you have your last piece of Solid Evidence: "Killer's Fingerprint".
In the end, you learn that Dennis Taylor (victim), was killed because of his drug dealing. The electrician was after the drug stash Dennis had hidden and made his murder look like a suicide, by slashing his wrist, but the electrician forgot about the buttons being touched by his bare hand and left his print. At the end of the case, you will see the electrician try to get away with it by attempting to kill Naomi with the murder weapon(screwdriver), but she uses her gun to immobilize him by shooting his leg.
Trivia[]
- This episode occurs at the same time as The Big Guy (Orthopedics).
- This case is the only Forensics mission that is not related to the Rosalia Virus.
- This entire scenario suffers from a major plot hole. The true cause of death is discovered to be asphyxiation due to blood pooling in the lungs from a stab wound by a screwdriver. Part of the evidence is figuring out that the killer changed Dennis’ clothing to hide the stab wound and make his death look like a suicide. However, when you first examine the body there is no stab wound and only a bruise. If the screwdriver indeed pierced the victim it would leave more than just a bruise and Naomi would’ve been able to ascertain that a stab wound was incongruent with a slashed wrist. The stab wound becomes visible on the body after Naomi knows about it.