Happy Deathday

**Happy Deathday** is the twenty-eighth case in Murderworlds: Zorro Island. It takes place in Oracle Point, and Rhea assists in the investigation.

## Happy Deathday

### Partner(s)

Rhea Del Prado  (All Chapters)
 Chief Lazarus Bane  (Goodbye, Zorro Island 3/5)

## Plot

Following the tragic events of the last few cases, Juan welcomed Rhea and the player to the very Latin-themed birthday party of Ignacio, his boyfriend. Upon entering, Rhea was shocked by the stark amount of familiar faces present at the party, as she was further amazed by the fact they had managed to rent out a rooftop patio to throw the bash. As everyone gathered around for the big cake reveal, Juan commented that he hadn't seen Ignacio for half of the party, as Alita mentioned that he was nowhere to be seen. Going downstairs to find Ignacio, Rhea and the player then came across his body, as he had been pushed from the roof and onto the pavement below.

Mid-investigation, Juan's mother Elena Culebra started a fuss as she demanded to eat the cake, falling ill after she managed to steal a slice, as Jae-hyun Cho determined the cake had been poisoned, as several other party guests began to feel ill too. Meanwhile, drag performer SheHer was flagged as a suspect, as she informed the team that Ignacio had gone back to being a stripper. After all of the events, it turned out that the killer was none other than Ignacio's friend, florist Kaede Shou.

Despite initially denying the accusations, Kaede confessed to the murder, saying that she had been blackmailed by someone in prison to kill somebody close to the police department, as she had seen on Ignacio's Lookbook profile that he was in a relationship with the team's historian. Despite reluctance, she managed to get invited to his birthday party, where she actually told Ignacio about the plan, as he had gone quiet afterwards and gone to the balcony, attempting to jump off, which would ruin any chances of Ignacio eating the poisoned cake she had prepared. Desperate not to let the blackmailer find out she had failed, she pushed Ignacio from the balcony after pretending to talk him down, killing him. Shocked by Kaede's act, Judge Vargas sentenced Kaede to 10 years in prison, with the possibility of a sentence reduction if she could tell the police who the blackmailer was.

Post-case, Rhea and the player visited Kaede in prison in order to find out who was targeting the police, as Kaede said that she had never found out their name, but had printed off some of the text conversations which she had presented as evidence for the party. Upon finding the papers and sending them to Alita, she discerned that the person who had blackmailed Kaede had been someone who either harboured an infatuation or a deep hatred towards a specific member of the team. Upon talking to Chief Mendes about it, she suggested three names: Cassandra Blackmoor (whose life as a hunter was ruined following her arrest), Guthrie Zober (who was in a relationship with Rhea and was besotted with her) and Cruz Alvarez (who had killed his ex-wife and absolutely detested Alita). Upon further analysis by Bonita, she eventually determined that the blackmailer had to be someone with powerful connections, as well as advanced technological knowledge. Rhea and the player then deduced that, given Cassandra and Guthrie were raised in the Woodlands, Cruz had to be the blackmailer, as they informed Alita of this and began an attempt to track him down.

Meanwhile, Chief Lazarus Bane showed up outside the station, greeting the player happily as he asked how they were doing. He then introduced himself formally, saying that he had come to Zorro Island to speak to them further regarding the job offer, as he wasn't able to convey *everything* about it on the phone. He then suggested they find somewhere to talk, as the pair headed to the station, where they ran into Jae-hyun, who told the player that he had worked with Chief Bane prior to coming to Zorro Island, as he then informed them that he was qualified as both a coroner and a lab chief. Chief Bane then brought up the fact that they were also looking for a coroner, offering Jae-hyun a job as well, as Jae-hyun and the player then noticed a stricken Javier in the doorway, as he walked off, evidently upset by the fact that both Jae-hyun and the player were being offered jobs.

After all of the events, the detectives reconvened in the meeting room, as Chief Mendes informed the team that they needed to find Cruz as soon as possible so he couldn't execute whatever he was planning, as Rosa asked a quiet Javier what was wrong, taking him into the next room with Alita. Jae-hyun then looked at the player, as Lucas Ashley then ran into the station very suddenly, leading to the three re-entering the room. Upon Chief Mendes asking him what was wrong, he told them that they needed to get ready to go immediately, as six people had escaped from prison, including Cruz.

## Summary

#### Victim

* **Ignacio Rubio** (pushed from a rooftop)

## Suspects

* Juan Culebra - Historian - The suspect listens to *Felicia Lee*, knows how to bake and wears a flower.
* SheHer - Drag Performer - The suspect takes Prozac, listens to *Felicia Lee*, knows how to bake and wears a flower.
* Kaede Shou - Florist - The suspect takes Prozac, listens to *Felicia Lee*, knows how to bake, wears a flower and is female.
* Elena Culebra - Juan's Mother - The suspect takes Prozac, listens to *Felicia Lee*, knows how to bake and is female.
* Reese Ford - Fashion Designer - The suspect takes Prozac, wears a flower and is female.

## Quasi-Suspects

* Camilla Mendes - Police Chief
* Alita Mandelio - Profiler
* Jae-hyun Cho - Lab Chief

## Killer's Profile

* The killer takes Prozac.
* The killer listens to *Felicia Lee*.
* The killers knows how to bake.
* The killer wears a flower.
* The killer is female.

## Crime Scenes

 Rooftop Party
 Design Workshop