Blood In The Water

**Blood In The Water** is the second case in Murderworlds: Crimson County. It takes place in Wellington Bay, and Skie assists in the investigation.

## Blood In The Water

### Partner(s)

Skie Blackwater  (All Chapters)
 Jackson Montgomery  (One Task In Chapter 1)
 Jae-hyun Cho  (Beginnings By The Sea 2)

## Plot

After being summoned to the station in the middle of a stormy night, the player is met by Chief Bane, who greets them sternly, as well as Dee, Jackson and Alessio, all of whom seem to be confused about why they're there. Everyone else soon arrives, as Joaquin informs them all that there has been a development in the investigation into Project Mercury, as a yacht owned by a key investor in the project has let out a mayday call from at sea, citing that someone has died aboard the ship. Bane instructs the player to go with Skie and Jackson, as the three soon arrive at the ship, where they discover the body of key investor Bruce Hathaway, who appeared to have been strangled before being thrown in the sea.

Mid-investigation, Skie and the player were trapped aboard the boat with the suspects after Jackson was called back to shore, as they were forced to speak to the victim's wife, Rita, via video call. Later on, Gordon Ustinovas' twin brother, Bastian, attempted to bribe the detectives into putting the case to rest, as he was subsequently arrested for trying to bribe a police officer. In the end, however, Rita was found guilty of the murder, as Skie and the player sped back to dry land to arrest her once the storm passed.

Upon apprehension, Rita confessed to the murder immediately, admitting that she had grown fearful of Bruce's investments in Project Mercury and feared that it would damage her reputation as a budding socialite. She then callously stated that the death of her husband would gain her sympathy points in the books of many and catapult her up the hierarchy, as she had joined Bruce aboard the ship and strangled him in their bedroom, before feigning illness and disembarking before the storm came. Upon being questioned by Judge Evelyn Peake regarding her disposal of the body in the ocean, Rita confusedly denies doing that before clamming up, as Peake sentences her to 15 years in prison, as she recommends Skie and the player find the accomplice and apprehend them too.

Post-case, Skie and the player speak to Alyssa about who the potential accomplice should be, as Alyssa, a former FBI profiler, suggests that the most likely accomplice is the person who raised the alarm, since they would want to vindicate themselves by playing the innocent role of 911 caller. Following her lead, Skie and the player then talk to Catherine, as she plays the emergency call for them, and the voice is recognised as that of Didier Rousseau, the captain of the ship. Upon his apprehension, Didier sighingly confesses to disposing of the body to stop the *Mary Kate*'s reputation being tarnished, as Skie points out that it was his reputation that ended up tarnished. Peake then sentenced him to six years in prison, revoking his yacht licence indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Jae-hyun pulled the player aside to ask them how they were adjusting to Crimson County, as he admits that he misses certain aspects of Zorro Island, but there is not much he can do about it. He then speaks to Joaquin with the player regarding more developments, as Joaquin swears blind that there is a memory stick containing more information regarding Project Mercury aboard the boat. Discovering the memory stick and returning it to Joaquin, Jae-hyun and the player discover that the first batch of replacement robots have been created, and are set to be tested out upon the opening of a new shopping centre in the coming weeks, which dismays Dee, for she loves the one to one interactions with helpers in stores, and is an adamant luddite.

Gathering in the conference room, Bane informs the team that they have been given instructions to lay off Project Mercury for the time being, but is in the mayor's best interest that they still keep an eye from far away. This deeply upsets Joaquin, as Skie comforts him, as Alyssa points out that the introduction of Project Mercury won't just happen in the mall, but will have to have been carried out in a smaller capacity elsewhere, as Jackson suggests The Gustave Mink Memorial Centre, since it recently became the first location to have human doctors work alongside robots. Bane thanks Jackson for the idea, as Joaquin informs the player that he will not give up, no matter what it takes, as he begins to look into Gustave Mink Memorial Centre.

## Summary

### Victim:

* **Bruce Hathaway** (strangled to death and left in the sea)

## Suspects

* Bastian Ustinovas - Energy Corp. CEO - The suspect knows knots, does ditloid puzzles, wears navy and has curly hair.
* Emmeline Van Der Faux - *Au Naturel* Editor-In-Chief - The suspect does ditloid puzzles and writes in a diary.
* Didier Rousseau - Yacht Captain - The suspect knows knots, writes in a diary, wears navy and has curly hair.
* Rita Hathaway - Victim's Wife - The suspect knows knots, does ditloid puzzles, writes in a diary, wears navy and has curly hair.
* Francine Ferdinand - Galactix MegaCorp CEO - The suspect wears navy and has curly hair.

## Quasi-Suspects

* Alyssa Santos - Psychologist
* Catherine Bane - 911 Operator
* Joaquin Gomez - Hacker

## Killer's Profile

* The suspect knows knots.
* The suspect does ditloid puzzles.
* The suspect writes in a diary.
* The suspect wears navy.
* The suspect has curly hair.

## Quasi-Suspects

* Alyssa Santos - Psychologist
* Catherine Bane - Chief Bane's Wife
* Joaquin Gomez - Hacker

## Crime Scenes

 Wellington Sea
 Victim's Quarters

## Notes

* This case is uniquely similar to No Eye In Team for several reasons.
	+ Both cases centre around the woes of a married couple - The Lowes / The Hathaways - and a murder that is committed due to relationship troubles (though Troy Price killed Eli due to infidelity, and Rita killed Bruce due to fears regarding her reputation).
	+ The additional investigation follows investigation into a matter raised in the first case (the Ramon Vasquez arc or Project Mercury), as they resolve to meet again in another setting related to the matter.
	+ Both cases are assisted by the primary female deuteragonist in the season (Rhea Del Prado in Zorro Island and Skie in Crimson County). Axelle is an outlier due to revelations about her past and her removal from the team.
	+ Both are the second cases in their seasons.
* This is the first case in Murderworlds where the entire case is solved at sea.
* This case is the first to have the same name as a case from the game *Criminal Case*, as there is a case named "Blood in the Water" in that.[1]
* The character of Francine Ferdinand is heavily inspired by Carla Gugino.