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The Witching Hour is a case featured in Criminal Case as the forty-third case of Mysteries of the Past (Season 4) and the two-hundred fourteenth case overall. It is the first case to take place in the Grim Chapel district of Concordia.
Plot
After getting lost in the Grim Chapel woods, Maddie and the player stumbled upon a pond, where they found the drowned body of herbalist and midwife Aubrey Miller, with "WITCH" written on her chest with blood.
Mid-investigation, the victim's husband, William Miller, got into a fight with a mob claiming his wife to be a witch. Later, Maddie calmed Charlie down with a kiss after he claimed that he was cursed. Afterwards, the team found out that the witch rumor came from Abigail Walcott's attempt to hide her affair with William. They later found enough evidence to arrest Cordelia Putnam for the murder.
Cordelia eventually admitted to the murder. She had been going to Aubrey for fertility treatment after she suffered many miscarriages. When she heard of the rumor of Aubrey being a witch, she then believed that she was causing her miscarriages instead. Enraged, Cordelia confronted Aubrey, bashed her head with a stone, tied her to a dunking bar, drowned her, and wrote "WITCH" on her chest. Judge Lawson sentenced her to 25 years in prison.
After the trial, Maddie and the player searched the town square to investigate the Rochesters' possible dealings. They found a scroll with a message from "the Devil", which (per Evie) advised the receiver to use a fireball to commit a murder so the murder would look supernatural. They then talked to George Okamoto, who said that a person merely needed to leave a message for "the Devil" on the pond to get assistance in a murder. On the pond, they found a chest with gold coins coming from Larry Rochester. When the two accused him of using the Devil's services to commit Sandra Hwang's murder, Larry merely denied the accusations and taunted the team regarding the Rochesters' power.
Meanwhile, the team helped Viola in her meetup with her father, Horatio Rochester. After all the events, Judge Lawson said he had filed his candidature for the position of Deputy Mayor to help restore law and order to Concordia. The team then told Judge Lawson that exorcising the Devil was their utmost priority.
Summary
Victim
- Aubrey Miller (found drowned in a pond)
Murder Weapon
- Drowning
Killer
- Cordelia Putnam
Suspects
Quasi-suspect(s)
Killer's Profile
- The killer knows how to tie knots.
- The killer reads Malleus Maleficarum.
- The killer uses hazel water.
- The killer wears nail polish.
- The killer is over 21.
Crime Scenes
Steps
Chapter 1
- Investigate Pond. (Clues: Wallet, Torn Paper, Victim's Body; Murder Weapon registered: Drowning)
- Examine Wallet. (Result: Membership Card; New Suspect: George Okamoto)
- Ask George Okamoto why his wallet was on the crime scene. (Prerequisite: Membership Card found; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Victim's Workshop; Victim identified: Aubrey Miller)
- Investigate Victim's Workshop. (Prerequisite: George interrogated; Clues: Cabinet, Damaged Photo)
- Examine Cabinet. (Result: Bottle)
- Examine Bottle. (Result: Prescription; New Suspect: Cordelia Putnam)
- Talk to Cordelia Putnam about the victim. (Prerequisite: Prescription unraveled)
- Examine Damaged Photo. (New Suspect: Hope Woodford)
- Question Hope Woodford about her visit to the victim. (Prerequisite: Hope Woodford identified)
- Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Book Page)
- Analyze Book Page. (03:00:00; Attribute: The killer reads Malleus Maleficarum)
- Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The killer knows how to tie knots)
- Go to Chapter 2. (1 star)
Chapter 2
- Confront William Miller about the brawl with the village. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Town Square; Profile updated: William knows how to tie knots and reads Malleus Maleficarum)
- Investigate Town Square. (Prerequisite: William interrogated; Clues: Crate of Produce, Newspaper)
- Examine Crate of Produce. (Result: Coil of Rope)
- Analyze Coil of Rope. (12:00:00; Attribute: The killer uses hazel water; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Victim's Desk)
- Investigate Victim's Desk. (Prerequisite: Coil of Rope analyzed; Clues: Creepy Biscuits, Broken Sign)
- Examine Creepy Biscuits. (Result: Yellow Liquid)
- Examine Yellow Liquid. (Result: Herbs and Berries)
- Question Cordelia Putnam about the ominous biscuits. (Prerequisite: Herbs and Berries identified under microscope; Profile updated: Cordelia knows how to tie knots and uses hazel water)
- Examine Broken Sign. (Result: [Door Sign] Fingerprints)
- Analyze Fingerprints. (12:00:00; New Suspect: Abigail Walcott)
- Ask Abigail Walcott why she defaced the victim's sign. (Prerequisite: Fingerprints analyzed; Profile updated: Abigail knows how to tie knots and reads Malleus Maleficarum)
- Examine Newspaper. (Result: Newspaper Article)
- Ask George Okamoto about his dispute with the victim. (Prerequisite: Newspaper Article unraveled; Profile updated: George reads Malleus Maleficarum)
- Go to Chapter 3. (1 star)
Chapter 3
- Investigate Street. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Torn Paper, Locked Bag)
- Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Marriage Certificate)
- Examine Marriage Certificate. (Result: Victim's Message)
- Confront William about his affair. (Prerequisite: Victim's Message unraveled; Profile updated: William uses hazel water)
- Confront Abigail about her affair with the victim's husband. (Prerequisite: William interrogated; Profile updated: Abigail uses hazel water, Cordelia reads Malleus Maleficarum)
- Examine Locked Bag. (Result: Strange Object)
- Analyze Strange Object. (09:00:00)
- Ask Hope about her witch bramble. (Prerequisite: Strange Object analyzed; Profile updated: Hope knows how to tie knots)
- Investigate Pond Edge. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Book [Open Book], River Debris)
- Examine Open Book. (Result: Flakes)
- Analyze Flakes. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears nail polish)
- Examine River Debris. (Result: Bloody Stone)
- Analyze Bloody Stone. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer is over 21)
- Take care of the killer now!
- Go to Lost Souls (1/6). (No stars)
Lost Souls (1/6)
- See what Viola needs. (Available after unlocking Lost Souls; Reward: Pointy Hat)
- Investigate Victim's Workshop. (Prerequisite: Viola interrogated; Clue: Cauldron)
- Examine Cauldron. (Result: Plant)
- Analyze Plant. (09:00:00)
- Investigate Town Square. (Available after unlocking Lost Souls; Clue: Crow [Parchment])
- Examine Parchment. (Result: Numbers)
- Analyze Numbers. (06:00:00)
- Ask George Okamoto for information about the Devil. (Prerequisite: Numbers analyzed; Reward: Burger)
- Investigate Pond. (Prerequisite: George interrogated; Clue: Chest)
- Examine Chest. (Result: Open Chest [Chest Lid])
- Examine Chest Lid. (Result: Larry's Name)
- Confront Larry Rochester about his payment to the Devil. (Prerequisite: Larry's Name unraveled; Reward: 20,000 Coins)
- Move on to a new crime! (1 star)
Trivia
- The case title refers to "the witching hour," generally understood as three in the morning, which is when the powers of witches, demons, and ghosts are said to be the most powerful.
- This case, Let Me Down Gently, The Higher You Rise and A Study in Pink are the only cases in Mysteries of the Past in which the murder weapon is an action.
- This case, The Lake's Bride, What Dies Beneath, Kicking the Bucket, Downward-Facing Dead, Scry for Help and Death by Design have the same murder weapon (drowning).
- This is one of the cases in which Maddie and Isaac interact with each other.