FORENSIC - M.E. Protocol Case 4 Walkthrough: The Neighborhood

This FORENSIC - M.E. Protocol Case 4 walkthrough provides a step-by-step guide to achieving an S-Grade rating in 'The Neighborhood' investigation. The key to this case is proving the victim's fall was a staged homicide, which requires finding the hidden paralytic toxin evidence in the garden shed and linking it to the forged suicide note on the victim's laptop. Ignore the obvious signs of an accidental fall; the real clues are hidden in plain sight.

Case 4, 'The Neighborhood', initially presents as a tragic accident. A man, software developer Alistair Finch, has fallen from his second-story home office window onto the stone patio below. The scene is clean, almost too clean. Local police have cordoned off the area, but it's up to you to look past the obvious and uncover the conspiracy lurking in this quiet suburb. Getting the S-Grade requires a perfect run: zero contamination, 100% evidence collection, and the correct final conclusion.

01

First Steps: Securing the Patio Crime Scenetag

Your first objective is to process the area immediately around the body. The game baits you into focusing on the impact zone, but the most critical early evidence is scattered around the periphery. Remember the core mechanics: you can only carry two tools at a time (plus your camera), so methodical trips back to the van are essential for a clean run. [10]

1. Initial Photography and Body Examinationtag

Before you do anything else, equip your camera. Take wide shots of the entire patio from the van's entry point. Then, approach the body and take close-ups of:

• The Victim's Head: Note the unusual lividity pattern, which doesn't quite match the body's final resting position.
• The Victim's Hands: Photograph the distinct lack of defensive wounds or scraped knuckles. Someone falling wouldn't have such clean hands.
• The Ground Directly Beneath the Window: Capture the pristine condition of the flowerbed. A frantic fall would have disturbed the soil.

After photographing, use your evidence markers on the body itself and a small, almost-hidden object near the drainpipe: a single, out-of-place Exotic Flower Petal. This is your first major clue.

2. Locating Trace Evidencetag

Switch to your UV Light. Sweep the entire patio. You will find the expected blood spatter, but the crucial discovery is a faint set of shoe prints—size 11, military-style boot tread—leading away from the scene towards the back gate. These prints do not match the victim's dress shoes. Mark and photograph them immediately.

Next to the prints, your UV light will also illuminate a small, almost invisible chemical spill. Equip your Sterile Cotton Swab, take a sample, and place it in an evidence vial. This is Unknown Chemical A. Analyzing this back at the van will be critical later. Don't leave the patio without cross-referencing every scuff and stain.

02

Inside the House: The Victim's Officetag

Once the patio is fully processed, head inside. The point of entry is the front door, which the police have already opened. Proceed directly upstairs to the home office on the second floor; it's the room with the open window. The story here is one of a carefully constructed narrative, and your job is to deconstruct it.

Cracking the Laptoptag

The central puzzle in the office is Alistair Finch's laptop, which is left open on his desk. Attempting to access it reveals a password prompt. The password is not written down anywhere obvious. To find it, you must examine the room's decor.

1. Observe the Bookshelf: On the top shelf is a commemorative plaque for a programming award Finch won. The plaque is dated '2014'.
2. Examine the Wall Art: To the left of the desk is a framed photo of Finch and his wife at the base of a famous mountain. A small brass plate on the frame reads 'K2'.
3. Check the Whiteboard: A complex algorithm is drawn on a whiteboard, but circled in red at the bottom is the name of a project: 'Project Chimera'.

The password combines these elements in the order you're meant to find them: the project name, the peak, and the year. The password is ChimeraK22014. Entering this grants you access to the file system.

The Forged Note and Hidden Filestag

On the desktop is a file named 'Goodbye.txt'. It's a suicide note, citing financial ruin and stress. This is the red herring. The real evidence is in a hidden, encrypted partition. Use your Data Extractor tool on the laptop's USB port. It will initiate a decryption minigame. Upon completion, you'll gain access to a folder named 'Manticore_Data'.

Inside are emails between Alistair Finch and an unknown contact. The emails reveal Finch was a whistleblower about to expose a corporate espionage scheme at his company, OmniCorp. He specifically mentions being threatened. This is your motive. Print a copy of the email chain as evidence.

03

The Final Pieces: The Garden and Shedtag

Your investigation isn't over. The exotic flower petal from the patio and the unknown chemical are still unexplained. The source is in the backyard. Exit the house through the kitchen and proceed to the small garden shed at the edge of the property.

Use your UV light on the shed's keypad, which will reveal fingerprints on the numbers 1, 5, 8, and 9. The code is 8915. Inside, you'll find the source of the petal: a small, illegally cultivated Aconite plant, also known as Wolfsbane. It's a potent, fast-acting paralytic. Next to it is a small chemistry set with a vial missing. Use your chemical swabs on a spilled droplet on the workbench. This is Unknown Chemical B.

Return to your van and use the Chemical Analyzer. Analyze both swabs you've collected:

• Unknown Chemical A (from the patio): The analysis reveals it's a diluted Aconite-based paralytic toxin.
• Unknown Chemical B (from the shed): This is a concentrated version of the same toxin.

This is the smoking gun. The killer prepared the toxin in the shed, administered it to Finch (explaining the lack of struggle), and then threw his paralyzed but still living body from the window to stage the suicide. The faint shoe prints were the killer's exit path.

04

Forming Your Conclusion for an S-Gradetag

With all evidence collected, it's time to use the resolution folder in your tablet. [14] To achieve the S-Grade, you must correctly answer the final questions by linking the right pieces of evidence.

Submitting this exact conclusion will complete the case. You've successfully ignored the staged scene, uncovered the digital and chemical trails, and exposed the truth behind 'The Neighborhood' murder, earning you the coveted S-Grade and the 'The neighborhood' trophy. [8]

05

Case 4 FAQtag

Where is the shed keycode? The code isn't written down. You must use the UV light on the shed's keypad to reveal the most frequently pressed buttons (1, 5, 8, 9). The correct combination is 8915.

What's the laptop password in Case 4? The password is a combination of three clues in the office: the project name from the whiteboard ('Chimera'), the mountain from the photo ('K2'), and the year from the award ('2014'). The full password is ChimeraK22014.

Why did I get a B-Grade instead of an S-Grade? A B-Grade in Case 4 usually means you missed a key piece of linking evidence. Most commonly, players either miss the faint boot prints near the drainpipe or fail to sample the chemical residue on the patio. Without both, you can't definitively connect the shed to the murder scene.

Do I need to analyze the victim's computer? Yes, it's mandatory for an S-Grade. The suicide note is a red herring, but you must log it as evidence of a staged crime. The encrypted emails contain the true motive, without which you cannot solve the case correctly.

06

Final Analysistag

Case 4 is a masterclass in misdirection. It forces the player to trust their forensic tools over the obvious narrative presented to them. [7] By demanding a methodical approach and rewarding players who dig deeper, 'The Neighborhood' solidifies FORENSIC - M.E. Protocol's identity as a true investigation simulator, where science and observation are your only weapons. [3]