Francine is the villainess of "Death Comes to Lunch", case #37 of Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past, the 4th season of the crime solving game Criminal Case (release date August 3, 2017). She was a maid to Clarissa Rochester, the director of the Bank of Concordia.
When Clarissa was found dead in her home after hosting a luncheon, Francine called the police and appeared shocked by her employer's death. She later claimed that Clarissa had begun to feel ill during her luncheon and asked her guests to leave early, with her finding Clarissa dead shortly afterwards. Later on, when the player and Isaac Bontemps found a document showing that Clarissa planned to fire Francine, the maid confessed that Clarissa was a strict boss who had wanted to dismiss Francine for serving her tea in the wrong cup.
Ultimately, the evidence proved that it was Francine who murdered her employer, having laced her champagne Cornelia lacrimosa (a plant also known as "Weeping Nellie") during her luncheon. When confronted by the detectives, Francine intially feigned innocence before angrily confessing when Isaac insinuated she killed Clarissa for wanting to fire her, in the process revealing her true motivation: she and Clarissa had been having an affair, and she killed her for wanting to break it off.
Realizing she was caught, Francine went on to reveal how she and Clarissa had kept their relationship hidden for fear of her family's disapproval. But eventually, Clarissa began wanting to adopt a child and ultimately decided to end her relationship with Francine, knowing a scandal would damage her chances of adopting. Enraged and heartbroken by Clarissa's rejection, the evil Francine decided to poison her during her luncheon, hoping a guest would be blamed for the crime. Francine was arrested and put on trial, where she stated that her murder of Clarissa was a "crime of passion" and that the true crime was Clarissa's fear of a scandal arising from her being revealed as a lesbian. Despite this, Judge Justin Lawson sentenced Francine to twenty years in prison.
Quotes[]
- "No! I wanted her to change her mind about ending our affair! I wanted to stop Clarissa from throwing our romance away!" (Francine unintentionally revealing herself as Clarissa's former lover, leading to her villainous reveal)
- (Isaac: "You mean you and Miss Rochester had a... relationship of a... romantic nature?") We kept it hidden, for her family would have never approved. But our love only grew stronger in the darkness of secrecy. That is, until Clarissa started yearning for a child. She realized she needed an impeccable reputation to even think of adopting... Being an unmarried woman and all! She grew so afraid of a scandal that she decided never to see me again! She refused to even keep me in service as her maid! I pleaded with her to think of us, but she was ready to sacrifice me so that she could become a mother! I couldn't bear it! So I poisoned her at the luncheon, hoping that one of the guests would take the blame for the attempt." (Francine detailing how and why she killed Clarissa Rochester)
- "Guilty, Your Honor! It was a crime of passion - we were lovers, and Clarissa left me. She wanted to protect herself from the scandal of loving another woman. But true love should never be a stain on one's reputation! That is the real crime here, Your Honor! (Francine defending her murder of Clarissa in court)
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