Frank Knight


 * "Frank" redirects here. For the project manager, see Frank Janovski. For the Lieutenant General, see Frank Vogel.

Francis "Frank" Knight (1963-2015), appearing as a main character in Season 2 of Criminal Case, was a detective best known for working with the Pacific Bay Police Department as one of the player's two primary partners throughout the season.

Frank was fired from the police after he turned out to be the killer of convict Danny Moto in A Killer Among Us (Case #56 of Pacific Bay), before being murdered himself in The Final Countdown (Case #59 of Pacific Bay).

Profile
Aged 51, Frank had brown medium hair with gray hints, blue eyes and a light stubble. He sported a blue Hawaiian shirt with yellow palm tree motif and a pair of black pants with a brown leather belt. Other than that, he wore a common police badge around his neck. Frank was known to be straight forward, hot-tempered, and stubborn. His favorite animal were grizzly bears and his favorite food was barbecue ribs.

Frank loved to drink and visit bars, and would often take the risk of getting caught drinking at work. In addition, he lacked respect for his superiors, although he himself was a respected detective in the force. Besides that, Frank was known to be easily-frightened. He loved Western movies, had military training, and was a fan of wrestling.

Per his first suspect appearance, Frank had a self-inflicted bruise on the left side of his forehead. He knew electronics, drank whiskey, and was a gambler.

Pre-arrest
In the second case of Pacific Bay, Chief Marquez congratulated the player for having successfully solved their previous murder investigation alongside Amy. She then informed the player that Frank had returned from his anger management course and that he would be the player's partner for the next case. As Frank walked inside shortly thereafter, Chief Marquez advised the player to ignore the fact that he looked like "a bit of a slob" as he was still a great detective deep inside. Frank, however, showed a lack of respect to Chief Marquez as he joined the discussion and took pride in explaining how he had actually went to Beerfest instead of attending his anger management course, much to the Chief's dismay. Frank then offered to show the player around and, per his suggestion, the two headed for the underbelly of Ocean Shore, only to witness a horrific street racing crash and start their first murder investigation alongside each other.

Frank was mentioned twice, but most noticeably when the team took Mighty Pete in for talks and discussions during the events of What Dies Beneath. Frank would make his second appearance as the player's partner in the Ocean Shore finale where his laziness and him being very hard to work with got on the nerves of the player not to mention Chief Marquez always having to sway Frank back to focus at times.

Frank showed no respect to some of his lab workers in Bayou Blood, specifically Roxie Sparks when he demanded her to give him a voodoo doll styled like him, and Russell Crane, in which during profiling results a tense relationship between the two would become imminent. Also in the very case, Bill Farnham had to go through the trouble of using his voodoo powers to heal Frank since a voodoo doll replica of himself with a pin on his head was causing all the trouble following Shawna Knox's incarceration.

In addition, during the events of Easy Prey, it was discovered that Frank was previously partnered with a fallen police officer named Harvey Fitchner about 30-40 years before the events of the case.

Judge Dante was not happy about Frank's bad manners in court (such as drinking during hearings), so Chief Marquez ordered Frank to clean the garbage at the Swamp Forest in the intro to The Root of All Evil. The player's hopes of Frank fulfilling his garbage cleaning obligation was eclipsed due to a military trooper eaten to death by a carnivorous plant, prompting Frank to investigate a third incident in Bayou Bleu with the player.

During the events of Into the Woods, Frank was issued a Pearpad (the in-game iPad clone) to increase his effectiveness in investigations, but showed discontent towards the technology.

At the beginning of the events of Ivywood Hills, Frank was called in by Chief Marquez to report the player's first day of duty in the district, to which Frank at first declined by stating that he did not want to go back to his old haunts. Chief Marquez was infuriated by Frank's attitude to Ivywood, alas the senior detective reluctantly accepted the request, so he asked the player to accompany him to the Ivywood sign, where he was to take a nap. However, everything was cut short when the player found a young actress tied to the sign with slash wounds.

In Once Upon a Crime, Frank slightly opened up to the player, saying that The Glass Princess—a famous fairy tale for children—was Daisy Knight's favourite book when she was just a little kid. Getting more to the point, Frank stated that Mr Sparkles, an entertainment company, was currently shooting a live-action adaption of the book in Ivywood—starring Jenny Galguera, a teen soap sensation and a role model for Frank's daughter. As such, after a yes from the player, Frank decided thus that an autograph from Jenny on his daughter's favourite book would be enough for his daughter to finally speak to him after all the years. Much to Frank's disappointment, however, he and the player headed to the movie set only to find the actress lifeless, with her face encrusted with glass debris—causing a murder investigation to ensue. Furthermore, Frank had to adapt to the growing trend of technology by using a Pearphone (the in-game iPhone clone) to contact Hannah Choi through acts of text-messaging.

During the events of Murdertown, Frank committed an act of insubordination when he opted to step down from the police ranks to pursue a romance with Velma Bannister—a femme fatale who also happened to be a prime suspect in the case. This prompted Chief Marquez to bring Amy back into duty to finish the player's investigation. Hours after the case was successfully closed, Velma turned out to be a fraud, resulting in Frank making a surprise return to the police force in which he helped retrieve a stolen rare diamond with the help of Eduardo Ramirez. This led to the arrest of Velma and a self-proclaimed European Count named Rico Damascus for plotting the theft; the former, however, was later released on bail through her husband.

During the events of Uncivil Rights, Frank had to treat his ex-wife, Meteor Systems executive Karen Knight, as a suspect in the murder investigation of Innovation Valley's mayor, Annette Arbor.

During the events of Programmed to Kill, Amy was suddenly attacked by the nanobots used to kill Bob Levene. This prompted Frank to take her place for the remainder of the case, but not without using protective suits to ensure Frank and the player did not end up like Amy while they were investigating, as Hannah warned that much of the population of Innovation Valley was infected by the nanobots. After managing to arrest Bob Levene's killer and the mastermind of the nanobot attack, Frank and the player had to work with Dr Rascher and David Rosenberg to save Innovation Valley from the nanobot outbreak.

A Killer Among Us
Frank transferred the now-incarcerated Danny Moto to the police station but before he succeeded, the killer had Danny dead without Frank knowing it, forcing Amy and the player to treat Frank as a suspect. Frank said that one minute he was driving the victim over a dam, then his tires blew out. Then, he got out of the car then got knocked out by a blow to the head. While the victim did not give any information about the sixth person, he did say the heist team dumped some of their equipment at the junkyard. This prompted the player and Amy to investigate the junkyard in hopes of finding the necessary evidence.

Amy and the player had to talk to Frank again after they found a message on Danny's rap sheet saying to keep quiet. When he heard that Danny knew who the sixth person might be, and he thought it strange that the player did not notice. He was worried that the victim would say the sixth person would be the player, so he wrote down the message so he could protect them. Amy thought Frank was talking crazy, but he thought it made sense at the time. Then Karen suddenly appeared to Amy's surprise, shocked that the two of them were back together. Karen then revealed that she and Frank have been having certain relations in the police armory, and since that was a crime scene she and the player had to interrogate Karen at once.

In the end, Amy and the player found out that Frank betrayed the police department after evidence pointed Frank as the killer. Frank was stunned when the player accused him of homicide after he and the player went through, but Amy snapped at the senior detective for treason. Frank did not plan the heist, but he cooperated with the heist squad by leaking information about the player's investigations. The instant the team arrived at Paradise City, Louis approached Frank for information regarding the player's investigation of the Mennagio Casino heist, and in exchange for sharing information with Louis, accepted bribes against the police code. Louis felt the player was getting persistent, so he needed more information to avoid being called a snitch. Frank was relieved about Louis's death, but the instant Danny told him that the sixth person was someone the player knew very well, Frank lost it. Premortem, Frank stole a spike strip and a stun gun from the armory before escorting Danny to the police station for information regarding the sixth person. The moment Chief Marquez contacted Frank by radio, he had to fake the crash to prematurely end the communication. Frank took the opportunity to adjust the stun gun's voltage to electrocute Danny to death, but the screams haunted him ever since. Frank had to knock himself out with his Gold Stag whiskey bottle to avoid suspicion, but Amy told Frank that he framed Russell, Roxie, and Hannah to protect himself. Amy was disgusted about Frank's betrayal, so she and the player took the dirty cop for murder and conspiracy.

Judge Dante told Frank that he was supposed to uphold the law, but instead chose to break it. When asked what he had to say, Frank admitted guilt, prompting the honorable Judge to issue a 40-year jail sentence (without parole) for Frank, removing him from the Pacific Bay Police Force. As the bailiff took Frank to prison, Karen arrived in the court room with Chief Marquez hostage, pointing a gun at Andrea's head as a demand for Frank's release from incarceration. Amy threatened to shoot Karen, but Andrea painstakingly ordered Amy and the player to let Frank go, believing that both Frank and Karen could be put to justice in a more favorable time to avoid a pyrrhic victory. During the turbulent fiasco, Karen revealed herself to be the sixth person—the mastermind of the plutonium theft at the Mennagio Casino. Karen was up to no good.

Frank escaped and eventually Amy and the player had to continue pursuit at the Wastes, marking Frank as a fugitive.

Into the Wastes
Frank gave a phone call to Amy and the player and told them to investigate a laboratory in the Wastes, which helped the team catch the killer of David Rosenberg.

The Sting of Death
Frank turned out to be a loose cannon after he shot Alden Greene (after the disgraced Grimsborough businessman was guilty of manslaughter for a second time) unwarrantedly, angering Amy.

Amy shipped Frank back to jail, but when the player found Karen's diary with her word that she would bring Daisy back, the team had to talk to Frank about Karen's reasons for the Mennagio Casino Heist.

One day, Laura Knight died in a car accident, and the loss of one daughter devastated Frank to no end, forcing the detective to give up into drinking. As a result of Frank's drinking behavior, Karen divorced him. One day, Karen offered Frank to reunite by stealing the plutonium in hopes of having Albert Tesla bring Daisy Knight back to life, a feat which Frank could not refuse.

Frank felt a lot of pain talking about his problems with his family. When Frank found out that Tesla ordered Alden to kill Karen in retaliation of her turning against him, Frank snapped back to his senses, and recklessly charged after the super computer to stop the bombing of Pacific Bay.

Murder details
Frank was found dead at the lookout point of the Wastes, tied and shot in the forehead. The player shipped Frank to Roxie, but the coroner was infuriated about what the player had to do, even though Frank's death was murder per the player. All Roxie knew that Frank was a drinking buddy in spite of the treason he committed in Paradise City, but in spite of her dissatisfaction toward the player, Roxie stated that the killer shot Frank with a .22 caliber pistol right between his eyes, although the player had to find the weapon physically to make it sure. Although the killer succeeded in gunning down Frank, the execution was not clean as the killer had to tie Frank to get a guaranteed shot. There were traces of pork gelatin and sodium nitrate (used in processed meats) on Frank's skin, in which the killer consumed gobs of canned meat since fresh food was not an option in the Wastes.

The pronouncing Tesla made an offer for Amy and the player as it was something the player would not refuse, five minutes in Tesla's virtual reality and the player finally found the matching object to register it as the murder weapon: the .22 caliber pistol Roxie mentioned. They managed to find some fibers on the pistol, and Yann confirmed the fibers were waterproof blends of polyester and cotton, meaning they came from a raincoat. This meant the killer was wearing a raincoat.

Killer and motives
The killer turned out to be hiker Bobby Prince.

Bobby felt that Frank stood in the way of Amy and it was no surprise that Tesla made a promise to the disgraced hitch-hiker. Bobby obeyed Tesla's orders, and he handled the manslaughter with ease. Amy's anger erupted into hate, as she stated that Russell was the one who gave her light in the hardest times of her life since White Peaks, a feat in which Bobby refused to accept. Amy made it clear she has her dating rights set straight, but Bobby still refused to accept change. As the player started to arrest Bobby, the double-killer pointed the gun at Amy in hopes of killing her to send her consciousness to Tesla's virtual reality. Bobby felt that he had more rights to love Amy than any other man, but Amy had to point her gun at Bobby in self-defense, promising him what she would do would not be nice. Bobby refused to have a life without Amy, but before Bobby fired, Amy had no choice but to gun Bobby down to death in an act of self-defense.

Russell felt that Amy did the right thing to fire her gun in self-defense, given that Bobby threatened to kill Amy in retaliation of her and the player finding him guilty for Frank's death.

Aftermath
The PBPD held a funeral for Frank. Although Frank did some bad things in Paradise City, Andrea felt that there was always good in him regardless of what he did. Amy made it clear that she would ensure Frank did not die for nothing before she wrapped up the ultimate investigation of her life, and she did prior to the funeral. Yann only remembered Frank for insubordination, authoritative disrespect, and on-the-job drinking. Hannah added that he recklessly ended his career by betraying their trust. Roxie felt that after Frank was found guilty of manslaughter in Paradise City, the disgraced cop had to do something to atone himself for such, and by giving his life to save Pacific Bay by simply subduing Tesla, he did. Andrea agreed with Roxie in spite of her and Frank butting heads at times. Hence Roxie's thoughts about Frank redeeming himself was true, so Andrea made it clear that Frank could finally rest in peace, and handled the burial. Russell wanted to thank Frank for teaching him that dumb jokes was what he needed (in addition to brains and smarts) to uphold the law as Andrea commenced the burial. Amy added that Frank never worked by the book, but was willing to get to the truth, even though it meant breaking rules here and then. And so Amy stated that Frank could rest in peace, wherever he was.

Erikah Mabayo wanted to return to prison on a positive note per Russell, so Amy agreed as long as the player accompanied her. All Erikah said is that Frank, Karen, Laura, and Daisy are resting happy in the clouds, with all their sins forgiven, a sign that Frank finally redeemed himself. Who needs whiskey when family is all they need, as Erikah's closure to the law was the evidence that Frank believed in God, no matter the bad he did in his life.

Personal life
Frank was divorced, as revealed by himself during the events of Death by Moonshine. In Eastern Promises, Frank further revealed that his ex-wife, who would later turn out to be Karen, believed he was a constant disappointment to their children, thus never allowing him to meet them.

Frank also had a pet turtle named Duke, whom he was very protective of and considered to be his best friend in the world.

Gameplay
The player may choose Frank to join the investigation of each crime scene (in any Pacific Bay case he teams up with the player) and provide hint bonuses. He is available as a 1-hint, level-10 partner.

Trivia

 * Frank is one of the characters to animate (or move) during at least one cutscene in the game.
 * Frank is one of the main characters to have been flagged as a suspect in a case for plausible reasons.
 * Like Samuel King and Angela Douglas, Frank turns out to be the killer in said case; however, he goes on to evade capture thanks to Karen's court house hijack, flagging him as a fugitive.
 * Later on, Frank becomes the third of a few characters throughout the game to have appeared as a suspect, killer, and victim.