The Root of All Evil

The Root of All Evil is a case featured in Criminal Case, appearing as the sixty-fourth case of the game and the eighth case of Pacific Bay. It takes place in Bayou Bleu, a district based in Pacific Bay.

Plot
Due to his poor manners in court, including but not limited to drinking during court hearings, the Honorable Dante requested Chief Marquez to have Frank Knight fulfill civic duty in the Swamp Forest by cleaning the perimeter of all garbage littered in those premises, accompanied by the player. Frank's civic duty was cut short when an Army Lieutenant identified as Nora Lewis (per her dog tag) was found eaten alive by a giant carnivorous plant.

During the investigation, Hannah Choi was arrested by the military for treason due to hacking underneath the military's classified files. Chief Marquez was thus forced to reason with Colonel Spangler to exonerate Hannah of treason charges, buying the team more ground to finish the investigation. The person responsible for the Lieutenant's death was a former plant scientist named Ray Westman.

Ray believes that plants are people, and was not too pleased when Army Lt. Lewis attempted to hurt his beloved carnivorous plant, Julian, including but not limited to destroying the gigantic plant. Ray would go far to keep Julian alive by taking care of the plant, even if he was ordered to leave the plant rotting in the Swamp Forests of Bayou Bleu, so he took care of the plant day by day using the fertilizer formula that was considered his life's work, in spite of the formula being halted due to conflicts between the military and a company called Pacific Pharma. Frank caught Ray lying to the team during the investigation, in which Ray didn't mean to kill Lt. Lewis, but unfortunately Lt. Lewis was going to make a military arrest for feeding the carnivorous plant, which Ray refused to halt when he realized Nora stared at Ray's plant as she was threatening him. Ray didn't want anyone to bother his life's work, so he took advantage of Nora's inattention by snatching her gun away from her, gun-butting her unconscious using the hand gun's hilt, and then poured fertilizer on Nora so the carnivorous plant could eat Nora, killing her with its digestive acid. While Ray thought this was a perfect opportunity to see his experiment shine, Frank didn't like this idea and brought Ray to trial.

Although the Honorable Dante admitted to the court that he had an infatuation for plants, the court determined that Ray had taken things too far by having a carnivorous plant kill an innocent soldier, which was grounds for a 40-year jail sentence for Ray. In the aftermath of the trial, Frank admitted that he was once in the military of sorts, and felt sorry for Lt. Lewis as he firmly believed she was only doing her job but got killed in the line of duty, which he felt that "it was too close for home".

Even after incarcerating Ray, it didn't excuse Frank from fulfilling his Swamp Forest cleaning order, in spite of him having to fine Erikah Mabayo for improper handling of endangered species. At the same time, Chief Marquez ordered Colonel Spangler to return Hannah's computer as she considered Hannah's privileged items the police property.

Victim

 * Lt. Nora Lewis (found eaten alive by a giant carnivorous plant)

Murder Weapon

 * Carnivorous Plant

Killer

 * Ray Westman

Killer's Profile

 * The killer knows gardening.
 * The killer uses lemongrass.
 * The killer has brown hair.
 * The killer has green eyes.
 * The killer wears a lab coat.

Chapter 1

 * Investigate Forest. (Clues: Leaf, Dog Tags, Torn Card)
 * Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: Killer knows gardening; Murder Weapon confirmed: Carnivorous Plant)
 * Examine Leaf. (Result: Yellow Liquid)
 * Analyze Yellow Liquid. (03:00:00; Attribute: Killer uses Lemongrass)
 * Examine Dog Tags. (Result: Victim's Identity revealed)
 * Investigate Military Bootcamp. (Prerequisite: Victim's identity revealed; Clues: Locker, Torn Schedule)
 * Examine Locker. (Result: Photograph)
 * Examine Photograph. (Result: Jeremy Pratt)
 * Talk to Jeremy about the murder. (Prerequisite: Jeremy Pratt identified)
 * Examine Torn Schedule. (Result: Military Codes)
 * Analyze Military Codes. (06:00:00)
 * Ask Colonel Spangler about Lt. Lewis's mission. (Prerequisite: Military Codes analyzed)
 * Examine Torn Card. (Result: Business Card)
 * Talk to Priestess Mabayo about her card. (Prerequisite: Business Card restored)
 * Go to Chapter 2. (1 star)

Chapter 2

 * Talk to Sally Perkins about the secret experiment. (Available from start)
 * Investigate Experimentation Room. (Available at start; Clues: Vials, Notes)
 * Examine Vials. (Result: Powder)
 * Analyze Powder. (06:00:00; Attribute: Killer has Brown Hair)
 * Examine Notes. (Result: Formula)
 * Analyze Formula. (12:00:00)
 * Investigate Plants. (Prerequisite: Formula analyzed; Clues: Plants, Bag, Broken Stick)
 * Examine Plants. (Result: Ray Westman's Gardening Tool)
 * Talk to Ray Westman about his gardening tool. (Prerequisite: Gardening Tool found on Plants)
 * Examine Bag. (Result: Voodoo Idol)
 * Ask Priestess Mabayo about the idol. (Prerequisite: Voodoo Idol found)
 * Examine Broken Stick. (Result: Makeshift Weapon)
 * Analyze Makeshift Weapon. (06:00:00)
 * Ask Jeremy about his disappearance in the Swamps. (Prerequisite: Makeshift Weapon analyzed)
 * Go to Chapter 3. (1 star)

Chapter 3

 * Investigate Baracks. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Broken Pot)
 * Examine Broken Pot. (Result: Listening Device)
 * Analyze Listening Device. (06:00:00)
 * Ask Sally Perkins about the listening device. (Prerequisite: Listening Device Analyzed)
 * Talk to Colonel Spangler about the experiments. (Prerequisite: Investigate Baracks)
 * Ask Ray what he's protesting for. (Prerequisite: Investigate Baracks)
 * Investigate Plants. (Prerequisite: Talk to Ray; Clues: Handgun)
 * Examine Handgun. (Result: Transparent Liquid)
 * Analyze Transparent Liquid. (12:00:00; Attribute: Killer has Green Eyes)
 * Investigate Laboratory Equipment. (Prerequisite: Talk to all three suspects first; Clues: Cabinet Handle)
 * Examine Cabinet Handle. (Result: Threads)
 * Analyze Threads. (15:00:00; Attribute: Killer wears a Lab Coat)
 * Arrest Killer.
 * Go to Additional Investigation. (No stars)

Additional Investigation

 * Convince Colonel Spangler to give Hannah's laptop back. (Available when Chapter is unlocked)
 * Investigate Military Bootcamp. (Prerequisite: Andrea must talk to Army Col. Spangler first; Clues: Hannah's Laptop)
 * Examine Hannah's Laptop. (Result: Blue Screen of Death on Laptop)
 * Analyze Hannah's Laptop. (03:00:00)
 * Investigate Experimentation Room. (Prerequisite: Hannah's Laptop analyzed; Clues: Military Briefcase)
 * Examine Military Suitcase. (Result: Broken Machine)
 * Examine Broken Machine. (Result: Incubator)
 * Talk to Colonel Spangler about the incubator. (Prerequisite: Incubator restored; Rewards: Camo Shirt, Camo Binoculars)
 * Investigate Forest. (Available when Chapter is unlocked; Clues: Broken Bones)
 * Examine Broken Bones. (Result: Mysterious Skull)
 * Examine Mysterious Skull. (Result: Painted Skull)
 * Analyze Painted Skull. (09:00:00)
 * Talk to Erikah Mabayo about the monkey skull. (Prerequisite: Painted Skull analyzed, Rewards: 20,000 Coins, Burger)
 * Investigate Next Case. (1 star)

Trivia

 * This case may be based on Little Shop of Horrors, a 1986 American musical comedy film, and the operation "A.U.D.R.E.Y." is actually the name of one of the characters in the film.
 * Due to a lack of psychological clues in this case, Russell Crane does not make an appearance in this case at all.
 * During the early stages of the case's release, Frank was mistakenly credited as being "Amy" at times when investigating the "Plants" crime scene as a task.
 * This case is one of the two instances where a union between a pharmaceutical company and a nation's military hosted a secluded experiment, with the other one being Grimsborough's The Secret Experiments--in this case, it involved plants.
 * Like The Final Journey in Grimsborough, the murder weapon in this case is a plant, although the similarities end here.
 * In the crime scene "Military Bootcamp", at the far left is a collectible object named "Eye", which is known as the "All-Seeing Eye", the preeminent and most widely recognized symbol of the Illuminati. The symbol can also be spotted in various other cases' crime scenes.
 * Also in the aforementioned crime scene, there is a car that looks similar to the 2007 Jeep Wrangler.
 * In the crime scene "Experimentation Room", at the far left you can notice a portrait of Albert Einstein.
 * During the trial of this case, the Honorable Dante mentioned Judge Hall.