Star Crime (Case #91, or Case #35 of Pacific Bay) is the fifth case of Ivywood Hills, the thirty-fifth case of Pacific Bay, and the ninety-first case of the game.
Case Background
Amy Young and the player were dispatched to patrol the set of Warzone Pacific, a sci-fi movie that was currently being filmed at Studio 51.
Chief Marquez was pleased to announce Amy Young's official return to duty after a significant amount of time in mental therapy due to Duncan Young's shocking arrest. The Chief then dispatched Amy and the player to patrol Studio 51, a movie set where a new science fiction movie dubbed Warzone Pacific was currently being produced.
Moments later, Rex Logan—the lead actor of Warzone Pacific and a vocal Utopian—was found melted to death with acid on the movie set. In spite of Amy's post-trauma instability, she agreed to help the player with the murder investigation. Without Chief Marquez's intervention, Amy and the player made two trips through Studio 51, a props storage room, and a drive-in theater as they eventually incriminated the killer to be Daniel Lambert—the co-star of Warzone Pacific and a fellow Utopian.
The Utopian statuette Daniel Lambert used to stage the corpse of Rex Logan.
Although Daniel refused to admit to the crime once Amy and the player attempted to arrest him, he eventually conceded by stating that Rex was untalented and was not fit to star in any film project. Daniel believed that Rex abused his Utopian faith to get the lead role for Warzone Pacific, which prompted the co-star to label the victim as a traitor to the Utopians. In addition, he wanted Rex gone so that he could have some time to shine in Ivywood, not to mention that he wanted to make the Utopians proud. Furthermore, Daniel felt that the victim was not well-synchronized with the cult's faith. So, to fool the player, he stole a bottle of acid from the prop room, threw it at Rex when he and the victim were alone on the set, and configured the corpse to resemble the Utopian statuette of "Adel"—a legendary Utopian figure who, according to a Utopian mythology, was accused of betraying his brothers and breaking the teachings of the cult's faith. Daniel thus fled the scene, hoping that the acid would destroy the evidence. The player was foolproof in the investigation per Amy, so Daniel was shipped to court.
In court, Judge Dante informed Daniel that he was not qualified to convict extraterrestrials (due to Daniel wearing heavy makeup for the movie), but the actor replied that it was understandably nothing more than just makeup. Despite his alleged xenophobia, the judge then concluded that a murder is a felony, thus issuing a 30-year jail sentence to Daniel for grand homicide. Amy felt that it was a big welcome-back investigation she and the player had just concluded, but expressed how they should be extra careful when dealing with Utopians in the future. Post-indictment comments aside, Amy then spoke to the player in the third person to announce that she was finally back for real.
Russell Crane and the player unexpectedly stumbled upon a brainwashed Susan Blair at Studio 51.
Hours following the indictment, Chief Marquez ordered Amy and the player to check up on Susan Blair, an actress and a recent Utopian who was currently receiving threats of all sorts. After a brief but detailed talk with Susan at Studio 51, Amy and the player found an anonymous threat letter on the set, addressed to the actress. After tedious hours of analysis, Russell Crane deduced that the letter was sent to Susan by none other than the Utopians (the profiler had received a similar letter for leaving the cult years ago). This prompted Russell and the player to rush to Susan only to find her brainwashed; this marked the third time someone was found brainwashed in the exact manner, as a similar scenario was witnessed twice before the events of this case. The actress was evidently brainwashed by the Utopians—who were currently under allegations of a brainwashing scheme—to ensure she wouldn't leave the cult under any circumstances.
Furthermore, Lucy Armstrong, a costume designer and fellow Utopian, was caught in the middle of the Utopians' plans to prepare for the Ivywood Movie Awards held yearly in Pacific Bay. Russell was thus forced to quiz his own father, Jupiter Crane, about the cult's plans for the upcoming Ivywood Movie Awards. Thanks to Jupiter's "involuntary help", the profiler managed to find a flyer of the awards ceremony at the drive-in theater; the player unraveled the scribbled part of the flyer to be a brainwash order intended to take place at 8PM at the Ivywood Awards, also bearing a note to have gossip columnist and Utopian member Holly Hopper replace Rex as the ceremony's host. The duo didn't hesitate to quiz Holly as a result, but could not get the vital piece of information they yearned for.
The findings made Amy nervous as the annual Ivywood Movie Awards was rapidly approaching, but Russell made one thing clear: the Pacific Bay Police now needed to get to the bottom of the brainwashing fiasco and stop it at all costs.
Victim
- Rex Logan (was melted to death with acid)
Murder Weapon
- Acid
Killer
- Daniel Lambert
Suspects
Killer's Profile
- The killer uses talcum powder.
- The killer has acid burns.
- The killer is a Utopian.
- The killer wears blue makeup.
- The killer wears glasses.
Crime Scenes
Steps
Chapter 1
- Investigate Spaceship Set. (Clues: Victim's Body, Acid Bottle, Erased Clapperboard; Murder Weapon Registered: Acid)
- Examine Acid Bottle. (Result: Acid)
- Analyze Acid. (03:00:00; Attribute: The killer has acid burns)
- Examine Erased Clapperboard. (New Suspect: Ted Esquire)
- Ask Ted Esquire information about the murder. (Prerequisite: Clapperboard unraveled)
- Investigate Props Room. (Prerequisite: Talk to Ted; Clues: Acid Receipt, Box of Props)
- Examine Acid Receipt. (Result: Delivery Number)
- Analyze Delivery Number. (09:00:00)
- Ask Lucy Armstrong about the acid she purchased. (Prerequisite: Delivery Number analyzed)
- Examine Box of Props. (Result: Movie Poster)
- Examine Movie Poster. (New Suspect: Daniel Lambert)
- Talk to Daniel Lambert about what happened on the movie set. (Prerequisite: Movie Poster cracked)
- Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The killer uses talcum powder)
- Go to Chapter 2. (No stars)
Chapter 2
- Investigate Drive-In Theater. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; Clues: Metallic Pieces, Utopian Merchandise)
- Examine Utopian Merchandise. (Result: Retrospective Flyer)
- Analyze Retrospective Flyer. (06:00:00)
- Ask Holly Hopper about her involvement in the Rex Logan Retrospective. (Prerequisite: Flyer analyzed)
- Examine Metallic Pieces. (Result: Utopian Statuette)
- Analyze Utopian Statuette. (12:00:00; Attribute: The killer is a Utopian)
- Investigate UFO. (Prerquisite: Utopian Statuette analyzed; Clues: Contract, Broken Camera, Locked Tablet)
- Examine Contract. (Result: Susan Blair's Contract)
- Ask Susan Blair about the link between the Utopians and the Movie. (Prerequisite: Susan's contract unraveled)
- Examine Broken Camera. (Result: Camera)
- Analyze Camera. (12:00:00)
- Talk to Ted about his fights with the victim. (Prerequisite: Camera analyzed)
- Examine Locked Tablet. (Result: Tablet)
- Analyze Tablet. (06:00:00)
- Ask Daniel about the e-mails you discovered on his tablet. (Prerequisite: Tablet analyzed)
- Go to Chapter 3. (1 star)
Chapter 3
- Investigate Car Seat. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Faded Script, Metal Box, Broken Pieces)
- Examine Faded Script. (Result: Rex's Message)
- Ask Susan about her close relationship with the victim. (Prerequisite: Rex's Message unraveled)
- Examine Metal Box. (Result: Negatives)
- Analyze Negatives. (09:00:00)
- Confront Holly about spying on the victim. (Prerequisite: Negatives analyzed)
- Examine Broken Pieces. (Result: Movie Armor with Message)
- Talk to Lucy about the victim's threat. (Prerequisite: Movie Armor restored)
- Investigate Work Table. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Access Card, Trash Can)
- Examine Access Card. (Result: Powder)
- Analyze Powder. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears blue makeup)
- Examine Trash Can. (Result: Glove)
- Analyze Glove. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears glasses)
- Arrest killer.
- Go to Ivywood Confidential 5. (No stars)
Ivywood Confidential 5
- Check up on Susan Blair. (Available after unlocking Ivywood Confidential)
- Investigate Spaceship Set. (Prerequisite: Talk to Susan; Clues: Filming Tools)
- Examine Filming Tools. (Result: Anonymous Letter)
- Analyze Anonymous Letter. (09:00:00)
- Warn Susan Blair about the threats she received. (Prerequisite: Letter analyzed; Reward: Burger)
- Investigate Props Room. (Available after unlocking Ivywood Confidential; Clues: Torn Paper)
- Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Blueprints)
- Analyze Blueprints. (06:00:00)
- Ask Lucy Armstrong what the blueprints are for. (Prerequisite: Blueprints analyzed; Reward: Sci-Fi Armor)
- Investigate Drive-In Theater. (All Tasks before must be done first; Clues: Utopian Chest)
- Examine Utopian Chest. (Result: Awards Program)
- Examine Awards Program. (Result: Message)
- Question Holly Hopper about the Utopians' plans for the Ivywood Awards. (Prerequisite: Message unraveled; Reward: 20,000 Coins)
- Investigate Next Case. (1 star)
Trivia
- The case's title and concept bears similarities with those of the famous science fiction franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
- The Additional Investigation chapter is named differently in this case, as with all other cases of Ivywood Hills. In this case, the chapter is dubbed "Ivywood Confidential 5".
- Studio 51 is most likely an allusion to the infamous Area 51 that was rumored to be an extraterrestrial research base.
- The names of the director, Ted Esquire, and the victim, Rex Logan, may be allusions to the main characters of the Bill & Ted series: Bill Esquire and Ted Logan.
- The Ivywood Film Awards—a.k.a. Ivywood Movie Awards—is an obvious parody of the Hollywood Film Awards, an American motion picture award ceremony held annually since 1997.
- The metal arm featured in the crime scene "Spaceship Set" (and briefly in the crime scene "Car Seat") may be a nod to that of the The Terminator, a popular fictional character that appears as a cyborg in the film series of the same name.
- In the crime scene "Props Room", the blue armor at the right is clearly based off of Iron Man's powered armor.
- In the "Drive-In Theater" crime scene, a man donning a spacesuit can be seen standing by the American flag on the movie screen, which is a possible reference to Apollo 11—the spaceflight that landed the first humans, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on the moon.
- This case is currently unavailable for play on the iOS version of the game.