Under the Skin (Case #73, or Case #17 of Pacific Bay) is the final case of Inner City, the seventeenth case of Pacific Bay, and the seventy-third case of the game.
Case Background
Previously on Criminal Case, Chief Marquez informed the player that even with the end of Inner Chaos, the Russo-Chinese feud was still in progress and required a search for the stolen organs of Ling Zhang, Radovan Radich, and Angus O'Brian, and ordered Frank Knight to accompany the player in keeping the Chinese Festival in Inner City secure. Unfortunately, the festival was cut short when the team found Russian community leader Nikolai Kamarov partially skinned and tied to chains on a parade float, suspecting fears of the Russian community retaliating in violence in response to Nikolai's death.
In the middle of the investigation, Mark McKenzie was arrested for his involvement in the missing organs as Mark obeyed the killer's orders to remove the organs and give them to the killer in clandestine terms, which suggested that an organ thief was on the loose. Chief Marquez had to rush to the headquarters of the Chinese community in search of Sue Xiong, who was kidnapped by the killer. While the killer was successful in skinning Nikolai to death, Sue was fortunate to thwart her death before the killer did the same thing to her—she was also kind enough to hand the murder weapon to the team. In Inner City's unexpected turn of events, the killer turned out to be a businessman named Rupert Snow.
Rupert was the illegitimate son of Nikolai and Sue, but was abandoned by the two community leaders when he was one year of age because both were too weak to stand up to societal pressure from their respective communities, so to show his power, he hired Mark to gather organs from various Inner City citizens for him. Frank couldn't believe Rupert's reasons for the murder, but Rupert was more than willing to reveal his sick plans before Judge Dante.
In court, Rupert told Judge Dante he had to rely on countless foster families wondering who his parents were since he was a toddler. Rupert had to make his fortune as a businessman before embarking on his sick quest to find Nikolai and Sue, but felt betrayed when he discovered that he was the son of the leaders of two rival communities as the Russo-Chinese feud didn't fly out of Rupert's fingers. Money was the only motive the community leaders had for the Russo-Chinese feud and, as such, Rupert believed he was the chosen one to end the Russo-Chinese feud, and admitted he hired Mark to collect the heart of Ling (full of life and hope), the lungs of Radovan (to breathe the cleansed air of Inner City), and the spine of Angus (the backbone of society) to unite all races together in a bloodbath. Rupert decided thus he needed to skin Nikolai and Sue to death to remind Inner City the embodiment of peace between ethnicities, and although Rupert succeeded in skinning Nikolai alive, he blamed the player for his failure to do the same thing to Sue. This sickened Judge Dante like never before, and the court decided a lifetime jail sentence for Nikolai's murder, his involvement in the organ-stealing scheme, and the attempted murder of Sue Xiong was appropriate for Rupert. Frank admitted that the case was somewhat too much for him as he believed the case was crazed to no end.
Following Rupert's incarceration, the team managed to find the missing organs in Rupert's hideout (the same place where Sue was rescued) in which Roxie verified they matched the organs stolen from Ling, Radovan, and Angus during three previous murders and given they were preserved well, allowing her to transfer them to reputable hospitals in the event other citizens might need organ transplants in the future. Jessica Toussaint saw the player in person for the first time as she needed the team's help locating her other child, James, in which the player found him becoming a new friend of Andrew Kamarov, who's currently under the care of Sergei Yablokov following Nikolai's horrendous death. Sergei felt he would not be a good foster parent to Andrew as he wanted to call a permanent truce to end the Russo-Chinese feud, so he pleaded with the team to take care of Andrew until further notice.
With the Russo-Chinese feud put to an end (thanks to Sergei and Sue attending Nikolai's funeral to show signs of a working truce), Inner City could finally reunite all ethnicities in a non-violent fashion, in which Chief Marquez announced the next district the player would be working at was in Yann Toussaint's hometown, Jazz Town.
Victim
- Nikolai Kamarov (was partially skinned and tied to a parade float)
Murder Weapon
- Scalpel
Killer
- Rupert Snow
Suspects
Killer's Profile
- The killer is right-handed.
- The killer had an organ transplant.
- The killer speaks Chinese.
- The killer has burn marks.
- The killer is male.
Crime Scenes
Steps
Chapter 1
- Investigate Festival Float. (Clues: Victim's Body, Firework Crate)
- Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Attribute: The killer is right-handed)
- Examine Firework Crate. (Result: Drawing)
- Examine Drawing. (Result: Powder)
- Analyze Powder. (03:00:00; Attribute: The killer had an organ transplant)
- Talk to Sue Xiong about Kamarov's death. (Prerequisite: Play Festival Float as a task)
- Investigate Temple Garden. (Prerequisite: Talk to Sue Xiong first; Clues: Broken Slab, Faded Notebook)
- Examine Broken Slab. (Result: Threat)
- Ask Sergei Yablokov about the threats made on the Chinese community. (Prerequisite: Threat on Slab seen)
- Examine Faded Notebook. (Result: Kamarov's List)
- Analyze Kamarov's List. (09:00:00)
- Talk to Aicha about the people she expelled on Kamarov's Order. (Prerequisite: Kamarov's List analyzed)
- Go to Chapter 2. (1 star)
Chapter 2
- Investigate Operating Room. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; Clues: Broken Device, Gun, Operating Tools)
- Examine Broken Device. (Result: Voice Recorder)
- Analyze Voice Recorder. (03:00:00; Attribute: The killer speaks Chinese)
- Examine Gun. (Result: Fingerprints)
- Analyze Fingerprints. (09:00:00)
- Ask Mark McKenzie about his visit to the operating room. (Prerequisite: Fingerprints analyzed)
- Examine Operating Tools. (Result: Paper Lantern)
- Investigate Festival Decorations. (Prerequisite: Paper Lantern found; Clues: Torn Paper, Bank Statement)
- Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Expulsion Papers)
- Ask Aicha about her family's expulsion. (Prerequisite: Expulsion Papers restored)
- Examine Bank Statement. (Result: Account Number)
- Analyze Account Number. (15:00:00)
- Talk to Rupert Snow about the money he gave to Kamarov. (Prerequisite: Account Number analyzed)
- Go to Chapter 3. (1 star)
Chapter 3
- Investigate Temple Interior. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Encrypted Message, Photograph, Trash Can)
- Examine Encrypted Message. (Result: Code Key)
- Question Sergei about the peace offer. (Prerequisite: Code Key deciphered)
- Examine Photograph. (Result: Rupert Snow)
- Ask Rupert about his ties with Kamarov. (Prerequisite: Young Boy is Rupert Snow)
- Examine Trash Can. (Result: Bloody Gloves)
- Analyze Bloody Gloves. (09:00:00)
- Interrogate Mark about his role in the organs' theft. (Prerequisite: Bloody Gloves analyzed)
- Investigate Operating Table. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Ice Cooler)
- Examine Ice Cooler. (Result: Firecracker)
- Examine Firecracker. (Result: Skin Sample)
- Analyze Skin Sample. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer has burn marks)
- See how Sue is doing after her abduction. (Prerequisite: Play Operating Table as a task first; Murder Weapon found: Scalpel)
- Analyze Scalpel. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer is male)
- Arrest Killer.
- Go to Additional Investigation. (No stars)
Additional Investigation
- Ask Mark about the location of the stolen organs. (Available after unlocking Additional Investigation)
- Investigate Operating Room. (Prerequisite: Talk to Mark first; Clues: Locked Fridge)
- Examine Locked Fridge. (Result: Organs)
- Analyze Organs. (06:00:00)
- Question Mark about the money. (Prerequisite: Organs analyzed; Reward: 20,000 Coins)
- Investigate Festival Float. (Available after unlocking Additional Investigation; Clues: Bag of Decorations)
- Examine Bag of Decorations. (Result: Rattle Toy)
- Examine Rattle Toy. (Result: Blood)
- Analyze Blood. (09:00:00)
- Ask Sue about the rattle toy. (Prerequisite: Blood analyzed; Reward: Burger)
- Investigate Temple Garden. (Prerequisite: Talk to Sue; Clues: Torn Paper)
- Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Child Drawing)
- Ask Sergei about James's whereabouts. (Prerequisite: Child Drawing restored; Reward: Chinese Opera Headdress)
- Investigate Next Case. (1 star)
Trivia
- This is the first case since Into the Vipers' Nest and Blood on the Trading Floor of Grimsborough in which an innocent suspect is generous enough to find the murder weapon for the team.
- This is one of the only final cases of a district in which the killer does not appear as a suspect previously.
- In addition, this is the only final case of a district in which the killer never made any previous appearances in the game.
- All suspects, with the exception of Rupert Snow, also make appearances prior to this case.
- This is one of the cases of Pacific Bay in which more than one suspect gets arrested based on the canon of the case.
- This is one of the cases of Pacific Bay in which the victim and the killer were related.
- In the crime scene "Temple Interior", a rock displaying a "Pretty Simple" graffito can be spotted at the right-hand side.