Recap / Criminal Case: Pacific Bay - Case 44: The Ties That Bind

Spangler: I know we didn't always see eye to eye, but I respect you, <Player's Name>. Please, you need to finish what I started! You must protect the alien!

Frank and the player go to a hippie festival in the middle of the desert to meet with Colonel Spangler and receive answers about the military activities in Rhine Canyon that seem to involve aliens. Unfortunately, they only find Spangler's body when they arrive there, tied up and burned to death.

Tropes:

• Agent Scully: Frank keeps refusing to believe that Spangler was protecting an alien.
  Frank: Alright <Player's Name>, I can honestly say that this is the weirdest investigation in my career. Everyone we've met seems to believe in those stupid alien theories!
• Alien Among Us:
  • Judge Dante jokes about this.
    Honorable Dante: I had a French teacher in high school who came from planet Baguetron, and he blended in perfectly! Nice guy, really!
  • There's also the GIA, who according to Agent Z, believes the alien could be disguised as anyone... including you.
• Big Damn Reunion: One between Chief Marquez and Randolph... if you believe Randolph is the "alien" she met years ago, that's it.
  Chief Marquez: Randolph, you just said I reminded you of a little girl you saw when you first... landed on Earth?
  Randolph: Oh yes, that little girl was very nice. But then the military came to take Randolph away.
  Chief Marquez: Randolph, I was that little girl. Are you... Are you really the alien I met all those years ago?!
• Big "WHAT?!": Combined with Spit Take, this is Frank's reaction when Chief Marquez tells you she believes Randolph is a real alien.
• Call-Back: Pearl Montana, Agent Z, Ezra Hope, and Randolph reappear as suspects.
• Classified Information: As we learn, Agent Z seems to be involved in the whole alien shtick too, which is why he was following Spangler, the only person who knew where the aliens was. But as expected, he still refuses to tell you more about it.
• Cliffhanger: The case ends with Chief Marquez informing the Department that they're going to help Randolph return home, meeting him at an abandoned fairground tonight.
• Connected All Along:
  • We discover via a press article that Chief Marquez' story about seeing an alien when she was a child and Colonel Spangler are connected, as Spangler was the one who painted her as crazy and ruined her childhood by making everyone believe she was a liar.
  • During the Additional Investigation, it's also revealed that Randolph is the supposed alien Chief Marquez met thirty six years ago... probably.
• Dead Man Writing: Spangler leaves you a video message in this style.
  Spangler: <Player's Name>, if you're seeing this, it means that I'm dead. I knew it was a risk when I decided to help the alien escape!
• Disproportionate Retribution: Judge Dante believes Pearl killed Spangler because he had an ugly mustache.
• Distress Call: Randolph has been sending one calling for his home planet with a device he made with the help of Colonel Spangler.
• First Contact: We see a flashback of Chief Marquez making contact with a supposed alien when she was a child.
• Glory Hound: Pearl killed Spangler because she wanted to be the first woman to prove the existence of alien life on Earth, whilst Spangler wanted to keep it a secret to protect Randolph.
  Pearl: I'm the one who discovered the whole truth about the aliens, I'm the new Colombus, Marco Polo, Neil Armstrong! Make a statue of me, give me the Nobel prize!
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Just when Spangler was starting to take a level in kindness and cooperate with the Police Department, he gets murdered.
  Frank: Now that's unexpected! So Spangler was willing to die to save another person's life? He doesn't sound like a bad guy after all, don't you think?
• If I Do Not Return: In his recording, Spangler asks you to look after the supposed alien he helped escape in case he dies, and we later learn he was referring to Randolph.
• Implied Death Threat:: During the Additional Investigation, Agent Z tells you that he's got permission of telling you classified information about the alien, but he's also allowed to make you "disappear" if you ever say anything about it.
• Imported Alien Phlebotinum: You find a strange cube of supposed alien technology that can collect data, including a recording of Randolph and Spangler discussing about the former's planet.
• Interspecies Friendship:
  • Spangler and Randolph (who is supposed to be an alien) have become friends ever since Spangler "freed" him from the military, as shown on a recording of both of them talking.
  • There's also the young Chief Marquez, who tried to make friends with the "alien" she met when she was six.
• Kill on Sight: You find a death warrant for Spangler as a clue, though Agent Z claims the GIA has nothing to do with it, since they needed Spangler alive to capture the alien.
• Man on Fire: Spangler was killed by being set ablaze with a Molotov cocktail.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Frank says that if he hears another word about aliens he'll have to down his entire flask.
• One of Our Own: Chief Marquez becomes a suspect after you discover she asked Spangler to meet up with her.
• Poor Communication Kills: In the end, Spangler was killed by Pearl Montana, his own archaeology apprentice, because she believed he was going to steal the credit of uncovering an alien cave and proving aliens existed on Earth, when in fact Spangler wanted to keep it a secret to protect Randolph as he was hiding in there.
• A Rare Sentence: Frank says one while doing a recap of the events.
  Frank: We also saw a video of Colonel Spangler promising Randolph that he would help him go back to his home planet. And I can't believe I just said that.
• Repressed Memories: Chief Marquez had been repressing her memories about supposedly meeting an alien when she was a child, as it led to her life being ruined after being outed as a liar by the army. It isn't until she sees a press article involving Colonel Spangler that she starts remembering again.
  Chief Marquez: Can you imagine what that does to a little girl?! It ruined my childhood! Heck, it's ruined my whole like: even today I have severe trust issues because of it!
  Frank: Leaving aside the whole "alien" thing for a second, Andrea... Why now? Why would you suddenly remember that Spangler was behind "this"?
  Chief Marquez: I guess I buried everything that happened that day deep inside me. But after seeing that article, I couldn't lie to myself anymore!
• Scavenged Punk: Randolph made a device capable of emitting signals through space with an army battery, soda cans, straws and a golf ball.
• Shout-Out:
  • The hippie festival is a parody of Burning Man.
  • In the Festival Grounds scene, King Kong appears.
• Spit Take: Frank does this with his drink when Chief Marquez tells you she believes Randolph is an alien in disguise.
• Stealing the Credit: Pearl killed Spangler because she thought he was doing this with the alien cave they found, believing Spangler was going to take all the credit of proving alien life existed on Earth.
  Pearl: Because the truth is, he didn't want to keep it secret! Oh no, he wanted to take all the credit and announce it as his own discovery! That's why I went to the festival, to stop him!
• Tracking Device: Agent Z had been following Spangler with one, since he had gone "rogue" by allegedly stealing material from his research and development site for a personal agenda.
• There's No Place Like Home: You find a recording of Spangler and Randolph talking about the latter's planet.
  Randolph: I found it, Colonel! That's my planet, Krep-9! Look! It's right here!
  Spangler: That... that is your planet?
  Randolph: Yes! Randolph transferred magnetic waves from the orb to the cube and got the map! You know what it means? Randolph can go home!
  Spangler: Randolph... This is wonderful! Finally, there is hope!
• Thou Shall Not Kill: Ezra claims he couldn't have killed Spangler because "you can't reach peace by killing."
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: After Chief Marquez recovers her memories, we get a brief flashback of her meeting the "alien" when she was a kid, which led to it ruining her childhood and life when the government stepped in and made everyone believe she was crazy.
• Undignified Death: Frank thinks this about Spangler's death.
  Frank: Sure, I didn't like the guy, but he didn't deserve to end up burnt to a crisp like this, it's so undignified!
• Villain Respect: While calling him "a villain" is a little too harsh, Spangler was still a smug Jerkass who often brought trouble with him and admitted hating the Police Department. However, he still acknowledges that he respects you during his Dead Man Writing message and that's the reason why he's asking for your help.