Criminal Case: Pacific Bay

Chapter 21: Under the Thunderdome-Part 2

While Amy and Marie were recapping what they know so far about the case, Chief Marquez came by and told Marie that there was a break-in at the town square pharmacy. When Marie asked what was stolen, the chief told her that it was prescription medicine and she worries that the public health might be in danger because people could be buying and selling the medicine off the street. Amy then asked with a determined look, "What can we do to help Chief?"

The chief took out her phone and started to tap on the screen while telling them, "We have a photo from the pharmacy's video surveillance feed."

She then showed Amy and Marie the still photo and asked them if they recognized the man. To Marie and Amy's surprise they do recognize him and Marie said, "We sure do! That's our victim, Theo Mercier! So our victim was the one who stole the medicine from the pharmacy!"

Chief Marquez put her phone away in her pocket and she said, "Talk about a coincidence! Now that we know our victim was the one behind the robbery, Marie should have a chat with the pharmacist, Mr. Claude Lamothe. And while you two are at the pharmacy, look for more clues about Theo's last hours alive!"

The two female officers saluted and soon, they set out to check out the pharmacy. As soon as they arrived at the pharmacy, Amy was marveled by how adorable and old fashioned it looked. Marie then found a duffle bag with Theo Mercier's name on it. She also found a box of chocolates with a card that says, 'Love, Tango Theo', But the rest of the message was faded. Wondering who it was the victim wanted to give the chocolates, Marie knew she had to recover the rest of the message.

Before she could look at the clues, Marie wanted to talk to Claude Lamothe first. Once Amy and Marie found him behind the counter, Marie saw his hand was holding coffee cup and it was shaking. Claude then said to her, "Thank you for coming so quickly Miss Marie! I cannot believe someone would break into my pharmacy! Even my trusty chicory cannot settle my nerves."

Marie nodded in understanding and she said to the man, "Mr. Lamothe, we identified the person who robbed your pharmacy. A man named Theo Mercier."

As soon as he heard Theo's name, Claude set his cup down and he exclaimed, "Him again?! The nerve of him! I caught Theo shoplifting from here multiple times; I caught him taking, cough syrup, sinus medication, over-the-counter stuff, etc. But I can't believe that he would steal prescription medication! I'm afraid for the population of Jazz Town if these get into the wrong hands!"

"You don't need to worry about that anymore Mr. Lamothe because Theo Mercier was murdered," Amy said with a grim look.

Claude rolled his eyes after he heard the news and he said, "Well! This may be for the best because Theo was a threat to the general public!"

Once they were done talking to Claude and Marie told him that they will keep him updated, Marie decided to look through the victim's duffle bag first. After looking through the bag's contents, Marie found a bloody broken string with 'Thunderdome' written on it. Seeing the string had blood on it, Marie suggested that they send it to Yann because blood always has a story to tell. Once Marie sent the bloody string to Yann, she got work brushing her powder over the card that was attached to the box of chocolates.

As soon as the writing became visible, Marie and Amy saw who Theo bought the chocolates for. On the card, it said, 'To Jazzy Dinah, Forgive me! Love, Tango Theo.' Amy began to think about where she heard the name Dinah before. Marie instantly remembered who "Jazzy Dinah" is because it must be Dinah Cooper, the cabaret dancer they met during their first investigation in Jazz Town. Marie suggested that they check in on Dinah and ask her about her relationship with the victim.

After they arrived at the club where Dinah works and Marie told her about Theo's death, Dinah's eyes went wide with shock and she said, "Dang, he probably had it coming though. Theo, you foolish man."