The Pinera Bread Murders: A Charlie Chang (not Chan) Murder Mystery
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“I repeat. I wasn’t even here!”
“Care to take a walk to ask Harry, Miss Domingo?”
“I’d prefer to go home than play your childish games. You have nothing on me. I wasn’t here. I’m not involved.”
“We could arrest you now and have a line up later, but I’d prefer an answer now. You may stand thirty or so feet off from Harry if you wish. If you are telling the truth you should have nothing to fear and be taken home. Shall we walk?”
And so they did. Martine Domingo hung a generous thirty feet back from Harry’s table. Chang approached further hailing Harry as he closed. Harry probably recognized him at about ten feet. He also recognized a blondish form standing a ways back in the same direction. Harry had always liked Martine. Harry raised a welcoming hand.
“Hi Martine. Please come closer. Why did you turn away and leave the restaurant earlier without a word?”
“You sure woman is Martine Domingo?” asked Chang in a voice a bit louder than it had to be – even Martine could hear.
“Oh sure, I’d know Martine anywhere. She was one of our group leaders up in Boca you know.”
Chang bowed, “Thank you, Mr. Stern, most helpful. So Sorry… but Martine can’t visit just yet. Perhaps later.
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As they walked back toward the table, Chang spoke to Martine
“We can either continue this interview in at the table or in jail cell. What is your preference?
Martine chose the table.
“Alright so I did drop in here for a coffee. What the hell is wrong with that? I saw Harry of all people was here so I left.”
“You do not like Mr. Stern?”
“No it’s not that. He’s always been a gentleman, but I don’t like the insensitivity to women in his writing besides he reminds me of that night in Boca and Margarita’s awful death.” replied Martine seeming to wipe a tear from her eye.
“Why, please, did you lie?”
“That should be obvious. It’s clear to me from the beginning I was brought in here to help with your inquiries into a death perhaps a murder. Then you told me the dead woman was a friend of whom I’ve never heard of a guy for whom I once had a crush. As if that mattered in the least. Further, you’ve now made it crystal clear that my mere presence here would make me a suspect in your mind.”
Chang and Kong each bore down hard on Martine with a presumption of guilt. However, Martine kept control aside from a few tears at convenient points and stuck to her story. Chang suspected the tears were crocodile tears, a variety quite common in South Florida. He would have even more suspicious if he’d known Martine’s daughter was an accomplished actress in New York. Still, in the end, they had nothing. They could place her at Panera’s shortly before seven but had strong evidence she was five or more miles away at home at the time of Roxanne Madison’s death and some insincere tears well timed. There was no smoking gun. In fact, no weapon at all had been seen. They had no choice but to cede to her repeated requests to be taken home.
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How did you pull off that bit with Harry, Charlie?” asked Kong when Martine had gone.
“Had noted gentle old man seem to like Martine and had habit of waving when sees friend. Took chance that polite man would not expect anything and simply confirm what he expected to see. His words were bonus. ID not good enough for jury but fooled Martine.”
Kong smiled ironically “You’ve got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them” I guess. Great bluff, Charlie but we’re stumped. We’ll keep on investigating but this case will be our Boca Rotan.”
It was about then that Dana approached a bit red-faced and uncharacteristically humble.
“Dana has something she found earlier, pops.” started Betty to help.
“Sorry, Charlie,” began Dana, I found this un-mailed letter on the floor over by the writer’s table earlier. Between spying on that party and whatever that was with Harry I forgot to give it to you. The envelope is sealed but it’s addressed to Isabella Lopez with a return address to Karl Dulop.”
Chang covered his annoyance with the forgetful Dana, “Most grateful. We need miracle”
The letter to Isabella proved to be an encouraging letter from Karl and Norma Dulop. Chang knew Norma was Dulop’s wife. Its contents pointed to a whole new area of investigation but not one that was particularly encouraging to either Kong or Chang. In part the letter read:
“…so excited that you got approval to form a drama group among the inmates. Karl’s friend Danny heard about it through the prison grapevine. Understand you’ll be the lead witch in Macbeth. What a wonderful role for you, lol. Just teasing. Never thought of you as a witch but have seen you act with that Broward theatre company. Know you’ll be great...”
“Suppose it’s something but not a hell of a lot, Charlie” reacted Kong.
“So true. Just when we thing we’re closing in on a colleague of the devil, a Broadway witch comes into the picture.” Replied Chang
I’ll have one of my guys give the warden a call and have her cell searched for what I have no ideas. I’ll also have someone review the files on the first Write Stuff case with this in mind. Can’t imagine what helpful it will turn up but that’s why they call us investigators.”
“Nor I, son” returned Chang familiarly.
“Geez Charlie, I’m not going to have to start calling you ‘pops’ am I?”, chuckled Kong. “Let’s all go have a last drink with Betty.”
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Warden Cummings was most cooperative. Isabella Lopez and her cell were thoroughly searched. Anything suspicious in the slightest was seized and sent to Chief Kong. The Warden even sent clips from the prison newspaper and a local newspaper reviewing the Macbeth performance along with his personal account of Isabella’s performance.
The prison paper, The Con wrote, “Isabella Lopez deserves our thanks for organizing the show. Her directing was decent, but Lady Macbeth with a ghetto accent saying ‘Yo, out out you honky spot’? LOL. Her own acting was marvelous as was that of her fellow witches. While not the stars of the play, the witches were far more than believable. They were frighteningly so…”
The Crawford Gazette wrote, “…A star is born. Isabella Lopez should head to Broadway or perhaps Salem. She stole the show as a witch. Let’s hope the confessed murderess wasn’t type cast…”
Added the warden, “Have to agree with the reviews. Though Lopez has been a model prisoner, I couldn’t help but reflect that I should increase security on her while watching her performance. There was something menacing in the air.”
The most intriguing item seized was an isolated page of a handwritten letter apparently written to Lopez. The handwriting wasn’t her own. It was a list of ingredients for a witches brew. It included a fat dead rat and numerous other ingredients not in Shakespeare’s version of such a brew along with some other words Warden Cummings had been included in Lopez’s performance that were not from the pen of Shakespeare.
“Most interesting. Unusual handwriting most familiar. It is that of Martine Domingo.”
A handwriting expert later would confirm this finding.
The review of the first Write Stuff murder also turned up an interesting piece of information previously ignored because Isabella had confessed early on. Isabella had an estranged adult daughter who had left home at an early age.
Further investigation revealed that she was the same Margarita Lopez who had died in the 1500 Words case. This too had never been followed up since Isabella Lopez was 500 miles away in a prison in Crawford, Florida at the time of Margarita’s death. Fresh inquiries of some of Margarita’s friends confirmed the fact and that Margarita always referred to her estranged mother as a witch she had always feared growing up.
Said one friend, “She hated her mother and told me the feeling was mutual.”
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“Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive”
“More Shakespeare,
Charlie?” asked Kong.
“So sorry no. Many think that but was actually Sir Walter Scott several centuries later.”
“Oh, tell me more what your most literate mind perceives, pops”
“Is most clear now. Isabella and shaman in training Domingo are well acquainted. Conjecture for now but could explain source or at least knowledge of little known exotic but natural and most lethal poison most rare used by Isabella to kill Maria Gonzalez in first Write Stuff murder.
More significant, Isabella and Domingo had common enemy to wish death upon in Boca case – Margarita Lopez. In this case, Domingo may have wanted Roger dead for spurning her or Roxanne dead for being his choice of girlfriend rather than her – has done before in Boca. Thus allies brew up this death from afar. Maybe get wrong person. Maybe get intended victim.”
“I follow you, Charlie. There are some gaps that would be damned hard to fill but I think you may have it right. Still let’s talk to the DA and get his thoughts. Okay? We may just be too close to this.”
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Bill Bradley, the DA was a very bright and thoughtful man for a politician. He listened carefully as Chang and Kong laid out the background and Chang’s theory.”
“I see a great future for you two in Hollywood. I might accept it in a Steven King flick but it leaves me cold in real life. First, I don’t believe in a literal devil much less one responding on command. Second, I don’t believe in witches or witch craft not to mention witch craft from afar. That said, it’s a great theory that ties all these writing group murders together rather than having these three writing group deaths just happening in so short a time as a strange coincidence.
Still, I recommend you drop it. Even if you were to fill in some gaps I noted, this isn’t 17th century Salem. Can you imagine me presenting this case to a largely well-educated multi-faith jury probably including more than a few atheists? ‘The devil acting through Miss Domingo and her witch friend serving time in far off Crawford did it, my friends.’ I doubt that even a jury of those damned, nut-case, Tea Party, Evangelicals would reach a guilty verdict.
Don’t get me wrong. I applaud your efforts and creativity, but no way would I indict or prosecute this case based on your theory.
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The coroner ruled Roxanne’s death a homicide by person or persons unknown. In this case, without additional comment.
The cases involved were relegated to the cold case files.
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A year to the day of the first Write Stuff murder, Roger Davidson died a horrible and inexplicable death. It was ruled a homicide by person or persons unknown.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C. H. MEYER was born in Connecticut in 1945. After graduating from M.I.T and The University of Chicago Business School, he pursued a successful career in marketing and international business. He retired somewhat early to pursue his three passions: dogs, writing, and painting.
His three earlier books - written under the writing name Derek Maxwell - are currently out of print. However, they are being re-edited and will be available again shortly. They are:
Dirty Green Hands, a satirical comic account of a fraudulent organic fertilizer company, its executives, and its Wall Street shenanigans. Naturally, murder becomes involved but never fear ace PI Remo Dawg and his stunning techy partner Kandi Kane are on the case.
Dead Peonies is a sequel to Dirty Green Hands filled with more humor and skullduggery with Remo and Kandi in hot pursuit.
Expedition’s End is the story of an expedition organized in 1920 by the Royal Geographic Society. It is sent to Sumatra to find a species of ape never seen by westerners that could be the missing link. They find more than they bargained for. The story then moves to Hawaii and on to murder most foul. Fortunately, there is a young sergeant only recently involved with homicides there to solve the murder. His name is Charlie Chan. (not Chang)
Mr. Meyer’s paintings were finalists in the 2014 All Florida Competition at the Boca Rotan Art Museum. His art is also featured in the forthcoming illustrated books DOGGIE, My Life’s Story and Vanquishing Foes.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: DOGGIE My Life’s Story by C. H. Meyer
Mr. Meyer currently resides in Margate, Florida with his six rescue dogs. Confucius would say: “All work but no dogs makes for dull life.” Mr. Meyer confirms his six dogs keep things lively.
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