In Eric, fourteen-year-old Marlon Rochelle goes missing after getting involved with the patrons at The Lux.
Apart from Edgar’s case, Ledroit was also assigned to Marlon’s case. However, even eleven months after his disappearance, Ledroit has no leads.
Marlon’s case does not receive as much attention as Edgar’s, likely due to Marlon being Black and poor.
Everyone knows that Marlon did drugs, but Ledroit does not believe his case should be dismissed because of his history with drugs.
Marlon’s mother, Cecile, is not ready to give up on finding her son. She keeps calling and visiting Ledroit to ensure that her son is not forgotten.
The horrifying murder
Deputy Mayor Costello is a closeted gay man. Marlon had discovered his secret and was making money from him in exchange for sexual favors.
One day, before meeting Costello, Marlon, who played basketball, exchanged jerseys with a friend named Ricardo. The jersey that Marlon got had the number 8 on it.
Marlon then met Costello in an alley behind the club. Unfortunately, two vice officers, Nokes and Kennedy, stumbled upon them.
Nokes and Kennedy were already aware of the underage prostitution facilitated by TJ for the club’s patrons.
The corrupt officers took their share of profits in exchange for letting the illegal activities continue, but they were not receiving the money they expected.
Due to that, they were enraged to find out that Marlon was engaging in sex work outside the club, cutting into their profits.
While they handcuffed Costello, Nokes beat Marlon to death. Costello could not do anything to stop them. He refrained from reporting the crime out of fear of being exposed for hiring underage male sex workers.
To conceal the crime, Costello asked his brother-in-law, Bruno Di Bari, the owner of Hudson Sanitation, to dispose of the body in a landfill.
In return, Hudson Sanitation was awarded the contract to clean up the city’s tunnels. They all kept silent about the crime because they were all involved in it.
Ledroit discovers the truth
Since Marlon’s murder, Nokes and Kennedy have referred to Marlon as “8” because of his jersey number. The memory of the crime continues to haunt Kennedy.
Kennedy begins talking about it more frequently. On one occasion, Ledroit overhears Nokes and Kennedy’s conversation and records it.
While reviewing the recording later, he starts questioning who “8” could be. Fearing exposure, Nokes kills Kennedy, staging his death as a hit-and-run accident.
The mystery surrounding Marlon’s death begins to unravel when Lennie leads Ledroit to Ricardo. After speaking with Ricardo, Ledroit discovers that “8” is Marlon.
He then asks Gator for the CCTV footage from the day Marlon went missing because he now knows that his death is somehow linked to the club.
When Gator gives Ledroit the footage, Ledroit learns the whole truth, as the camera had captured Marlon’s murder.
With this evidence in his possession, he is able to arrest all those involved in the crime, some of whom confess.
Also Read: Alex Gator: Eric character explained