Letters of the Phantom

Chapter 6: The girl with the snake tattoo

Mike left the two girls alone in the room, leaving Audrina completely dumbfounded. Had the police mistakenly identified one of the victims? How was this even possible?

"Are you even listening?" Lola said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh, er- sorry. What were you saying?" Audrina said, trying to stay focused.

"I said, there are more outfits in the closet behind us. Do you prefer red or blue?"

Audrina's mind was racing, trying to go through all the possibilities that could explain as to how this girl was still alive.

"Uh, red," Audrina replied, sounding nervous.

Audrina tried to snap herself back into the present moment. She had to stop her racing thoughts so that she could use this moment to her advantage. She decided she needed to sound as natural as possible, and began asking questions.

"So uh, how long have you been working here?" Audrina asked.

Lola blew a bubble from her bubblegum. "I dunno. Probably like two years now."

Lola sighed and went over to the mirror to fix her hair. "You got a cigarette?"

Audrina shook her head no.

"That's too bad, I really need one before I go out there tonight," Lola sighed again.

Audrina tried to choose her words carefully. She wanted to leave with answers, not more questions.

"Actually, I'll go get you one. Be right back."

If Audrina wanted this girl to open up to her, she needed to gain her trust. She quickly tossed on her coat and heels and went outside in the hopes of finding someone who was willing to give her a cigarette.

To her surprise, there were multiple women outside having a smoke. Audrina asked for a cigarette and ran back inside to find Lola.

Lola was still waiting in the backroom. Audrina returned with a cigarette in hand.

"Here," Audrina said, handing over the cigarette to Lola.

Lola pulled a lighter from her purse and took a drag of the cigarette.

"So, what's someone like you doing at a place like this? You've totally got the body, but you look out of place, no offense," Lola said, analyzing her.

Audrina tried her best to sound convincing. "I'm just looking for some fun, I guess. What about you? Uh, why are you here?"

Lola half smiled. "My sister and I used to dance for Mike and his customers every weekend. But she isn't around anymore, so I only work here fridays. If you are looking to make a little more extra money on the side hit me up, guys around here are always trying to take us girls out for dates."

Then it hit her. Audrina realized that Lola was most definitely not one of the victims, but most likely the twin sister of one, which would explain the uncanny ressemblance. As she looked her up and down, she realized that although there was a striking ressemblance to the second victim of the Phantom, the victim's picture on the evidence board in Detective Caldwell's office had brown eyes. Unlike Lola, whose eyes were blue. Audrina had studied the victims's profiles inside out. None of the victim's had any tattoos, but Lola had a long snake tattoo on the right side of her ankle.

Audrina began to wonder how much Lola could know about her murdered sister. But how could she get Lola to come down to the police station for an interview without  having her cover blown?

It was no wonder why Lola never came forward to the police to talk about her sister. Asides from stripping, her and her sister were selling their bodies too.

Panic began to settle in as she realized that she had to go out there and take her clothes off for a bunch of strangers... she had to get out of here, but how?

Her thoughts flickered back to Lola, who was puffing away on the cigarette, clearly oblivious to the tension brewing in the room.  She couldn’t let her emotions show.

“So, you said you used to dance with your sister, right?” Audrina ventured, her tone casual but with an underlying hint of curiosity. She needed to keep Lola talking.

Lola exhaled, her gaze shifted toward the ground, as if she were weighing the conversation. “Yeah. We were pretty close. Mike always said we were a good match for his customers.” She paused, looking away for a second, her voice softening just a bit. “But she's... she’s gone now. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers. "One minute she’s here, and the next, no one can even tell me what happened to her."

Audrina's pulse quickened. Lola was talking more than she expected. This was it—the crack she needed to get deeper into the mystery.

“How did you feel about that? When they... took her?” Audrina pushed, careful to keep her tone sympathetic but not too probing.

Lola’s eyes shifted, and for a moment, she looked vulnerable—genuine sadness consumed her and her eyes began to fill with tears. “I don't know. You get used to it, you know? It’s just the kind of stuff that happens around here now. But... I never thought it’d happen to her.” Lola’s voice was shaky.

Audrina stayed silent, sensing that Lola wasn’t done yet. When Lola didn't continue, Audrina tried a different approach.

“You ever talk to the cops? About what happened to her?” Audrina asked, feigning curiosity while studying Lola’s reactions closely.

Lola scoffed, her body language stiffening. “The cops? What could they do? They don’t care about girls like us.” She rolled her eyes, but Audrina noticed the quick flash of bitterness in her voice. “Besides, it was clear from the start they weren't really looking for her. Not hard enough, anyway," she said sadly.

Lola flicked the ash off her cigarette and stood up, stretching her back, seeming she was trying to snap out of it. “Well, I gotta go hit the stage, unless you got another cigarette,” she teased, but there was a sharpness in her voice now.

"Yeah, I'll be right out. I just need to change. You go first," Audrina instructed.

Audrina needed to get out of here before her cover was blown, but she also needed more information. She glanced at the door to the stage, feeling the pressure rise.

With that, Lola turned and started walking toward the stage. Audrina hesitated for a moment, to make sure she was finally alone.

Taking one last glance at Lola’s retreating figure, Audrina quickly opened the back window and climbed out of it. The fresh air hit her like a slap in the face, but her thoughts didn’t slow down.

Audrina’s mind whirred with more questions, but she had no time to lose- she had to get back to Fanny and Detective Caldwell as soon as possible. She quickly got back into her car, and disappeared into the night.