Chapter 8
After talking to the homeless man, Lara returned to the old railway car and climbed it to reach the bridge. She marched to a door that led to the Parisian streets.
In the corner, a man whistled as she passed him. He was surrounded by a wall full of graffiti. He stood next to the door that led to the other side of the city, but as she tried to go for the door he had spoken to her so she looked him up and down.
"Are you looking for anything special, little lady?" a man said.
He was maybe in his thirties, with a baseball cap with the letter A on it and a leather jacket.
Lara squinted at him.
The man wore a white shirt with a pair of jeans. He held a cigarette in his right hand. Both his arms had strange tattoos she had never seen before. The tattoo on his left arm looked like a cross with a lion's head in the middle of it and the one on the right looked like a snake that was surrounded by fire and a shadow.
Could be the mafia. Lara hummed. No, more like a troublemaker.
"So, what are you? A city guide?" Lara asked, putting her hand on her hip.
"That's right. I'm a city guide. All tastes and interests catered for." He smiled at her.
"Good, I need directions. I'm trying to find a man called Bouchard. Do you know him?"
"That's not a healthy kind of question to be asking," he said.
Looks like everyone knows Bouchard, but they're scared to talk.
"Don't tell me Paris is dangerous," Lara said, shaking her head.
"Oh, we got all kinds of rough stuff here in Paris. Including our own serial killer." He chuckled. "Have you heard of the Monstrum? Huh?! Have you heard of him?"
"The Monstrum is him? How do you know that?"
"I don't know what it is, but I'd watch my rear on the streets if I didn't know my way around."
"Which you obviously do. So how do I find this Bouchard?" Lara said.
"He won't have time for casual callers. Been having staff problems at his club I hear."
"Bouchard runs a club?"
"Yeah, the Le Serpent Rouge. Flashy joint."
"Why should losing staff be such a big deal?"
"Because these, staff are dying on the job. Messily. No one knows why or how."
Interesting. Why would staff just start dying on the job? Sounds like Mafia to me, but this could also be something of the Monstrum. I wonder if Bouchard works for this serial killer.
"You don't think Bouchard's up to handling it?"
"Keep your voice down. Bouchard can handle all he needs to but this is something different. Something creepy. His people didn't die pretty. It's got him really shaken."
"Is it the Monstrum?" Lara asked, folding her arms over her chest,
"Who knows for sure? I just try to keep my nose clean. You should too."
If I wanted to keep my nose clean, I'd let the police capture me and lock me up.
Lara sighed."You've no idea where Bouchard is?"
"No."
"Well, I'm sure someone does. I'll ask around."
"Yeah! Do that. Why don't you try Café Metro?"
Bingo again. The homeless man also said I should try the Café. It's a start.
"Who do I talk to? The owner?"
"Hey!" He held his hands up and threw them down. "I'm kidding, really. The guy's a complete loser. Forget it. Go home, and do something recreational. Which is where I might be able to help."
Lara rolled her eyes. "No thanks."
They heard police sirens passing over the other side of the bridge and they both slid into the shadows. Blaring out from an in-car speaker, a male voice recited a police address.
"If you see a woman matching the description of Lara Croft, who is Caucasian, brunette, about 1.8m and of slim build, please contact the Police department. She was last seen wearing jeans, a denim jacket, and had a ponytail. Do not approach as she is dangerous."
The cars faded out of sight, along with the announcement. They came out of hiding and the city guide looked at Lara.
"Having to keep low eh? That's hard," he said. "Especially with the cops being so trigger-happy."
Lara sighed and rubbed her head.
I should start searching for this Café and maybe see if anyone else knows where Bouchard is.
"Should I give Bouchard your regards when I find him?" Lara said, starting to push the door open.
"No, don't do that! But if you're at a loose end look me up. I'm sure I could find something distracting for you. You know, something special."
Lara shook her head.
I look you up, I'll make sure you lead me to Bouchard. You know too much about him to not know where he is.
"See you around." Lara stepped through the door and closed it behind her.
She looked around and the place was dead. On her left, stood the building Le Serpent Rouge with a board saying they were closed. Across the street stood a young woman on the corner, dressed in black with a shiny red jacket, smoking. From the blonde hair to the woman's attire, she was probably waiting for customers.
Might have some more info about Bouchard. Prostitutes have eyes and ears and could easily have had Bouchard as a customer.
"Not a lot of passing trade at this hour? Lara asked.
"It's early yet. Move along, Ma Cher." The prostitute looked Lara up and down. "You make the place look crowded."
"Have you worked in this neighborhood for long?" Lara said.
The prostitute raised an eyebrow. "What can I do for you, Cherie?"
There we go. I'm not here to take your business.
"I'm looking for someone you might know. Name of Bouchard," Lara said.
The prostitute stiffened. A minute passed and her shoulders sagged.
I wonder why everyone is so afraid of Bouchard.
"You won't find him here Cherie." The prostitute sighed. "He ran the club across the road. Le Serpent Rouge, but had to move. There was a lot of trouble I heard. Things needed to lie quietly for a while."
Great, I found a prostitute that can give me answers, Paris is really strange. Or these parts of it.
"Oh? Trouble?" Lara frowned.
Wonder what sort of trouble Bouchard was getting. Might explain why people are so scared of hearing his name.
The prostitute sighed again and shook her head. "Lost some of his best people. Very messy business. Made him nervous, and that's saying something."
That can be a reason to move and hide.
"Do you know where he moved to?"
The prostitute shook her head.
That could only mean he was a customer until he went into hiding.
"No idea," the prostitute answered. "There are people who know, but if your man wants to lie low, he won't be easy to contact."
"I'd have guessed as much. Everyone is in hiding."
"Not everyone, Cherie. What do you want him for?"
Smart girl. That's how she survived these streets. Making sure who she's dealing with.
"I'm trying to track down a friend's movements."
"Lost is he?"
"Dead, but he made contact with Bouchard before he..." Lara sighed. "Checked out."
"Tell you what. There are two guys who used to work at the Le Serpent Rouge."
"Bouchard didn't lose everybody."
"No. There are two who left before the troubles closed the place down." She sighed. "One's a miserable old devil called Bernard who was the janitor there. He hangs about in the park sometimes."
Not going to work if he is sometimes in the park. The second one might help.
"And the other one?"
"The other one, Pierre, worked as a barman. Made bad deals that backfired on him." She pointed to the stone stairs going up another street. "He runs the café in the Place d'Arcade now. Café Metro. You never know. Might be worth a shot."
He'll definitely be worth the shot. I wonder how he went from barman to an owner of a café. Gives me this strange idea that Bouchard didn't let him go but put him there for cover. Eyes and ears. Someone should know if Bouchard is hiding. How else would he know what's going on?
"Better than anything I have so far. Thanks. I didn't catch your name."
"Janice. Everyone knows me 'round here," Janice said "Look, be careful, Cherie. Bouchard's a mean operator and he's been targeted hard recently."
"Does anyone know who's causing Bouchard all this grief or why?"
"No, or they're not saying. The Monstrum has got everyone too scared to talk."
"I'd have thought Bouchard would be geared up for trouble."
"He can handle it alright. No one better. But the way his people have been dying… So ugly. And that poor woman."
"What woman?"
"Someone called Carvier was killed early this morning. She worked at the Louvre according to the radio. I don't want to talk about it."
"Carvier." Lara gasped.
I saw her last night and now...
"Now, you watch out, Ma Cher. There's a lot of sickos loose on the streets."
"Yeah."
"That's okay. Some of us like it that way."
Lara bid Janice farewell.