The second to last chapter of Episode 2, enjoy
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The Dark Among Us Ep 2 Smoke and Mirrors Chapter 5
The Open Arms
As Mephiles enters the back room where the girls get ready, he looks to see some cubbies where the girls can put their personal belongings. He sees Muffet's was empty and also saw next to it was Jade's with two boxes that seemed to have been forced open.
"Locks been busted open" Mephiles said to himself looking at the Jewellery box, he then looks to the makeup case and then looks to the floor where a lot of make up on the ground "Brocken open…but there isn't even a lock." He then sees a note on the floor and picks it up and reads it "'Jade, thanks for covering for me tonight! Let's talk before you go over to the apartment.-Muffet.' Looks like they BOTH saw one of Muffet's clients…" He places it on Muffet's cubby shelf
Mephiles then kneels down and looks at the makeup on the floor "Lipstick. Lip gloss. Compact…Glitter." He picks up the compact and looks at it sadly "Jade…" He places it on Jade's cubby shelf. He then goes round the corner to see Tali who was looking at herself in the mirror. Mephiles then said "Excuse me."
"I heard you out there." Tali said to him. "I don't remember ever seeing you here before."
"I didn't have a reason to come here before." Mephiles explained.
"Yeah." Tali said looking down, she then makes sure her mask isn't damaged and sees Mephiles looking at her as he goes to lean on the wall behind her "You're trying to place me. I used to be part of a crew of a ship called the Normandy. Once upon a time. Does that help?"
"What are you doing here?" Mephiles asked her, a lot of the Sci-Fi Fictions didn't make it out of the exodus so it's rare to find one here.
"Same as anyone. It's a place where I am. Where else am I supposed to be?" Tali said to that sadly. "My name is Tali'Zorah, Tali for short."
"Well, Tali, I've got some questions." Mephiles said to her.
"Of course you do. I don't have answers. You'll have to find those yourself." Tali said to him.
"Did you see Muffet last night? You know where she went, or who she was with?" Mephiles asked thinking this was easier than asking about Mr. Smith or 207.
Tali looks down and just said "We can't talk about work."
"This is a murder case." Mephiles told her.
"I mean CAN'T." Tali said to him. "These lips are sealed. Discretion is our guarantee. It's how things work here. By design."
"People keep using those phrases. What does it mean?" Mephiles asked annoyed which Tali noticed. He then places the logbook down before Tali and turns to Muffet's last entry and points to it "This is what I need to know about! Muffet's last entry. Who's Mr. Smith? Where is room 207? I have to know!"
"These….lips…" Tali struggled to say it almost like she was trying to resist something when speaking she then thinks then asked "Sheriff Mephiles…would you like to make an….appointment, with me?"
Mephiles was surprised and looking at her pleading eyes he figured she may be trying to use this as a way to help him without saying anything so just said "Okay…What would I need to do?"
Tali grabs a pen and writes in the logbook as she explains "I need a hundred and fifty. It's not good to be short."
"I'm kind of broke." Mephiles said sighing as he still has no money on him.
Tali shakes her head and then takes out the money needed from her own funds and stands saying "Wait here for a second." She then leaves the room.
Mephiles listens waiting but reclaims the logbook and puts it away in his personal possessions. He peeks through the gap of the door and sees Tali talking to Aran before coming back and hands her a motel room key.
Mephiles looks at it and sees it was to room 204 on the tag and asked "Not 207?"
"You'll think of something." Tali said to him.
"The Open Arms." Mephiles said reading more of the tag. "This is where they met."
"Enjoy your stay." Tali said to him nodding. "I hope you find what you're looking for." She then leaves the room.
Mephiles then leaves the Ink & Thinner club and walks down the street to the Open Arms hotel which was two buildings down from it. He sees a Mundie cop exit the building with a Mundie working girl who embrace before going their separate ways, the cop passing Mephiles.
Mephiles looks at the building and then goes in.
Mephiles enters the main lobby of the Open Arms hotel which wasn't spectacular but it was okay for reasonable price. He then gets out a Solaris cigarette and lights it up and has a look around the room
Mephiles sees a soda machine and shakes his head "Stuff will kill you." He then takes a smoke. He then looks at the payphone on the wall and see the wire cut, "They should probably repair that." He then looks at the rates board and said "If the rooms are anything like the lobby, they should probably cut their rates."
He then goes to the reception desk and rings the bell and sees someone that appeared to be a woman come out from the back and comes to the desk, the window obscured the view so Mephiles couldn't see their face.
"Want it by the hour or for the whole night." The woman asked, Mephiles felt like it was familiar and it was as the woman peeks up after leaning down to see it was Belle and she saw him and gasped "Oh!"
"Belle!" Mephiles asked in shock as Belle lifts up the window so it doesn't obscure them both.
"I work here, okay? I work the front desk. It's to help pay rent." Belle explained to him. "So now you know. I know I should've told somebody…But Adam would lose his mind if you knew. Adam may have softened but he still is a proud man, Mephiles. He wants to do right by me, and he…he just couldn't handle it if he knew I had to do this so we don't get evicted."
"Well….your secret is safe we me, alright?" Mephiles said shrugging "Let's not make a big thing of it."
"Thanks, Mephiles. And thanks for covering for me last time, too." Belle said with a nod "So…what are you doing here?" Mephiles reaches into his bag and pulls out the key. "Oh…you have a key."
"Someone else was murdered last night." Mephiles explained to her.
"I heard." Belle said sadly.
"The victim was someone who worked at the Ink & Thinner, Muffet. She come around here ever?" Mephiles asked her.
"Oh! Oh, yes…. the, uh, the spider monster. I did see her." Belle said thinking. "I mean, you know, we never really spoke, but…despite her appearance she came off a tad intimidating."
"Ever see Muffet with someone here? Maybe on a 'job'?" Mephiles asked her.
"Sometimes, but nobody I've recognized. I haven't worked here that long, though…" Belle explained.
"How about a room register? Or someone named 'Mr. Smith?'" Mephiles asked.
"That's all we get here are Smith's, Jones's or Johnson's. I think the last ones are jokes." Belle said smiling
"Ever meet a girl named Jade, or maybe just hear that name?" Mephiles asked her.
"I might have. I don't know." Belle said shrugging. "By the end of the night, it's kind of a blur with all the names, Tara, Brandy, Amber, Heather…Sorry."
"Have you seen Blaze the Cat here? Or maybe somebody glamoured as her?" Mephiles asked her.
"You know, it's funny. I did see someone who I thought looked a lot like her, but…she didn't say anything when she saw me, even though she knew that I saw her." Belle said thinking on it. "I just assumed it wasn't Blaze and went about my business."
Mephiles sighs and said "I talked to Para earlier today…He mentioned you in passing. Do you know him…or his brother?"
"I took out a loan for backpay, it was like our third notice, and ever since then those annoying twins have been pestering me for the money plus interest." Belle explained.
"Why take out a loan from those two?" Mephiles asked her.
"It was from the Grand Inquisitor." Belle said a bit scared.
"Belle…" Mephiles said sadly.
"You don't know how desperate I was Mephiles! I had nowhere else to go!" Belle told him.
"Look, if this ever happens again…come see me, or Blaze, first, alright?" Mephiles said to her.
"I tried." Belle said sadly.
Mephiles drops his cigarette and puts it out and said "Thanks." He goes to head on up.
"Wait." Belle said stopping him "It'll be better if anyone sees you that they at least see you with me, so they know I didn't just let you just wander around by yourself." She comes out of the reception office and goes to the stairs "Five minutes? Please?"
"We'll see, Belle." Mephiles said following her as they go up the stairs.
"Just be ready to act like I'm trying to kick you out." Belle told him
"That won't be hard." Mephiles told her.
Mephiles has learned Belle's secret but not he is close to the last possible location Muffet was before her death, time to get some answers hopefully.
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