Author's note:
This is part 2 of an ongoing series, meant to be read in order. If you haven't read part 1 please do.
~~~~~~~
An institutional haze of dust and grime wafted around Miki Lenz as she stepped through the front doors of the police station, the smell of stale coffee and Old Spice assaulting her nose like a sledgehammer. It had now been well over forty eight hours since she'd heard from her best friend, Gwen DiMatteo. This was an anomaly. By now, Gwen would have texted or called, especially since she stood Miki up for drinks at The Frolic Room. She squinted against the fluorescent lights and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself as she made her way towards the desk sergeant. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the worn-out furniture, that specific combination of navy blue seat upholstery and bruised wood desks only found in city stations, the scratched computer screens, inspirational management posters, and a muted flatscreen playing the news in the corner. It wasn't exactly welcoming, but it wasn't as depressing as she'd imagined on the way over.
"Excuse me." Her voice squeaked in a failed attempt to sound friendly. Maybe it was the knowledge that some day she would be forced to make decisions, as a lawyer or prosecutor, that would put her on the other side of the thin blue line, but she felt a little less comfortable here than she knew she should. The desk Sergeant peered up from his paperwork, his face impassive. "I need to report a missing person."
He nodded, showing no real interest, and pointed her down the hall. She made her way to a sign on the door: 'Missing Persons', swallowed as she opened it and stepped inside, taking a seat across from Lt. Derrick Thompson.
Thompson had a face like the backside of an old motorcycle jacket, weathered and worn but still holding some charm. He smiled at her, "What can I do for you today, Miss?" His slightly high pitched drawl was at odds with his otherwise hard boiled appearance.
Miki cleared her throat, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I'm here about my roommate... my best friend, Gwen DiMatteo. She's been missing for two days now." She fumbled in her bag, pulling out a picture of Gwen from last summer. Thompson took the photo and glanced at it before setting it on his desk. "What can you tell me about her?" He leaned back in his chair.
Miki described Gwen--her wild, free spirit, her passion for life, she even mentioned the rumors about her working as a prostitute or escort. Anything to bring Gwen back. She also mentioned how responsible Gwen was, how she never missed classes, and even when she was off on some 'adventure' she always checked in, a phone call or text. "We've been like sisters since grade school."
Thompson snorted. "Sisters, huh? Well, let me tell you something, sisters disappear on each other every day. Secret rendezvous, lovers' quarrels..." He took another drag from his cloyingly sweet smelling vape. "It usually doesn't end well."
Miki winced at Thompson's negative tone, especially the offhand comment about a 'lovers' quarrel'. Gwen never kept secrets from her. They were best friends; they shared everything. As it turns out, Gwen was full of secrets. "Gwen wouldn't do that."
Thompson studied her for a moment before responding, "You might be surprised what people get up to when you're not looking."
Miki clenched her left fist as she spoke, a jolt of anger welling up. "She's a psych major, we go to the same University, we live together. Sure, she's a little wild, and sometimes she stays out... but I just know something's wrong. She wouldn't drop off the radar for this long."
Thompson nodded as he blew out another billowing cloud of bubblegum vape, his expression unchanging. "We'll look into it. But most cases like this end in one of two ways: the person in question returns of their own free will, or... they don't."
"Just promise me you'll do something... find her." The taste of bile rose in Miki's throat as a litany of the worst scenarios infested her mind like angry hornets.
"Like I said, we'll look into it." he promised as he handed her a card with a number on it. "If she turns up, call me."
She nodded, taking the card. "Thank you."
Miki's heart ached as she made her way out of the station. The sound of keys jingling and metal chairs scraping against the floor echoed then faded away as she pushed the heavy glass doors open and walked into the brisk night air.
She ambled several blocks back to her apartment, looking for any sign of Gwen but knowing it was futile. Her mind raced. She wished she could see inside those motels and apartments, peek into the dark corners of every room to see where her friend was hiding.
~~~~~~~
Miki turned the knob on Gwen's bedroom door and pushed it open, resolving to find something, anything that could help the police locate her friend. The musty scent of old perfume and stale air hit her nose, driving home the message that Gwen had been gone too long. She took a step inside and felt the familiarity of her friend's intimate space wash over her, and was overwhelmed by the weight of her absence.
She'd combed over it once already, the empty bottles of vodka under the bed, pills tucked away in her sock drawer, and the clothes, slutty even by Gwen's standards. Secrets and more secrets.
And hour of searching and she'd found nothing helpful.
She poured herself a tall glass of iced tea and started again. Twenty minutes and three deja-vu later, there was something on the floor of Gwen's closet. It must have fallen out when Miki was rifling through her clothes last time: a torn piece of paper with a phone number. A guy maybe, or one of her study group friends. Something.
Emotionally exhausted, almost in a daze, Miki dialed the number. A sultry female voice answered. "Hello, you've reached The Dollhouse. How may I be of service?"
"Um, hi," Miki's mind raced, caught off guard. What the fuck was The Dollhouse? "I'm looking for Gwen, is she there?"
"Gwen? I'm sorry, we don't have anybody here by that name..." Miki thought she detected faint note of hesitation in the woman's voice, but she was frazzled and it could just as easily have been her own imagination. "...I've got another call coming in, would you mind being on hold for a minute?"
"Sure that's fine, thank you." Miki quickly made her way to her desk, opened a browser on her laptop, and did a search for 'The Dollhouse'. She clicked the top result, and a plain black page loaded, nothing on it but 'The Dollhouse' written in simple gold courier font in the center of the page. No other hints. She tried clicking on the words but nothing happened. She hovered her cursor around the page for what seemed like forever, finally clicking when her pointer transformed into the telltale cartoon hand indicating an html link. A new page loaded: 'Ladies and Gentlemen Available for Social Functions, Dinner Engagements, or Private Arrangements', whatever that was. Miki assumed sex. The pretentious capitalization of each word irritated her. She clicked on 'Ladies' and another page loaded, this time with portraits... or were they headshots... of alluring women of all races, types. It reminded her of a restaurant menu. As soon as the cursor hovered over a portrait, a floating price list loaded. Doordash with a side of happy ending.
Masia, a stunning southeast asian looking woman with black hair, olive skin, and crystal dark eyes could be hers for dinner for $500/hr, social functions for $800/hr, and private arrangements for $1200/hr. Was Gwen on here? Miki scoured the portraits but couldn't find her.
The sultry woman's voice came back on the line, "sorry to keep you waiting. Is there anything else I can do for you? I'm sorry we don't have this 'Gwen' for you, but we do have a number of lovely ladies on call tonight, if you tell me your preferences I'd be happy to help you make a selection."
"Hmm yes I see that, but I was really hoping for Gwen, a friend told me how great she is. If she's not available tonight is there a better time for me to call?"
"I'm sorry, we really don't have anyone by that name working here, I don't know what to tell you." The sultry voice had grown an impatient edge.
"Well that's ok, I'll try another time I guess. Thanks for your kind assistance."
