Flash back
Adela walked briskly through the back streets of downtown Paris
Her blood red dress darkening black as the shadows slip over her skin
Her breath curling in the air as a harsh sharp song
The dance steps tapping along in her head
She was almost there
Almost at the Moulin Rouge

Act one
The smell was vulgar
It made all close by want to vomit
It was the smell that had first attracted the attention of the police
The smell of rotting flesh
Normally you wouldn’t tell the difference from downtown Paris or a normal dead body
But this smell was a ripe smell
A fresh murder
A metallic tang
That of blood

Flash back
The smell of cheap wine and clean men washed out the normal smell of back street Paris
Adela sniffed and coughed on the harsh cigar smoke
Quickly running around the edge Adela headed out back
Her song would be on soon
She would dance with the other girls
She would dance the sexy Moulin Rouge

Act two
one of the others moved the crate
A few rats run out from under it
A foot stuck out in a black small heel
That stronger metallic smell of fresh dead made my gag reflex kick in
My hand slipped over my face
I knew it was one of the Moulin Rouge girls
Working girls just trying to get by
There had been a string of such murders
I moved closer for a better look at the corpse

Flash back
Curtain call
Adela could see Alfred sitting in the front row
He was handsome and untouchable
None of the girls went near him
He was dangerous
But Adela liked her danger and she would have him tonight

Act three
Her red dress blended into her thigh
I couldn’t even tell the difference
Her legs as covered in blood as they were
It was sick
Who ever had done it to her
The poor girl
Dancing for money on the back streets of Paris
Could have called it a crime of passion
Judging by where the blood came from

Flash back
Adela smiled and bowed at the end of the dance
Her legs ached and she wanted to sit and rest
But the feeling she felt in them right then was a good one
The kind like you achieved something
And she had
Alfred had SMILED at her
And now as she walked off the stage she could see him waiting in the wings
At first she wondered how he got there
But what did it matter
He could take her away from the show biz life and the whoreing

Act four
I shook my head as I watched the girls body being carted away
Then turned my attention back to the conversation and debate over the girls death
One side didn’t care
The other wanted justice
And we all knew who was doing it
We had found that out a long time ago

Flash back
Alfred had whisked her away to his house
A fancy place with bright colors and fine art
Now he was drinking a glass of wine and smoking a cigar as he laid back and looked at Adela
His smile widened
“Tonight my love, I will have so much fun with you”

Act five
We talked to the girls
Told them to stay away from all the men who went to the Moulin Rouge
But I knew they wouldn’t listen
Those men were their bread and butter
Those men could give them lives by just one night of ‘fun’
No
These girls would keep dying
But more would replace them
No city was complete without its working girls

Flashback
Adela screamed into the hand as the knife plunged yet again into her
Her blood poured out
mixing and sticking to her leg indistinguishable from her dress
She knew
Knew why Alfred never smiled
Knew that he had taken her away from the life of a whore
Knew he had taken her away from the life of dancing
She knew most of all
That she was dead

Act six
I came back to the crime scene
Looked around
But I couldn’t find anything
Nothing to tell me who the girl was
Nor could the other dancers
They said her name was Adela
But that wasn’t true
No one used real names
This girl would just be lost and forgotten
All the while Alfred the killer would walk free

Flashback
Adela floated away from her body
A silver wisp of a thing
Taking one last glance at where she was now
She saw that she was at the Moulin Rouge
Her last and final show

Final act
The poor silly girl
Trusting and naive
She was dead now
Just another murder at the Moulin Rouge