Phyllis Nirdlinger's past stimulated her to execute a murder after another murder as Walter Huff was goaded to make the same mistakes over and over without learn from them. Maybe Walter thought that when Phyllis told him that she felt herself as the death, it was the first time of the type of feeling in her; therefore, he never had a second thought that she had been committed murders before that conversation. After, Lola told him who was in reality Phyllis, he realized all the evil things that he did for an unreliable women and money which were not on his hands. Lola's sweetness and innocence before Mr. Buff's face made him felt miserable as a sewer rat. He had been killed her dad ! and she was trusting everything on him. Now he was falling in love with her as a teenager in high school, even he was dreaming to married her and live a happy life as nothing happened. He had more than moral corruption, he was mental sick without feeling any guilt. All the characters started to play the game "the cat and the mouse",
 until they were together at the same place and at the same time: Griffith Park.

Lola thought was following Sachetti's foot steps, Mr. Sachetti was following Phyllis to see what was happening regarding Phyllis and Griffith Park relation, Phyllis was attempting to achieve her next crime, and Mr. Huff was trying to kill for whom he was involve in all this situation, Phyllis.

He went to catch the fish and he ended up being the fish.

At the end of the story, Walter and Phyllis were together again, different scenario but the same feelings. They were looking each other with an ax in their hands.

"Primary Characteristics and Convention of Film Noir: Themes and Styles" gives some descriptions as ambiguity and disenchantment which in my opinion are the characteristics that stand up. And the way I opened my blog it has relation with the next quote "The protagonists in film noir are normally driven by their past or by human weakness to repeat former mistakes".