I am glad to see that many of my fans from the other stories have made it to this one. Welcome back and also welcome to any new readers. This is a slightly different work than the last ones. Perhaps even darker than 'Tears'. As you can see it has more influences from Love Never Dies although it does not take place in New York, but in the Old West. I do not try to make this Erik as innocent of his crimes in Paris either but he will explain them.
Chapter 2
Pierre walked the remaining distance to the mansion covered in ice and snow. He was dripping and felt as if he could not take another step. He could no longer feel anything but a chill, he felt as if even his blood had frozen, yet still he wondered if going forward was the right idea. He was really dreading the next few moments and contemplated turning back. Even without the poor weather and the remoteness of the house, he could not get the fear out of his mind that the Phantom would kill him. He reluctantly knocked at the door. He stood there for a while wondering if anyone would answer. He could hear a fierce bark from a dog but no other sign of life. An eternity seemed to pass. He thought to himself "Great I came all of this way and no one is even here." But just when he thought that he was in real danger of freezing to death on the stoop, the door opened.
An olive skinned man in Persian robes answered, and looked at him in surprise. He asked him in English "What are you doing here? We do not receive visitors."
Pierre replied "My name is Pierre de la Croix, formerly a Capitaine with the gendarmerie de Paris, but I am currently in the employ of the Vicomte de Chagny. I am looking for a Monsieur Erik Destler, a former resident of Paris France."
The man looked at him strangely and but replied fluently in accented French "I know of no man by that name. I am sorry Monsieur but you have come all this way for nothing. Only my employer, his associate and I are here. Not this man that you speak of."
"Who is your employer?" He asked.
"Monsieur Nadir Khan" the man replied keeping his information at a minimum.
"I recognize that name from Paris as well. Perhaps then, your master could help me. It is urgent that I find this Monsieur Destler right away. I know that he and Monsieur Destler were acquainted. Please I do not want to have come all of this way for nothing. I have come a long way and the weather is inclement. My mission is to bring some items to Monsieur Destler and to discuss some important matters with him, not to harm him or anyone associated with him. "
The man gave him a curious look and glanced behind him to see the swirling snow.
"You have no transport back to town?"
"No, Monsieur my horse did not make it. He broke his leg on the ice and I had to put him down." De la Croix replied.
"A pity." The servant observed. "You will need our help in returning to Madison then?" he mumbled.
"I would be most grateful for any assistance that you might render, but first I would like to speak to Monsieur Khan. Is that possible?"
The servant nodded his assent. "I will show you in, and then inquire whether or not he is available. You claim that this is in regard to a matter regarding the Vicomte de Chagny and this Monsieur Destler? He will wonder why you would come all this way to see him."
"As I told you, I came to find Monsieur Destler. If he knew the nature of my business he would want to see me. I have no doubt of it. The information that I carry is of paramount importance to him." Pierre repeated. He had a strange feeling that someone was listening, but could see no one doing so. On the surface the exchange was just between him and the servant, but he couldn't shake his feeling.
"Very well then, you may follow me." He led Pierre into the drawing room, the furniture in there looked barely used and there were no calling cards there. It was clear that this mansion received few, if any, visitors. Pierre remained alone in the room for quite a long time. It was chilly in there and he was shivering in his wet clothes. It was clear that they had no intention of making him feel welcome. He could hear voices speaking in a foreign tongue outside the door but could not understand any of it. They appeared to be arguing. He could make out three separate voices. He supposed that it was the native tongue of the man who answered the door. Some eastern tongue such as Arabic or Persian. Finally the door opened, and a second olive skinned man came in. He was more authoritative in countenance. He gave Pierre a speculative glance with suspicious jade eyes and told him.
"Inspecteur de la Croix. I am Nadir Khan, formerly Daroga of Mazenderan in Persia. I remember you from the incident at the Opera Populaire. You were the leader of the group of gendarmes who were attempting to apprehend the Phantom of the Opera that night. As I recall you did not meet with much success. Sloppy work I might add. Your quarry got away. You wasted much time in questioning me so thoroughly. I believe that the Vicomte de Chagny insisted that I had some sort of relationship with the Phantom. It was a shame for you, that you could find no link between us. But that is ancient history; to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?"
"I was informed by the Baroness de Castelot-Barbezac that I might find the former Opera Ghost, Erik Destler here. I am no longer in the employ of the Paris gendarmerie; it is no longer my job to pursue him for his crimes. I am here on behalf of my employer, the Vicomte de Chagny on a legal matter of grave importance." Pierre told him.
"What business would the Vicomte have with Monsieur Destler that would bring you so far Monsieur?" The Persian asked suspiciously. "The two men were enemies, why would he seek Monsieur Destler out after so many years? Surely there could not be any urgent matter of business between them?"
"It is a private matter for me to discuss with the gentleman in question." He answered impatiently. "Look, Monsieur, do not play games with me. I was told by the townspeople that there is a gentleman who resides here who is rumored to be disfigured just as Monsieur Destler was. For your information, my late employer used his influence several years ago to have all charges against the Phantom of the Opera dismissed. I have brought a copy of L'Epoch from that time to show to the gentleman in question to prove my claim. Monsieur Destler is free to lead a parade down the Champs De Elysee on Bastille Day in front of half of Paris if it were to please him and no one would bother him, most definitely not me. You are a known confederate of the Gentleman and I must find him. The Baroness gave me your direction and told me that he was here."
The Persian replied tentatively "Did she? Yet I do not believe that the lady in question has ever been to this house how she could be so sure of this man's presence. Can you at least give me some idea of your mission? If I had any information about the gentleman in question to share with you, you must at least tell why you have come so far to find him. As I recall, the last time that we met you were seeking information from me for you to use to assist in his apprehension. Even if I had some sort of relationship with this man, as you have always claimed why would I expose him to danger now without knowing anything about your purpose for visiting when I did not do so when you were acting under the authority of law?"
He pulled out the ring that the Vicomtesse had given him and held it out to the Persian "I was sent on the behest of Christine Daae, she gave me this to return to Monsieur Destler, along with a letter from her to him."
Just then a tall man garbed completely in black robes appeared out of nowhere startling the former inspector. A hood obscured his face. He spoke with a rich baritone voice; A voice that de la Croix remembered from that long ago night. He could never forget it, as it was the most pleasing men's voice that he had ever heard either before, or since.
He looked over to the Persian and told him "It is alright Nadir, I will handle this matter myself. The man has clearly come a long way to see me, and he is clearly alone and at our mercy. You have my full attention Monsieur le Inspecteur. I am Erik Destler, the man that you have been seeking. How may I be of assistance?" the haunting voice asked.
The inspector looked over at the Persian and then to the robed man. "This is a private matter Monsieur. I am not sure that you want Monsieur Khan to hear as some of it is of an intimate nature."
The man laughed "Monsieur, I assure you that the Daroga knows everything about me, even those matters of the most' intimate nature' as you would say."
"Does he know everything about the nature of the relationship between you and the former Mademoiselle Daae, particularly about the events which took place following the night that you burnt the Palais Garnier down?" The man insisted.
"He knows everything Monsieur. He may stay and listen." He looked at Pierre. "We generally do not accept callers here. Please state your business and leave." He added.
Pierre was taken aback by the man's brusque tone, but at the same time was pleased that he did not appear to be threatening in any way. It helped him to relax a little ."Have it your way, Monsieur." He told the robed man. "First, I regret to inform you that both Vicomte Raoul de Chagny and his wife Christine have met with foul play. They are both dead."
The robed man snapped to attention and strode over to the former inspector and grabbed his lapels, searching his eyes for any signs of deception "What?, Christine dead? You lie! It cannot be! Why?"
"I am afraid that it is the truth. I was the last man to speak with the Vicomtesse prior to her death. That is when she implored me to find you. She told me that you would help me."
Erik blindly reached for his neck and grabbed it, closing his fingers around it. "Why is she dead? You have yet to answer, and if you were there why did you not prevent it?" he accused. "She was so young. She was not yet thirty."
The Persian looked at his friend "I am so sorry Erik but let go of Monsieur de la Croix. He has come a long way to bring you this news, and the items that were entrusted to him. This is not a way to either bring her back, or repay him for his trouble in coming here."
Erik let go and retreated slightly he turned to his friend and told him mournfully "I should never have let her go back to him; back to that fop."
Pierre regained his voice and replied "It came out of the blue. The Vicomte never mentioned that he had enemies who would do such a thing. They were a very well loved couple, with the exception of the Vicomte's own family, but they would never go after their own that way."
The robed man chided him contemptuously "Well obviously either they did or they were not as 'well loved' as you declared them to be."
"The only other enemy that I could think of is you." Pierre spat, still rubbing his neck where the Phantom had squeezed it. "You had the motive and clearly despised the Vicomte."
"I did, but I would never harm either Christine or the Vicomte, out of respect for her happiness. I have not stepped foot in France for many years. My Persian friend here can vouch for the fact that I have not left my home here for a long time. I have no use for humanity and see no reason to surround myself with such." He spat contemptuously. "Which brings me to the issue at hand; what are you doing here? You did not come all the way from Paris to give me news of my lost love's death; or to accuse me of doing it, so why are you here?"
"I have come on behalf of the Vicomte de Chagny, the current one, Vicomte Gustave de Chagny. He is seven years old and an orphan, without any close relatives who will take care of him. I have come to appeal to you on behalf of him, to return to France and take care of him as his guardian. He has no one monsieur." The former police inspector emphasized.
"What about the Vicomte's family surely they could take care of him? Who is watching the boy now?" The robed man replied. "Why would the Vicomte choose me, his worst enemy as a guardian for his heir? Surely I would be the last man on earth that he would find suitable to entrust his heir to."
"The Comte de Chagny disowned the late Vicomte and his issue; they have no interest in the child. The late Vicomte named you in his will, as the boy's guardian, should something befall both him and his wife." Pierre explained.
"You have not yet explained why." The Phantom questioned him. "Why would he name me to take care of his heir? The whole idea is ridiculous."
Pierre continued. "It is the reason for my visit. Let me explain the whole matter to you so that you might understand. The Vicomte originally pressured me to ascertain where you were so that you could be extradited, and returned to France for punishment. At the time I was considered to be the leading expert on the infamous Phantom of the Opera. As you well know, I was in charge of apprehending you. At first, the late Vicomte was very upset that we had not found you. Several years ago he changed course completely and used his resources to both clear your name and to obtain a pardon for your crimes if necessary. He enticed me to leave the Gendarmerie and focus on this task. At the time I found such a complete change of attitude to be, at the least, bizarre; but he offered me more than I could make in ten years on the force; so I accepted his money and resigned. I closed your case prior to leaving and publically declared that the evidence of both your existence, and your crimes, to be flimsy and that, even if you did exist, we believed you to be dead. We produced a burnt mask and a statement by the Vicomte to confirm it. We attributed your Opera to a publicity stunt on behalf of the Opera Populaire, which unfortunately went out of control. The Vicomte was able to persuade the managers of the theatre, and even the players, to go along with the deception. In the meantime, we were also able to obtain a full pardon for one Erik Destler for all past crimes committed in France."
The robed man was stunned "Why would the Vicomte go to so much trouble to both obtain a pardon and clear my name? He was right to fear me. At the time, I was quite insane. I have since regained my faculties, but it does not excuse what I did back there. My crimes were real and were horrendous. When I think back upon that time, I shudder to think of many of my own actions."
"At the time I did not question him and he made no attempt to explain it to me. After his death, I did find out what I believe to be the reason. You see, the late Vicomte was found to be incapable of fathering a child. He discovered this several years into his marriage to the Vicomtesse. She must have admitted to him the true parentage of the child. The boy is biologically your son, Monsieur."
"It cannot be. It is impossible." The robed man declared.
"Do you deny that you had an intimate relationship with the Vicomtesse then? Did she lie about the parentage?" the inspector asked.
"No, she did not lie, but it was only for one week long ago..." He turned his head away clearly affected. After a time, he looked back and asked. "How old is the child? Have you seen this child? Is he normal?"
"He is seven years old and a very handsome lad. He favors his mother quite a bit. I could not say if he favors you much since you always kept yourself hidden, even then. I have heard only rumors of how you look." Pierre told him.
"That is not true Monsieur and we both know it!" Erik exclaimed bitterly "She removed my mask in front of all of Paris. You would have seen it then."
The inspector nodded "Yes, but only from the rafters and I did not get a good view, at least not enough to tell if you resemble the lad. I know that the reports that you had no hair, parchment skin and lack a nose are also wrong. You could not sound as you do without a nose."
"I do have a nose, and normal skin, except where my deformity lies, but not a lot of hair, sort of like you. He added with a smirk "All the same, you would not want to see my face. If the boy is handsome, then he most certainly does not resemble me." The robed man told me. "Even so, why would the Vicomte ask that I become the guardian of this child? He knows nothing about me, only that I am an insane murderer, hardly a role model for a young boy. The boy would be better off being reared by anyone but me; if he has no one, how about you? I would gladly give you a good sum to use on his behalf if the Vicomte has left him with nothing."
"The boy has a decent fortune. The Vicomte's family would have nothing to do with him, but he did have money in his own right. The Vicomte was a sound businessman and parlayed his holdings into a small fortune over the past few years. He invested heavily in new technologies such as the telephone, and electricity."
"Who would have expected that de Chagny would be so intelligent?" The robed man mused.
He turned back to the inspector "Well then you can see, with that sort of estate, the boy would not lack for a willing father figure. I do not know why the Vicomte would even consider a creature such as me as a suitable guardian, even if biologically I am the father. You of all people should know why I cannot possibly take care of the boy."
The Persian looked at him and then the inspector "I disagree Erik. I believe that, under the circumstances, the Vicomte made a very wise choice." He turned to the inspector "Erik has always underestimated his own capacity for good. He is not the person that he just described himself to be, not in the least bit. He would make a fine father, and the boy would be good for Erik as well. My friend here has spent a lifetime searching for one thing only, and that is love. The late Vicomtesse drove him into despair, when she would not return his love and in his anger and sorrow, he did regrettable things. I protected him from you and helped him to start over because I knew that he was a man capable of doing a great amount of good, if given the chance by society. He did not deserve to be put down like a rabid dog which is what you would have done if you had caught him."
"I cannot deny that I would have done so." The inspector admitted "He was guilty of some unforgivable acts, but I was aware of his sorry history, and was not entirely unsympathetic to him." He looked at Erik "I was born into a very poor family and knew what it was like to feel the wrath of society. I spent my childhood on the streets begging for food and most people would look away from me. My mother died on those same streets. I only survived because I was rescued by a police officer who showed me a better life. I could imagine the pain that you went through was pretty severe. I became a police officer due to my rescuer. He saw the potential in me and adopted me as his son. The boy is in Madison with his nanny. I would think that you would like to meet him, at the least."
The robed man turned away "What is the point? I could not offer this child anything but perhaps my love, even that is of dubious worth. Everyone that I have ever loved, or tried to love, has ended up dead. I have not left this house in many years, monsieur, not because I lack the ability to do so, but I lack the desire to return to the world. I have nothing to give to a child that would be of any value. You have wasted a great deal of time and expense searching for me. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Nadir ask Darius to take Inspecteur de la Croix back into the town. He can stay at the hotel that I own free of charge. My apologies, Monsieur." he turned to leave.
"Wait." Pierre told Erik as he started to leave. "She gave me these items for you. They were her last wishes. It is well known that you once loved her monsieur, would you do her the discourtesy of ignoring her last wishes."
Pierre held out the ring and the letter that he had brought with him from Paris. The Phantom glanced at the items. A pale hand reached out of the robe and took the items almost caressing them as if they were precious. He turned to the Persian and in a very sad voice he said "Nadir, you may let the inspecteur spend the night here. I could never deny Christine anything that she asked of me in life. Could I do the same now that she is gone?"
"Read the letter Erik. Perhaps she will give you a clue as to what she wanted from you or at least some closure." The Persian replied.
Darius came and showed the Frenchman to his room. He told him "Dinner will be served in an hour. You may dine with my master. Master Erik seldom chooses to dine with anyone. He cannot eat very well with his mask on, and he will not remove his mask in front of anyone but my employer and me. He has become even more of a hermit than he was in those days. He refuses to have anything to do with anyone other than us. He says that such a thing would only lead to more pain and suffering for both he and any poor soul unfortunate enough to spend any time with him."
"It sounds like a living form of death. How does he survive in such an environment?"
Pierre asked the servant.
"He claims that he was meant to be alone, and unloved. When my master tried to coax him to come back out into the world, he told him that he will never do so again. You should understand, Monsieur, he is not a bad person at all, not really when you drop your fear of him based on how he looks. He is a good man who has been made to do bad things because of how the world has treated him." He paused for a moment and continued "Even I once feared him because of his looks and for what he had done, but not anymore. Perhaps you would tell me that a man who has murdered cannot be a good man. He would be the first to agree with you. But monsieur if you had a wounded dog and someone tried to hurt him further would the dog be at fault for biting the intruder or would the intruder be wrong for taunting the dog? You say that you have sympathy for him, but if you saw him without his mask, you would likely behave like almost everyone else has and have nothing more to do with him. He would not let a child into his life for that very reason. The boy would be afraid of him, and break his heart once again. He fears that he would lash out again like a wounded dog just like he did back in Paris. The sad thing monsieur is that he is a very passionate and giving man and he would have done so much for the world if the world would have accepted him. It is a tragedy monsieur."
"If what you say is true then I will be doubly sorry that he cannot accept his own son. The boy is a very gifted child but he is in need of love and protection. I have not been able to ascertain why the de Chagny's were killed, but the boy might still be in danger from whoever might have done so. "Monsieur Destler would be a finer protector than hired guards." Pierre told Darius.
"He would be." Darius agreed "He was once a trained assassin, back in Persia. He was the most talented of all the Shah's agents. He was known as the Angel of Death there."
Pierre shuddered "I did not know that about him. Perhaps he is right; he may not be the one to take care of the boy."
The manservant replied "He would be the perfect guardian if the boy would accept him. My master was right when he told you so. They would be good for one another. He would give the boy love and protection and the boy might give him the love that he has spent his entire life looking for. He has only withdrawn from the world because of his experience in Paris and before."
The man that they were discussing retreated into his private sanctuary. He allowed no one, not even Nadir entry into this domain without his express permission. He considered it to be both his home and his prison. On the surface he was surrounded by objects of beauty, but in his soul he was empty and barren. There was no object that could induce the Phantom out of his shell of inner despair and torment. He was still wedded to the nightmares of his past, and of the crimes that he had committed. Nadir had spent many years trying to get Erik to forgive himself but to no avail. The tormented man removed his robe and his mask revealing his elegantly clad form from within. He was wracked with grief and anger at his loss. How could the boy not protect her when he had relinquished his hold upon her so that she could have a life in the light; not in the darkness with him? He held the ring that he had once given to her to remind her of him, and his love for her. He had left it beside her on the nightstand as she slept along with a note explaining why he had left her. He did not know that he had left her with a child. Would she be alive today if he had stayed? Would he have stayed if he had known about the child? The irony was that the man who was in his house was the very man who had made him flee. He had been hot on his trail and Erik did not want Christine to spend her life in the dark, hiding from this very man. Possibly risking her own life. His previous sacrifice, years ago, had been in vain.
