Chapter 8
Disruptions
"Erik!" Meg whispered urgently getting out of the boat before it reached the shore and running the remaining distance trough the water. "Erik! Please, it's urgent…"
She looked around. What if he wasn't here and he came back just as the police reached his home?
A few moments later he appeared from behind a curtain. She had obviously caught him unprepared because he had only managed to throw on a shirt over his trousers and although his mask was on he hadn't had time for the wig. So, the Phantom didn't go around in formal wear all the time after all. She stared at him and he actually blushed. Which would have made her burst into a fit of giggles if she wasn't in such a hurry.
"What by the devil have you been doing?" he exclaimed, taking in the wet dress that was… um, well, clinging to her in a rather interesting way. "What's wrong?"
"The police are here! They're going to search the theatre. You have to get out of here!"
He froze for a moment, then spurred into action, gathering the sheets containing his latest work.
"You should go back right now." He shouted over his shoulder. "They mustn't associate you with me. Get out of here."
"No, I'm coming with you."
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"I'm not ridiculous, I'm rational! I'm all wet and dirty, they'll know where I've been."
She strode to him and took a firm hold of his arm.
"Sorry, M. but you'll have to drag me with you. At least this way I'll know you won't do something foolish."
He tried to come up with an argument but seemed unable to at the moment.
"All right, come then." He said finally grabbing her hand.
He had no intention to run again unless it was completely necessary. He carefully and quietly got them to his favorite shadowy corners above the stage where they could listen to the conversation that was taking place below.
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The cast of the Opera Populair had been in the middle of rehearsal when a group of police officers burst in.
"We received a word that a wanted criminal might be hiding inside this opera house. We're here to check things." Jaques Chevalier explained almost apologetically. "Please, call the manager."
Two minutes later Albert ran on stage. Meg who had been the one to volunteer to call him was not with him for some reason.
"To what do I owe the visit?" the young manager asked still a little breathless, trying to read his brother's expression.
"We received an anonymous note, saying that there have been sightings of the Phantom." Jaques answered.
"I have heard of no such thing." Albert said firmly looking at each member of the cast in turn, trying to guess which one of them had sent the note. He had known it would happen sooner or later but he felt disappointed all the same.
"Still, we have to check." Jaques sighed.
"What do you intent to do, M., search the whole opera?" Mme Giry stepped forward. "It's huge and full of hideouts. I'm afraid you won't find anything, even if there is something to find."
"He used to hide in the cellars madam so we can at least search there."
She managed to keep her composure on the outside but Albert could tell just how distressed she was by the way she clutched her cane. If they went down now they would find exactly what they were looking for. Mme Giry had probably guessed that Meg had gone to warn the Phantom but they could not make his domain magically disappear. The police already knew where it was. If they found evidence that he was there, they would never leave the opera alone until they caught him… And Meg could be blamed by association. Curse whoever had tipped them off. Because of this, the opera might never open again and if the police found out that he was writing friendly notes to the Phantom the whole time… It had been naïve trusting his cast that much!
"But hasn't any of you seen anything strange? Anything that would give us a clue where to look?" one policemen asked.
To Albert's relief the cast stayed silent, just throwing looks at each other and stepping from foot to foot.
"Excuse me, M. …" the voice came from the back rows of the chorus. Gaston Simon came forward. "I was the one who sent you the note."
Everyone turned to stare at him as one. The boy who was blond and very childish looking threw a nervous look around. Some of the stares he was receiving weren't very friendly. He looked back at Jaques Chevalier.
"I'm afraid it was a false alarm, M. You see, I'm on the stage workers' team and until a few days ago our ropes kept breaking and I got spooked. I thought it might be the Phantom playing tricks on us. But it turned out the ropes themselves were corrupted. We started buying them from a different place and now everything is all right."
The explanation caused several different reactions among the policemen. Some seemed angry for being called for no reason, some looked amused by the story and some were still looking suspicious. Could anyone possibly buy that, Albert thought. Jaques' expression was that of a poker player. He knew the boy was lying. So did the rest of the cast but they kept their silence.
"Can you prove that you're the one who sent us the note?" one of the policemen asked finally.
Gaston nodded and then proceeded to recite what he had written word for word. There was a collective sigh of relief when the chief of police nodded.
"That solves it then. There is no need to search. We'll leave you to your rehearsal now."
On the way out Jaques turned and gave Albert a very complex look that only his brother could decipher. There was concern in it as well as a dose of admiration. The last had been induced by the loyalty of the members of the cast. Not for the first time, Jaques thought that if he wasn't such a practical man, he would have believed his brother to have magical powers.
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Erik stood frozen on the spot unable to believe what had just happened. About thirty people had just lied to the police on his behalf and they had done it for the love of one man.
I'm really glad I didn't let you fall off that bridge, Albert.
Meg turned to look back at him and that's when he realized he had wrapped his arms around her. Well, she had been about to catch her death in that wet dress and the gesture had come so naturally he hadn't even registered what he was doing. She obviously didn't mind because she was grinning like crazy.
"You see? They want you here! So I never want to hear 'nobody wants me' ever again!"
"Don't be ridiculous. They don't want me, Meg. They want Albert. They didn't want him to get in trouble... But one way or another, we got lucky today."
"You won't play some prank on the boy who wrote the note, will you?"
"No. But he'd better not do such a thing again."
"Erik… If the police ever stop looking for you, would you start over and promise to never take a human life again?"
"I don't see much chance of the police-"
"But if they did!"
"You want me to promise you I'll never kill again."
"Yes. Unless it's absolutely the only thing that would save your life or one of your friends'."
There was a long silence.
"I promise."
It was hard to say no to a beautiful woman in a wet dress wrapped in your arms.
