I sadly don't own the Phantom or any other characters created by G. Leroux, S. Kay and A. L. Webber, but they always have a place in my heart. My wonderful beta Luthien Saralonde, I adore you!
To my readers, and of course especially my reviewers: BIG BIG THANKS for sticking with me!

LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE

Four heads jerked around to look at him after Raoul had made his announcement. Erik flew up from his position next to Joséphine and approached the Vicomte, fully intent to tear the letter from his grasp, but restrained himself at the last second from doing so. Instead, he halted close to Raoul, his face murderous.

"Where is she?" he pressed out through closed lips, barely controlling his rage.

The tension in the room was palpable and Raoul hastened to reply. "This," he waved the letter in the air, "is a message from my solicitor. He's telling me all the names of the guests that suffered from poisoning, and whether they were stable enough to go home or had to be admitted to a hospital. It states here that Clara and 5 other guests were transported to the 'Maison Dubois' in the rue du Faubourg-St-Denis."

"Why would Clara drink the punch if she knew it was poisoned?" Florence asked, puzzled.

"I suppose she assumed that being among the victims would clear her of all suspicions," Nadir replied quietly. "It seems she severely miscalculated the administered dose and its effects."

"Serves her right for trying to kill Joséphine," Mathilde huffed, her voice devoid of sympathy.

"Still, it makes connecting her to the poisoning much harder," Raoul said, his eyes focused on Erik, who had yet to utter a word.

It took all Erik's strength to calm down and not race over to the hospital immediately to tear Clara apart. He clenched and unclenched his fists and let out a deep breath. "Is there anything else in the letter?"

Raoul hesitated a moment before answering. "Well, apparently the police arrested two of my servants. They think them responsible for the attack."

"Why do the police think them the culprits?" Nadir asked.

"The girls are relatively new to the Chagny household, and they worked in the Opera Populaire before. The police assume that they were jealous of Christine and wanted to destroy her coming-out in society."

"But they are innocent!" Florence exclaimed. "We must help them!"

Raoul nodded solemnly. "I will send a reply to my solicitor ordering to help them. Surely the police will release them once they learn that I do not think them responsible."

Florence seemed to be satisfied with his answer, and nodded slowly. "What about Clara?" she asked quietly.

When Erik did not reply, the Daroga closed the distance between them and put a hand on his shoulder. "Erik?"

Erik shook his head. "We will deal with her later. First, I want you and Raoul to go to her brother's laboratory and find proof that she got the poison from there." He turned towards Mathilde. "You will give them the address and the keys."

Ignoring every one else, he returned to his place at Joséphine's side, saying nothing more at the moment. Only his stiff posture and a slight twitching of his hands now and then betrayed his inner turmoil.

Mathilde returned within five minutes, a small paper with the address attached to the keys.

Raoul hesitated before leaving, wanting to speak to Erik again, but Nadir shook his head. "Leave him be, he is not in the mood to hear anything you say right now." That said he ushered the young Vicomte out of the room.

The two men hired a carriage to get to the Quartier Latin as fast as possible. The first few minutes neither of them spoke, but then Raoul broke the silence.

"I hope that Joséphine will be fine."

Nadir only nodded. He knew that Erik would be devastated, should he lose Joséphine. In all the years he had known him, he was one of the strongest people he had ever met. He had refused to be broken by the Shah, or by the Khanum, and he had survived Christine's rejection. But if Joséphine, the one woman who had accepted and loved him as he was, died, it would surely kill him.

"How long have you two known each other?" Raoul continued, his tone hesitant.

"Since his time at the Persian court." Raoul's eyes widened, so Nadir explained. "He was brought there as a young man, and employed by the Shah as an architect. As time moved on, he had to do other deeds for the Shah and his mother as well." His tone indicated clearly that he would not elaborate further.

Raoul fell silent again, but not for long.

"Do you think we will be able to reveal Clara's full responsibility without endangering Erik's position?"

Nadir looked at the Vicomte sharply, searching for his motives, but he could only discern honest concern on the young man's face. So, he chose to answer truthfully.

"I do not know. If Clara is arrested as the culprit behind the attacks, the police will want to know her motives, and they surely will question Erik and Joséphine as well. It is possible that they will not investigate closely how their marriage came about, but I wonder if it is worth the risk."

"Up until tonight I was sure that if I came across the Phantom again, I would do everything in my power to arrest him for the murder of all those people in the opera, and for the crimes he committed against me and Christine." Raoul looked out the window before setting his eyes back on the Persian. "Now I just want him to find peace."

Nadir smiled. "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer."

Raoul's lips twitched. "Something along those lines. It is true though, if he finds happiness with Joséphine, he certainly won't bother me or Christine. Still, if the risk of exposing Clara's schemes is too high, why are we even going to this laboratory?"

Nadir pondered a moment before answering. "I guess Erik wants absolute proof of her guilt. He needs justification that it is necessary, even unavoidable, to revert to his old ways to make her pay for what she did. Joséphine will surely confront him if she ever finds out, but if his actions towards Clara are unjustified, she may never forgive him."

"You think he is going to kill her?" Raoul asked hesitantly. Though he had to admit that the doings of this woman were most foul and evil, he could not condone her murder.

"Only if he's able to blame her death to the poisoning she suffered. But no, I don't think so. For Erik, mere death would be too simple a punishment for her, especially if Joséphine does not make it."

Raoul opened his mouth to reply, when the carriage came to an abrupt halt. Nadir stepped outside first, then turned around, blocking the door. "Believe me, sometimes it is better to not know what Erik does. Especially if you know what he can be capable of."

Stanislas d'Escayrac and Pierre Rochat's laboratory was placed in a small one-storied house close to the Sorbonne in the Quartier Latin. All curtains were drawn shut and the house looked abandoned. The door opened easily though, and upon entering, a foul smell of rotten plants enveloped them. Both men took out handkerchief and held them in front of their faces to fight off the stench.

The upper floor held two small bedrooms and a bath, used by the scientists when they were too engrossed in their work and too exhausted to go home. The ground floor consisted of a small kitchenette and living room converted into library. Most parts of the surface though had been dedicated to the many plants the two men had brought back from their expeditions. It had not been very unlike to the winter garden at the manor, but months of neglect had taken their toll. The plants had died and were rotting away, creating an awful smell of decay. Cobwebs and dust lay on every surface.

Raoul made a step to move towards the staircase, since Erik had told them that the main part of the laboratory was in the cellar, but Nadir halted him midstride, pointing on the floor. Footsteps were clearly visible on the dust-layered on the wooden floor, leading directly to the staircase.

"Someone was here recently," Nadir stated.

"Clara. Those are the soles of women's shoes," the Vicomte answered.

"Very observant of you, Vicomte," the Daroga said a smile on his lips. "Try not to step on them." That said he made his way over to the staircase, lighting a gas lamp that stood on a table to the left of it. Raoul followed suit and together they went downstairs.

In the cellar Nadir stopped, lighting the lamp next to the door before cautiously proceeding further into the room.

From the multitude of footsteps on the floor it was clear that Clara had searched all around the laboratory before finding what she had come here for. Dozens of shelves were lined up along the walls containing countless jars and boxes, each labeled in the neat handwriting of Joséphine's father, though somewhat faded from age. On the work table in the middle of the lab stood two microscopes, a distillery station, and various other utensils. Like upstairs, everything was covered in a layer of dust.

Observing the room closely, Nadir walked off to the right, carefully avoiding the footprints again. He held the gas lamp he had taken with him closer to a shelf containing several jars with minerals. One jar on a lower board was labelled 'arsenic, powdered' and it was the only one without a thick dust coat.

"Well, looks like the Phantom has his proof," Raoul said, having come up behind the Persian.

Nadir straightened up and turned to face the Vicomte. "Yes."

"And by coming here, we have incriminated the place, leaving only two options: either Clara confesses by herself, or Erik deals with her."

Nadir had to give the Vicomte credit. Now that they had left their own traces here, it would be impossible for the police to tell who had been here earlier. They had contaminated a crime scene and could therefore not press charges against Clara without being questioned as well, raising more suspicions than necessary. The sole option left was letting Erik deal with Clara as he saw fit, without ever involving the authorities.

"Did you know all along what this was about?" the Daroga finally asked.

Raoul turned, walking back towards the stairs. "I had my suspicions."

"And you don't mind being used like that?" Nadir pressed on, following him.

Raoul halted on top of the stairs, but didn't turn around. "If Erik had really threatened Christine tonight, I would not have waited for the police to arrest him. I did that before, and ended up being free only because of his mercy. No, I would have killed him with my own hands to protect the woman I love. If I am willing to act like this, how can I reproach him his need for revenge?"

Finally he turned around, his face stern. "If Erik was to be exposed as the Phantom, my wife and our marriage would be dragged through the mud again, and in her condition I want to avoid anything that might cause her stress. As you can see, Monsieur Khan, I have my own selfish reasons for helping Erik Perrault."

That said, he continued towards the entrance door. If Erik had heard the Vicomte's speech, he would have thought him less naive than at their last encounter beneath the opera. Nadir simply followed him outside, and the carriage ride to the Escayrac manor was passed in silence.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, I'm not that fond of this chapter, but I found the story needed to give Raoul more depth...even if his (movie) hair is still awfully foppish...