Chapter 75 Espial

It had been many months since Erik had had such a fruitful night in the Opera House. He sat at Firmin's desk and read through the accounting books, then sifted through the rubbish bins and pieced together the ripped papers in there. It took no more than an hour for him to correctly surmise the true state of financial affairs that Firmin was desperately trying to keep hidden.

His very first instinct about Firmin had been correct. He was a man who liked to live well beyond his means - simply because he thought he deserved to do so. And if anyone else was caught in his financial maelstrom, then that was their fault for never questioning his actions. But to take out two mortgages to buy the Opera House? Erik couldn't believe a man could be so stupid with his money.

And that was before he found the letter from the insurers, begging Firmin to reconsider and renew his policy. Erik had delighted in that piece of information. "How poetically fortuitous," he smiled, his first such expression in weeks.

Gilles Andre was a complete fool. He'd let his finances rest entirely upon the honesty of Firmin and had no idea of his 'friends' mismanagement. It was obvious though, the more he read, that Andre would be regretting that most grievous error quite soon. And as if that wasn't enough to contend with, he found the doctor's bills for Andre after the night of Buquet's death and leant that his manager had not taken a short holiday to recover from the shock, as Firmin had told the company - but had suffered a mild heart attack and been forced to rest that week instead.

Yet Erik felt not one iota of pity for either man. They'd brought their regrettable destinies upon their own heads - both financially and personally. Firmin had become carnally entangled with Roxanne, the biggest whore in the place. But it was Andre's relationship with Brigitte that had brought him his most useful information that night.

He'd been hoping to find another letter from Christine, perhaps to Marguerite or one of the other girls. He knew Emilie wouldn't have told him if any had arrived after he'd embarrassed her with Reyer earlier in the week. He'd never searched through the girl's empty dormitory before and had been amazed at the treasures he'd found. Letters in a box under Roxanne's bed had shown just how many other men she was favouring as she strung Firmin along like a dog on a leash. But the letter that Brigitte had hid within her pillowcase had been a revelation.

She'd be frantic, of course, once she realised it was missing. But no matter. He was sure she'd have the assignation details it contained firmly in her memory by now anyway. He was lucky that the timing of the meeting meant darkness could cover him as he watched tonight, for this was one secret that he was determined to uncover - and, of course, use when necessary. He patted the letter in his jacket pocket absentmindedly, as he placed Firmin's highly original accounting books back where he'd found them.