Chapter Four

Sam dropped Christine off at her little apartment.

"I have to go for the tickets. I'll come back for you in an hour. We'll meet Erik at the station."

"No need to, Sam. The station is so close...I will meet you there."

Sam shook his head at her.

"No, Erik will be angry if I leave you on your own."

"I'll be all right...really."

An hour later, she stood inside the chaos of the train station, watching for some sign of Erik and Sam in the anxious crowds. A few needed items had been packed in the small valise she clutched with both hands.

Then she saw Sam pushing his way towards her. He reached her side and she knew something was very wrong.

"Sam, where is Erik?"

"Miss Daae...Christine...I don't know."

"What do you mean," she said, clutching his thin arm with a trembling hand.

"After I got the tickets, I went back to Belle Vivre and he wasn't there. But the place had been...well, everything was wrecked. Things were smashed. The bar, the piano, the windows. All destroyed. His apartment upstairs had been ramsacked. And there was no sign of him."

"Oh, dear God...no!"

He drew a small leather case from his overcoat and pushed it into her hand.

"Christine...your ticket is in here. And some money. Erik figured this day might come...sooner or later. You'd better take it and go."

"Go? But what about Erik...we can't leave him!"

Sam Reyer lowered his voice and leaned closer to the young woman. He saw that her face was white, her amber-brown eyes wide with terror for Erik.

"I'm not leaving him, Christine. I'm going back to look for him, to see what I can find out."

"I'll go with you, Sam."

"No, you're not, Christine," the older man said, taking her by the elbow and guiding her through the throngs toward the train.

"I won't go without him," she protested, trying to tug her hand free, "Sam, I can't...I love him."

Sam held onto her arm firmly and they neared the passenger car.

"Christine, I know you do. And he's so madly in love with you. But there isn't anything you can do to help him. I can't search for him if I'm busy looking after you. Paris isn't safe now...you've got to go. For his sake as much as yours. He'd want you safe more than anything else."

She nodded slowly, the tears flowing freely down her face.

"Sam...when you find him...tell him. Tell that I didn't want to leave without him. And tell him that I love him...promise you will tell him."