Inspector Ledoux led Carriere to a secluded room with a table and two chairs, one on each side. They sat down across from each other.
"So now, tell me about the Phantom" said Ledoux.
Carriere was reluctant to speak to the Inspector but he knew remaining silent wasn't an option.
"I know nothing more than you do" stated Carriere, refusing to meet the Inspector's eyes.
"On the contrary I think you know a great deal more, and always have" said Ledoux.
Gerard said nothing, he raised his head to look at the Inspector with a stoned expression.
"Gerard! Let us not play games. If I cannot bring things back to normal in an orderly fashion I will do so with whatever means it takes. People would get hurt" the Inspector continued, trying to appeal to Carriere's good nature.
"If I could help I would" said Carriere, still reluctant about giving the Inspector more information.
"Gerard I like you. I always have. At Christmas when others game me money you give me bonbons. I found it charming. But charm would get you just so far" said Ledoux, warning Gerard he would not get out of this interrogation so easily.
"You think I know the Phantom?" asked Carriere, with fake innocents.
"I do" stated Ledoux.
"Why?" asked Carriere, trying to make Ledoux reveal what he knew.
"Because when you were in change disturbances of this kind never happened" stated Ledoux.
"Coincidence" said Carriere, shrugging his shoulders.
"You think I'm a fool?" chuckled Ledoux.
Carriere made no comment.
"Gerard, if this is not resolved very soon I will be forced to go back down. For God's sake, help us!" continued Ledoux, his tone showed he was beginning to lose patients with Carriere.
"I will do what I can" said Carriere, finally agreeing to help.
"Thank you. That's all I need to hear. If I can be of any assistance" said Ledoux, breathing a sigh of relief.
Carriere smiled at the Inspector as he rose from his chair, nodded his head, and then left the room without another word.
XXX
Catherine and Erik laid together on the picnic blanket, holding each other close, resting after making love to each other. Erik was the first to awaken, he looked down at Catherine feeling content and prayed that this was not all a dream. As he watched her, he started stroking her upper left arm with the tips of his fingers, while her lower arm rested on his chest. The sensation was like a tickle and it gently arose Catherine from her slumber. She looked up at Erik and smiled at him, lovingly.
"Are you alright my love?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
When she referred Erik as 'my love' he looked at her with a smile, bigger than one he had ever made in his life, leaned his head towards her and kissed her on the forehead.
"Yes, my darling. I am more than alright. I am so happy now, happier than I have ever been, especially now you are in my arms" said Erik as he held Catherine closer.
"And I am so happy to be in your arms just as much, it is just..." sighed Catherine as she looked down.
"What is wrong Catherine? Tell me" begged Erik, fearing he had done something wrong.
"It is just...if only I could see Christine again. Just to let her know that I am safe, she must be so worried about me" said Catherine in a saddened tone.
Erik's smile dropped, he had been so preoccupied with bringing Catherine to his home and his revenge on Carlotta that it had completely slipped his mind that Christine did not know if Catherine was safe or not and he was overcome with guilt.
And then an idea struck him.
"Why don't you write her a letter. I will see to it she gets it and maybe you can meet somewhere, that way she will know for sure that you are unharmed" he suggested.
Catherine pushed herself up, abruptly, and looked at Erik with a wide-eyed expression.
"You really mean it, Erik? I can see Christine?" she asked excitedly, praying she hadn't misheard him.
"Yes, my darling. If it will make you happy" he said with a loving smile.
Catherine looked at him, beaming like a Cheshire cat.
"Oh, Erik my love, thank you!" she said ecstatically before throwing herself at him and kissed him on the lips.
Erik clenched up a little when he felt Catherine's soft lips touch his own, he was still not used to feeling such affection from a woman, other than his mother, and nor was he used to soft hands touching his mask-less face. He soon relaxed and was kissing her with the same passion as she was, their tongues even touched at some point. This continued for some time until they eventually pulled away for air. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled lovingly. Catherine gave Erik a peck on the forehead and sighed softly.
"Shall we head back?" she said, pulling away from him and gathered up her clothes.
Erik followed sought.
Once the two were dresses and Erik put his mask back on, the two then picked up any picnic items that were left out, most of them had been scattered around during Catherine and Erik's moment of intimacy, packed them away in the basket and then Catherine assisted Erik in folding up the blanket and placed that in the basket too. When everything was packed away, the two overs left the makeshift forest with their arms linked and Catherine rested her head on Erik's right shoulder. As they walked through Erik's lair, Catherine lifted her head to look up at him.
"You know, you don't have to wear your mask when it's just you and me Erik. I am not repulsed by you at all" she said, sincerely.
Erik looked down at Catherine's face.
"I know that, my love. But I am so used to wearing it I feel almost naked without it" he said with a sigh, looking down at his feet for a second before looking up again to see where he was leading her.
Catherine looked at him with a sad smile, she took his left hand and raised it to her lips and gave it a gentle kiss, for comfort.
"I understand, my darling. When you are ready you can try to not wear it so often when it's just you and me. The last thing I would ever want is to force you to do something you are not comfortable with" she said, squeezing his arm gently and rubbed her head against his shoulder.
Erik looked down at her with a loving smile.
"Very well, my love. That is something I'd be willing to try for you and thank you for understanding" he said gratefully.
Like Catherine had done, he gently took her right hand and raised it to his lips, kissing it softly and lowering it down to where it had been resting on his arm.
Soon the two arrived in Erik's bed chamber. It was a large gallery opening, on the left side of the room was a two door, black wooden wardrobe with round, golden handles, in the middle of the room was a dark framed bed shaped like a swam with red velvet sheets and matching pillows, black laced curtain hanged from the ceiling above the bed and on either side were two tall candelabras and on the right hand side of the room was a black wooden writing desk with three large drawers and an array of small storage units, on the desk were two books, piled one on top of the other, on the left, in the middle was a blank sheet of paper and an envelope and on the right was a black feathered quill pen lying next to a bottle of black ink.
Erik led her towards the desk and pulled she chair out for her. Catherine sat down eagerly, picked up the quill, dipped it in the bottle of black ink and began to write her letter to Christine.
In the letter she wrote:
Dearest Christine and Phillippe,
I know by now you must be worried about me, but I am writing to you to reassure you both that I am safe and well. Maestro has been taking such great care of me and has now deemed it safe for me to contact you and to see you both.
Please meet me in the Opera House lobby this evening at 9pm. And please do not breathe a word of this to the police or any members of the company.
With love,
Catherine
P.S. Bring Monsieur Carriere with you, he knows of the situation.
Catherine read over the letter and blew on the ink to dry it; she folded the letter up and placed it inside the envelope and gave it a kiss for luck before giving it to Erik.
When she gave him the letter, Erik sprang into action. He went to the wardrobe and pulled out his black cloak and swung it around his shoulders and fastened it. He then reached back into the wardrobe and pulled out his black fedora and placed it on his head. He looked at Catherine.
"I will return soon" he said before turning and walked out of the room.
"Be careful" Catherine called out after him and watched as he disappeared from sight.
She continue to sit at the desk for a few moments then the feeling of fatigue came over her and her eyes grew heavy. She did not know how to get back to her own room from Erik's, so she made her way over to the Swan bed and laid down. The softness of the pillows and sheets made Catherine drift off to sleep in an instant.
XXX
Erik travelled, swiftly, to the surface. When he arrived, he employed the services of a messenger, taking care to cover his masked face with his hat, he paid the man 50 francs upfront and told him to deliver the letter to where he suspected Christine would be. At the Hotel Lutetia with the Count de Chaney.