It was almost noon as Jodi sipped her small glass of champagne and looked out the window. Clouds. Everything and anything was airless, nothing was held down by gravity. She and her companions Bret, Brian, Thomas, and Carrie were aboard Dagtner's small private jet, Le Sommiel wishing their New Yorkian worries away. "Perhaps the one who stole it will hold it for a ransom." Bret said after a sip of his wine, "I mean if the corpse is so famous, there is no way someone would simply dump the body on the pavement." Brian glanced over at Bret, "Most people still those bodies for money, and I do not mean a ransom. Usually they sell them off if anything."
Carrie was finishing off some homework, setting aside a textbook with her father not too far from her sight. He was sitting on one of the other chairs, drinking small shots of 'scotch on the rocks'. His expression was serious: bored, grim and tired. Tired. The one thing that everyone could relate to now. Ever since this morning, everyone was in a hectic rush to find the terminal without much of luck. Before they even completed their 2nd round of scanning everywhere, Thomas suggested on calling Dagnter himself. After that, they were seeing Dagnters everywhere they turned. Bret and Brian said that he was over at the snack bar while Thomas and Jodi said he was at one of the terminals. But, in the end, it was Dagnter himself who found them first, completely tired and exhausted from roaming around the whole JFK airport 4 times.
As Dagnter finished his wine, he faced Bret and Brian. "I am sure you are all aware of the Phantom story. The sweet soprano being kidnapped from the opera house and her lover coming to her rescue, so on and so forth." Brian nodded, "Its all too familiar. The famous Broadway show tells the story almost every night." Dagnter set his glass down and rubbed his hands together, "I have seen this musical myself, and believe me Mr. Regeld it only tells a certain section of this story while some things are left out. Just like the first words of the book 'The Opera Ghost really existed in flesh and blood.'" Jodi's ears pricked up, "Story? Leroux's story?" He nodded, "That gives many details on what happened, all thanks to his investigation."
She knew she had to get her hands on this book. "But how could be so sure those are the real details of what happened? The book itself is labeled 'fiction'." Bret asked. Dagnter leaned forward, "Like I said 'The Opera Ghost really existed in flesh and blood.'" Carrie looked up from her notebook, "So what you are saying is that since you know he existed, you know to trust the details." He bowed his head in agreement, "Exactly." "And just who do you think stole this corpse?" Thomas asked him. Dagnter shook his head, "I don't know. There is no one in competition with me or wishing to blackmail me so practically my life is an open book. Like Mr. Regeld said, most likely someone who wishes to get a rich reward for the body that is the center of an infamous story."
Soon a bump or two made them look out the windows. "Ah, Paris." Dagnter said with a smile. He went to the jet door with his suitcase while everyone else followed him. Outside the weather was different than the cold February days of New York. Right now, it was somewhat warm with a blast of sunshine raining down on the group. Waiting for them was a mini van ready to take them to their hotel. Once they turned down the last street to get to their destination, they came face to face with the Opera Garnier in the distance. "It's a surprise this ghost did not die from confusion." Jodi said with slightly widened eyes.
Apollo's lyre shone against the sunrays of the sky, glittering like a star. Just when it seemed as though they were heading for the opera, they stopped maybe a block away from the great landmark. With the help of the bellhop, they took their things up to their rooms. Everyone's room was the same, a simple bed in the middle of the room with a large window on the next wall. Jodi placed her clothes into the drawers and suitcase in the closet before heading downstairs to rejoin the others.
Everyone was planning to have dinner before they retired to their beds, and was lucky enough to have a restaurant across the street. The group was seated at a table near a few stained-glassed windows overlooking the entrance to their hotel. Jodi was the first one to jump to a conversation, "So are there any other details besides the ones we know about this 'robbery'?" she asked, sipping her coke. Dagnter leaned back and crossed his arms, "I will get into great depth tomorrow when we go to the Opera the first time. This is one story we will need visuals for." Everyone looked at each other as if the answer was on their neighbor's faces. Why the desperate need for visuals? They were sure if he could tell them details of this 'grave robbery'; they would all understand it.
Most of the time, people were silent and no conversation was exchanged. It was when they returned to their to rooms that they felt the need to understand why no one has said a word. Jodi especially was thinking this, lying up in her bed. Even while it was almost midnight, she couldn't get any sleep. As she came face to face with the moon's rays, she could only explained the bizarre silence as an eerie desire. Many words and questions were on their tongues, yes, but no one dared to ask or comment on Dagnter's last quote. All there was left was to gather clues in the morning.