Author's Note: Afterthought - Introducing two "Persians" between two separate fics in the same day was a total coincidence.


Daroga


While Inspector Petrie was across the city speaking with Madame Meg Corbin née Giry, Julien Claudin and Robert Destler ascended to the stoop of the humble townhome on Rue de Ravioli. As they removed their hats prior to knocking, Julien shot his younger counterpart a look of warning. "You would do well to remember to think before you speak. We need this man's cooperation, and your habit of antagonizing our witnesses will do us no favors with a former Police Chief, one from Persia no less."

"What's the difference?"

Julien sighed as he shook his head, then lifted his hand to the brass door knock which his used to rapt thrice. "You think conspiracy and corruption is bad in France and Europe, think again when you go to the East. In-fighting seems to stunt the growth of any country."

The door to the residence opened before Robert could summon a response. A rather meek looking man with olive skin and dark hair peppered with gray stood in the entryway, head slightly downcast as he looked up at them from a heavy brow.

"Bonjour Monsieur," Julien greeted warm and his tone light and with quiet motions of emphasis to himself and Robert, he introduce their party. "I am Inspector Claudin, and this is my associate, Inspector Destler. We were hoping to speak with Monsieur Nadir Khan about a matter of some importance."

The meek man gave a nod and moved aside. Once the pair stepped in and the door locked behind them, the Inspectors were led through the cozy domicile that was scented in rich and exotic spices.

In the study, they found an older man seating in a chair cross from them, a tea service set on the small low table central to another chair and sofa that occupied the room along with a desk in the corner and several shelves of books along the walls. His hair was thick and grayed with lines of a few rebellious strands that had yet to succumb to the silver of its aging neighbors. His deeply tanned skin was lined and weathered with time and stress.

"Inspectors," he greeted. "I was beginning to wonder if there any policemen worth their salt in this country."

"Monsieur Khan?" asked Julien.

The other issued them a nod and motioned for them to take a seat.

Both opted for the sofa and as they settled onto its cushion, Julien briefly introduced himself and Robert again.

Khan glanced to the other man with a dismissive wave, "Thank you, Darius. You may go." To Julien and Robert, he said, "No Mifroid? Shame, I was almost wondering if that dim man was still trying to flex investigative aspirations."

Mifroid was not quite of sound mind to properly investigate anything beyond a rumored theft of twenty-thousand francs from the pocket of a manager. Try as he might, he was in habit of dismissing any and everything he did not immediately believe on a matter, much to the detriment of the later investigation into Philippe de Chagny's death.

"No…no… we are quite a different branch of investigator, Monsieur Khan," Julien assured as he partook of tea, pouring the steaming brew into a fine porcelain cup. "We actually make an effort to discern the truth of a case."

"Is that so?" Khan asked, unconvinced as his posture in his relaxation into chair spoke readily of disinterest already. "Yet he was in charge?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking anyway. We are more studied in matters of homicide, he was task with less… critical matters."

"You were there too, then?"

"After Comte Philippe de Chagny's death, yes. Though, I do have an associate that was at the Opera when Mademoiselle Daaé disappeared the last time. He should hopefully be returning from Vaujours this morning."

At the mention of Vaujours, Julien had hoped to glean some reaction for the Persian who sat across from him. True to form however, the former Daroga betrayed nothing, while Julien was near certain that there was some familiarity with the region.

"Now all the de Chagnys are dead, with the matter of the boy still pending?"

Robert shifted, and Julien silenced him with a sharp motion, to which a partial roll of his eyes was given.

"Exactly," spoke Julien. "It is concerning when there seems to be a central person involved in both instances."

"Is that so? You presume it is the myth that no one in your government believes?"

"I would not say that no one believes it when I am sitting here before you now, Monsieur Khan. I believed it then as I do now. The only difference is that I am in a better position to investigate everything more thoroughly without the hindrance of those who both work alongside me and above my paygrade."

"Forgive me, I am not overly optimistic of your endeavor here, especially with so many years now gone between then, and now."

"Perhaps I can better persuade you, seeing that you have been following what you can of the case rather closely," Julien pressed with a nod towards that neat stack of newspapers on the small side-table to Khan's right hand. "What those papers are not telling you is that a man by the moniker LeRoi broke into the mortuary on the night of the 18th, left Christine de Chagny's body and forged documents as to how her body was discovered. Inspector Destler here had a notable and interesting encounter with someone you might find of interest to you, between Paris and Vaujours."

Khan and Julien's eyes settled on Robert who straightened a bit in his chair. "I was out there with Inspector Carriére to investigate a group of seven bodies found in the forest, which we have come to believe are those who attacked the de Chagny family as their trails led back the Chelle Chateau. When watching the road and speaking with all who passed through, we encountered a man with black horses, a cart, and mask. He was quite…evasive."

Still, Nadir Khan's face and body language betrayed nothing of worth to Julien or Robert.

"I have fair reason to believe that he is the man Mifroid noted as Erik, the Opera Ghost," Julien said, watching Nadir carefully. It would not due to miss some important detail.

Khan's dark eyes studied him a moment, reading into Julien and Robert as much as they struggled to read into him.

"I did a lot of reading last night, Monsieur Khan," Julien said as he leaned back into the sofa, after shifting in his seat to bring cross his legs with one knee over the other, and sipping his tea. "A lot of catching up on the mystery of the Paris Opera. Granted, Mifroid isn't the greatest at documentation, but I tend to be quite thorough in the notes I take. We did speak briefly then, if you remember."

"I do," Khan granted.

"I find your attitude regarding this Erik, contradicting at the best of times. One moment, you speak of him as though he is the scum of the earth, and the next, you are singing his praises like he is some ethereal creature. Why is that?"

"When Erik is…not of an ideal mental state, he is a fiend that is best treated as the vile creature he becomes. There is no rationale, no logic, no reasoning with him when he is in that mindset. A mindset that is thankfully a rare one. However, when his mind is clearer, his brilliance and capacity for…anything really, is hard to detest. The life he was dealt is a cruel one, and his time in Persia working for the Shah-in-Shah, did no favors to that end."

"You want to have him arrested, then to protect him?"

"When I say that Erik was in an unhinged state at the time of Comte Philippe's death, I mean that to the fullest extent. Though after the abduction, after Christine was gone, the depression he suffered," Nadir shook his head. "I believe him when he says he did not kill the Comte then."

"You spoke to him after Philippe's death?"

"Months after, if not a year."

"Why so long?"

Khan offered a thin smile. "After Erik took Christine and let her go, let us all go, he was content to let himself die. I endeavored to keep him among the living a while longer. An act he did not much care for and thus he become complacent long enough to regain enough strength to lock me from his home."

The new information that Khan decided to bestow upon them elated Julien, but he was careful not to betray that swell of excitement. "Why did he continue to living when he barred you from his home?"

That thin smiled remained, unchanged. "Because Christine went back to him."

Robert's eyes widened as he shifted in his seat now, eager for more.

"When was that, do you remember?"

"Sometime in early February. I cannot recall the precise day."

"What happened next, after she went back to him?"

"That is something of a complicated story that neither of them would tell. I suspect something of a romance occurred. They were to meet at the train station not long later and leave together. However, when Christine did not arrive, it was understood that she decided against furthering a relationship with him. By their agreement, if she did meet him at the station, he would leave her life forever. Which would give her leave to marry Raoul de Chagny and have no ghosts of their past haunting them."

Robert was taking notes as Julien continued to ask the questions, though now it was harder to decide which line of queries he wanted to pursue first. "What did he do?"

"He left France for months, but in his age, he tends to grow homesick for his native tongue. I suspect it has become harder for him to maintain all the languages he knows through the years. We spoke briefly when he returned, and that is when I learned of his account of Philippe; which was only that he found the body floating in the lake when he went about his plans to extricate me from his home. Admittedly, he seemed to barely remember even that much. Given his state then, I am not surprised either."

"When was the last time you spoke with Erik?"

"Many years. He finds me insufferable and tends to prefer solitude now over our once regular game of chess," Khan lazily motioned to chess set that was settled by a window. "Sometimes he might play a game through correspondence, but even that has dropped off."

Julien and Robert looked over to the board where its pieces were set in what appeared to be an active game.

"Where do you send the correspondence?" asked Robert.

"I don't. I put the response in a specific little box outback, and he will come to retrieve it at some point. It could be gone within hours or weeks at best."

Robert let out a quiet sigh.

"When did you last speak with Christine, or any de Chagny for that matter?" Julien asked after a pause.

"Several years now. Though when they did come around, they would ask if I knew what became of Erik. To which I was disinclined to give them an answer."

"Why is that?"

"The more distance between Erik and Christine, the better it was for both of them. Whether or not they knew it, it would be the only way for either of them to move on from all that happened between them."

"Why would they want to find Erik?"

"I do not know, and I was not inclined to ask."

The hairs at the back of Julien's neck rose a little in a tingle. Pursing his lips, Julien uncrossed his legs and leaned forward a bit with his elbows now brushing against his knees. He had a hard time believing a former Police Chief would not ask such a question. Regardless, Julien wanted to keep Khan talking. Leaning into a theory that he did not believe, Julien asked. "Why would Erik kill them, after all these years. After supposedly leaving Christine's life."

"He did not kill her, or any de Chagny."

"Is that so? How can you be so certain? He seems a jilted lover to be sure."

"Erik would sooner take his own life than bring harm to the woman he loved. He may have his demons, but he often will not kill unless his own life, or the life of someone he cares for is threatened. Even then, he is not one to knowingly bring harm to a woman or child."

"What about Raoul? The obstacle?"

"To kill Raoul de Chagny would defeat the motive of killing him. It would hurt Christine too much, and thus, hurt Erik. Erik would only kill Raoul if he brought harm to Christine. If Raoul was directly threatening Erik's life – that is a matter that could be debated without end and no satisfying conclusion."

"Implying that… Erik killing Raoul in self-defense may make Christine… mad at him."

"Yes, if he is of sound mind."

"But unsound…"

"The debate."

"What are instances that would cause Erik to have an unsound mind?"

"Same as any man: love, stress, narcotics, and alcohol. For Erik, it would be that precise order."

The rest of their interview with Nadir Khan was rather unproductive. Apart from a brief inspection of the 'box' where correspondence was exchanged with the mysterious Erik, there was nothing else of note. No matter, there was a lot of new information now to start piecing everything together.