victim of the worst schemes imaginable, and she hung her head, closing the door behind her.

   Once the mess in the Grand Theater was covered up, Monsieur Belmont announced that the role of Marguerite would be played by La Carlotta, to which most of her friends cheered in response. Act 2 had to be skipped due to event that occurred a few moments ago, so they had to go on to Act 3, which was exactly what the poodle wanted. Act 3 had Marguerite's best song, to which she would be able to amaze the audience once again, her triumph finally be able to be achieved.

   Act 3 began, and it soon came to La Carlotta singing the King of Thules aria, which brought numerous cheers for the poodle, and right after that, the famous Jewels Aria came up.

   The poodle took hold of the mirror from the basket of jewelry, as the orchestra built itself up, she thrust into the song like the fantastic singer she was.

   "Ahhhhhhhhh…! Je ris de me voir si belle en ce miror," She sang, her pearly white teeth shining in the light, "Ah! Je ris de me voir si belle en ce miror, est-ce toi, Marguerite, est-ce toi? Réponds-moi, réponds-moi…réponds, réponds, réponds vite!"

   As the song progressed, the audience cheered for the poodle, the diva smiling her way through the song, as she realized that this was her chance for her reputation to reach new heights!

   Above the singing poodle, Joseph Buquet was busy watching the poodle (and grinned as he chewed on his cigar, staring at the poodle's rump) he thought he heard some kind of thumping sound of the rafters. He looked from side to side, and when he saw only darkness, he shrugged it off and continued his smoke.

   Got a pretty good view there, Monsieur?

   A voice suddenly whispered in his ear, which made the pit-bull spin around, but before he could do anything, he fell silent as a dark figure grabbed hold of him.

   "Marguerite, ce n'est plus toi, ce n'est plus ton visage, Non! c'est la fille d'un roi," Carlotta vocalized, as the entire audience fell silent with awe and adoration, as the poodle was nearing the climax of the song. She knew once she was finished, her entire career would sky rocket into the very heavens itself.

   "Qu'on salue au pass-," Carlotta cut herself off, as she suddenly screamed in terror, as the body of a dog fell from the rafters above her. The body stopped falling in midair, as the rope around the Chief of the Flies neck snapped, suspending the dog in the air, killing him instantly.

   Upon seeing this, the entire audience was shocked at the dead Joseph Buquet that was now hanged before them, and started up a tumult of cries and gasps, and poor Carlotta ran screaming off stage, the curtain coming down after her.

Chapter 9

   Upon the sudden disaster in the Canine, Inspector Jean-Claude raced to the Opera House, along with a few authorities to investigate the body of Joseph Buquet. Monsieur Kaltag, and the rest of the managers, along with some of the staff were huddled around his body backstage, which was covered by a white sheet on one of the tables.

   "Uncover the body, Monsieur Moncharmin." The Inspector ordered, and the Chinook did as he was told. As he lifted the white sheet, Jean-Claude was somewhat surprised by what he saw. The pit-bull's face was contorted in fear, his face cold as ice. However, the Shepard noticed something, mostly around the dog's neck. It seemed bruised.

   "Do you know the cause of death, Monsieur?" Monsieur Nikki asked, as he and Star were somewhat perturbed at the dead dog before them.

   "Look closely at his neck." Jean-Claude said, moving the dog's shirt collar, revealing the bruised throat, which was still red from the rope that had choked him.

   "Was he strangled?" Star asked.

   "Correct Monsieur, it's probable that whoever killed him strangled him before throwing him over the edge of the rafters. The question is, why would he do so? He could have just strangled him, and left his dead body on the rafters. It wouldn't make sense to throw a dead body over the rafters like that."

   "Maybe he wanted to make a scene?" Monsieur Kaltag inquired.

   Jean-Claude then thought of something. What if this killer wanted to make a scene? And, why would they kill someone as random as Joseph Buquet? Did the murderer have something against him?

   Wait, the Chief of the Flies clearly knows about the ghost, and he has stated that he saw him in full view. And the only one that I know that would do this sort of thing is probably the Opera Ghost! It makes sense since this kind of the thing has "happened before". I see…the Opera Ghost clearly used this as a warning tactic. A rather clever move on his part…

   "Monsieur Inspector?" Kaltag said, as Jean-Claude had fell silent. He ignored the manager. He knew if he talked about the ghost being the killer the managers would obviously not believe him, so he kept his thoughts to himself. He would probably need it for later.

   "Monsieur Babet, please take Monsieur Buquet away to the morgue. I have something to do." He then left the group of dogs to their business, and went over to the very back of the stage, and walked for a bit until he found a door marked Costume Room.

   I have a strong suspicion that this Daae has something to do with this. I know it sounds odd, but from what I heard from the acting-manager, he detailed that the accident occurred after Mademoiselle Daar was replaced by La Carlotta. What if she had a paw in this murder?

   The Shepard knocked on the door, "Is this where Mademoiselle Daae works?"

   "Yes, and this is her," The voice of the husky sounded a bit depressed.

   "This is Inspector of Police Jean-Claude. May I speak with you please?"

   There was a slight pause before Jenna answered, "Yes, you may come in." Jean-Claude opened the door, and found the husky with her head on the desk.

   "Oh, did I come at a bad time?" Jean-Claude asked, seeing how Jenna seemed upset about something.

   What if I'm wrong? She doesn't seem to have any part in this. Still, I'll have to ask her….

   "No, Monsieur, it's fine." Jenna smiled, "It's just been a tough night."

   "Understandable." Jean-Claude answered, "I hope you're not in too much of a terrible mood to answer a few questions?"

   Jenna's raised a brow, "I thought you already had."

   "Oh, this isn't about the Opera Ghost, Madame, but about what just happened tonight."

   Jenna laid her head back down, her depressed demeanor returning, "I'd rather not talk about it."

   "Are you sure?" The Shepard inquired, sitting down in a chair across from the husky, "Perhaps what happened tonight is making you feel bad."

   "Well, yeah, it kind of is."

   "Would you mind telling me what happened?" Jenna was convinced, and told the Inspector what occurred that day, from the time La Carlotta had saved her job, to the moment she was humiliated on stage.

   "I don't know if I'll be able to show my face ever again," She covered her eyes with her paws, "I just can't."

   "May I ask you some qeations now?" Jean-Claude asked, crossing his hind legs.

   "Yes, go ahead." Jenna replied.

   Ok, from what she said, La Carlotta actually did this, but the thing is, did she kill Buquet, or did someone else kill him? The way I see it, the ghost probably got upset with the fact that Jenna was humiliated. What if I'm right, and the ghost killed Buquet? It's a good assumption, but did Jenna tell him to do it? Does she have a connection with the ghost? From the notes that the manager's received, the ghost (O.G.) details that Jenna is to be the lead role, and speaks of great praise in her name.

   Yes, she knows something, she has to know something…

   "Mademoiselle, did you know of Joseph Buquet's death?" Jean-Claude asked.

   "Well, all I've been in here for the past hour, and I heard a bunch of screaming and hollering, but no, I didn't know somebody was killed."

   She didn't know someone was killed? Nearly everyone was in an uproar from what Monsieur Belmont said. Is this some kind of act, or is she telling the truth?

   "Hmm, well, do you know why Joseph was killed?"

   "No."

   "Well, answer me this," Jean-Claude crossed his hind legs in the other direction, "do you think the Opera Ghost killed him?"

   Jenna flexed her right ear, "I don't know, do you think he did?"

   "Well, I'm not 100% positive, but it's mostly 90%. For one thing, the ghost doesn't like being talked about, and Joseph Buquet has frequently about him. So, it seems probable that he would go after the dog, but I didn't think he'd kill him. So, with this in mind, I find it rather odd that this would occur just after Carlotta takes the stage. Why didn't he kill him when you were performing?"