The administrator Mercier is often shocked by the events taking place at the Opera, as he is one of the first people to discover Joseph Buquet hanging beneath the stage and to hear that Mauclair, the chief gas-man, cannot be found (as the Phantom has given him a narcotic in order to control the lights on the night that Christine Daaé disappears). Following the directors’ orders, he locks Mme Giry up to keep her from interacting with the Phantom.