The Da Vinci Code

either.

The clicking of Teabing's crutches approached in the hallway, his pace unusually brisk. When their host entered the study, his expression was stern.

“You'd better explain yourself, Robert,” he said coldly. “You have not been honest with me.”

Chapter 62

“I'm being framed, Leigh,” Langdon said, trying to stay calm. You know me. I wouldn't kill anyone.

Teabing's tone did not soften. “Robert, you're on television, for Christ's sake. Did you know you were wanted by the authorities?”

“Yes.”

“Then you abused my trust. I'm astonished you would put me at risk by coming here and asking me to ramble on about the Grail so you could hide out in my home.”

“I didn't kill anyone.”

“Jacques Sauniere is dead, and the police say you did it.” Teabing looked saddened. “Such a contributor to the arts…”

“Sir?” The manservant had appeared now, standing behind Teabing in the study doorway, his arms crossed. “Shall I show them out?”

“Allow me.” Teabing hobbled across the study, unlocked a set of wide glass doors, and swung them open onto a side lawn. “Please find your car, and leave.”

Sophie did not move. “We have information about the clef de voite. The Priory keystone.”

Teabing stared at her for several seconds and scoffed derisively. “A desperate ploy. Robert knows how I've sought it.”

“She's telling the truth,” Langdon said. “That's why we came to you tonight. To talk to you about the keystone.”

The manservant intervened now. “Leave, or I shall call the authorities.”

“Leigh,” Langdon whispered, “we know where it is.”

Teabing's balance seemed to falter a bit.

Remy now marched stiffly across the room. “Leave at once! Or I will forcibly—“

“Remy!” Teabing spun, snapping at his servant. “Excuse us for a moment.”

The servant's jaw dropped. “Sir? I must protest. These people are—“

“I'll handle this.” Teabing pointed to the hallway.

After a moment of stunned silence, Remy skulked out like a banished dog.

In the cool night breeze coming through the open doors, Teabing turned back to Sophie and Langdon, his expression still wary. “This better be good. What do you know of the keystone?”

In the thick brush outside Teabing's study, Silas clutched his pistol and gazed through the glass doors. Only moments ago, he had circled the house and seen Langdon and the woman talking in the large study. Before he could move in, a man on crutches entered, yelled at Langdon, threw open the doors, and demanded his guests leave. Then the woman mentioned the keystone, and everything changed. Shouts turned to whispers. Moods softened. And the glass doors were quickly closed.

Now, as he huddled in the shadows, Silas peered through the glass. The keystone is somewhere inside the house. Silas could feel it.

Staying in the shadows, he inched closer to the glass, eager to hear what was being said. He would give them five minutes. If they did not reveal where they had placed the keystone, Silas would have to enter and persuade them with force.

Inside the study, Langdon could sense their host's bewilderment.

“Grand Master?” Teabing choked, eyeing Sophie. “Jacques Sauniere?”

Sophie nodded, seeing the shock in his eyes.

“But you could not possibly know that!”

“Jacques Sauniere was my grandfather.”

Teabing staggered back on his crutches, shooting a glance at Langdon, who nodded. Teabing turned back to Sophie. “Miss Neveu, I am speechless. If this is true, then I am truly sorry for your loss. I should admit, for my research, I have kept lists of men in Paris whom I thought might be good candidates for involvement in the Priory. Jacques Sauniere was on that list along with many others. But Grand Master, you say? It's hard to fathom.” Teabing was silent a moment and then shook his head. “But it still makes no sense. Even if your grandfather were the Priory Grand Master and created the keystone himself, he would never tell you how to find it. The keystone reveals the pathway to the brotherhood's ultimate treasure. Granddaughter or not, you are not eligible to receive such knowledge.”

“Mr. Sauniere was dying when he passed on the information,” Langdon said. “He had limited options.”

“He didn't need options,” Teabing argued. “There exist three senechaux who also know the secret. That is the beauty of their system. One will rise to Grand Master and they will induct a new senechal and share the secret of the keystone.”

“I guess you didn't see the entire news broadcast,” Sophie said. “In addition to my grandfather, three other prominent Parisians were murdered today. All in similar ways. All looked like they had been interrogated.”

Teabing's jaw fell. “And you think they were…”

“The senechaux,” Langdon said.

“But how? A murderer could not possibly learn the identities of all four top members of the Priory of Sion! Look at me, I have been researching them for decades, and I can't even name one Priory member. It seems inconceivable that all three senechaux and the Grand Master could be discovered and killed in one day.”

“I doubt the information was gathered in a single day,” Sophie said. “It sounds like a well-planned decapiter. It's a technique we use to fight organized crime syndicates. If DCPJ wants to move on a certain group, they will silently listen and watch for months, identify all the main players, and then move in and take them all at the same moment. Decapitation. With no leadership, the group falls into chaos and divulges other information. It's possible someone patiently watched the Priory and then attacked, hoping the top people would reveal the location of the keystone.”

Teabing looked unconvinced. “But the brothers would never talk. They are sworn to secrecy. Even in the face of death.”

“Exactly,” Langdon said. “Meaning, if they never divulged the secret, and they were killed…”

Teabing gasped. “Then the location of the keystone would be lost forever!”

“And with it,” Langdon said, “the location of the Holy Grail.”

Teabing's body seemed to sway with the weight of Langdon's words. Then, as if too tired to stand another moment, he flopped in a chair and stared out the window.

Sophie walked over, her voice soft. “Considering my grandfather's predicament, it seems possible that in total desperation he tried to pass the secret on to someone outside the brotherhood. Someone he thought he could trust. Someone in his family.”

Teabing was pale. “But someone capable of such an attack… of discovering so much about the brotherhood…” He paused, radiating a new fear. “It could only be one force. This kind of infiltration could only have come from the Priory's oldest enemy.”

Langdon glanced up. “The Church.”