William had barely waited a few minutes at the café when a large group of police officers stormed in. Seeing that William was the only man present, they surrounded him.
"Alright, the person I spoke to on the phone must be pretty influential, but I haven't caused any trouble in France. Why are the police looking for me?" William thought to himself.
"Mr. William Devonshire?" asked a middle-aged policeman with a bushy beard leading the group.
William nodded. "Officer, is there something I can help you with?"
"Mr. Devonshire, I'm Bezuh Fache, Chief of the Central Judicial Police of France. Today, when did you meet with Jacques Saunière, what time did you part ways, and where were you between 6 PM and 8 PM after you separated?" Chief Fache questioned.
William glanced at Bezuh Fache and then at the surrounding French police officers. Realizing he was in a tight spot, he replied, "We met at this café at 3 PM and parted ways half an hour later. After we separated, I went to the Patek Philippe boutique on Champs-Élysées and bought two Patek Philippe watches. One of them is on my wrist."
William showed his Patek Philippe watch to Chief Fache. Fache scrutinized the watch for a few moments, recognizing it as genuine and undoubtedly expensive. This reduced his suspicion of William; if he were the culprit, he wouldn't be waiting outside the Louvre for the police to arrive.
Chief Fache signaled for William to continue. "After buying the watch, I strolled around the Eiffel Tower, where I met two celebrities from Hong Kong visiting France. We chatted until 7:30 PM, then I walked back to the café, ordered dinner, and called the professor at 8:40 PM when he didn't show up. Then you all arrived."
"Officer, may I ask what happened? Why didn't Professor Saunière show up? Did something happen to him?" William inquired.
Fache ignored William and instructed his officers to question the café staff. He also used his radio to check with the surveillance team for any footage of William on Champs-Élysées and at the Eiffel Tower. After a few minutes, Fache received confirmation from the surveillance center that William had an alibi.
Fache hesitated before telling William, "Professor Saunière was murdered inside the Louvre around 7 PM tonight."
"What?" William exclaimed in shock, standing up so abruptly that the wooden chair he was holding creaked loudly under his grip.
Fache and the surrounding officers were startled. Seeing the chair back broken by William's sheer force, they gulped in fear. They couldn't help but wonder how much strength it took to break a chair like that. If he used that strength on a person, bones would shatter instantly.
"Dammit! Tell me who did it!" William roared. He had only just made contact with Saunière, and now, a few hours later, the man was dead. How was he supposed to uncover the secret Henry had spoken about?
William's mind raced. Could this be the work of the opposing force mentioned in Henry's letter? Was someone targeting the Devonshire family's guarded secret?
Chief Fache, unconsciously rubbing his wrist, maintained his composure and said, "I don't know. I'm also looking for the killer. Our investigation revealed that before his death, Professor Saunière used invisible ink to write down your name and Professor Robert Langdon's name on the floor."
"With you just being cleared of suspicion, the only suspect left is Robert Langdon. We have already located him. I will expose Langdon as the murderer at the crime scene and arrest him in front of the victim's body."
"You may leave now, Mr. Devonshire, but I must request that you stay in France for the time being. I may need to summon you again," Fache added.
William wasn't ready to leave just yet. He wanted to see if he could find any clues on the professor's body.
"Can I come with you to see the professor? I came all the way from Oxford today to meet him, and now, just hours later, he's been killed. I want to be there when you catch the murderer. And since you said the professor wrote my name with invisible ink before he died, maybe I can discover something at the scene. Officer, I might be able to help."
Fache pondered for a moment. Since William's initials were indeed at the scene, it indicated that Saunière thought of him before dying. It might be better to keep William close.
"Alright, Mr. Devonshire, you can come with me, but I hope you won't interfere with my interrogation," Fache conceded.
"No problem. I promise not to interfere. I'll just observe from the side," William assured.
William followed Fache to the exhibit hall in the Louvre where Saunière was murdered. It was William's first visit to the Louvre, and he marveled at the gigantic oil paintings around them. "Officer, are these paintings real? This is my first time seeing such large paintings. They must be at least seven or eight meters tall."
Fache looked at William disdainfully, thinking, "Typical nouveau riche." He replied sarcastically, "This is the Louvre. Do you think these paintings are real or fake?"
William, assuming the paintings were authentic, nodded enthusiastically and stared at them with a fascination that resembled awe, mentally calculating their worth.
Fache sneered, "Of course they're fake. With so many tourists every day, the real ones are safely stored away."
"Go to hell, you bastard," William thought, glaring at Fache. This guy was just as obnoxious in person as he was on the phone.
Fache shrugged with a chuckle, clearly enjoying toying with someone he perceived as a pretentious fool.
Feeling frustrated, William followed Fache to where the professor's body lay. He was taken aback by the sight of Saunière's final moments.
Saunière's body was completely naked, arranged in the shape of a pentagram, with a conspicuous wound under his left chest, likely the fatal injury. But why would the killer position him like this?
"My God, why did the killer arrange the professor like this and draw a pentagram on his body? Is this some kind of special ritual?" William asked in horror.
Fache shook his head gravely. "It wasn't the killer who did this. The professor did it himself."
"What?" William gasped. "Why would he do that? What was he trying to convey?"
Fache illuminated the floor with a UV flashlight, revealing several lines of numbers and text. However, before William could read them, Fache's radio crackled with a report that Professor Langdon had arrived. Reluctantly, William followed Fache to the elevator to meet Langdon.
"Professor Langdon?"
"Yes."
"Hello, Professor. I'm Officer Bezuh Fache," Fache introduced himself as they shook hands. Noticing that Langdon was staring at the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre, he asked, "Do you like the pyramid?"
"It's magnificent," Langdon replied.
Fache scorned, "Just a blemish on Paris's face."
William was dumbfounded. "Isn't that Tom Hanks? In my previous life, Hanks was incredibly famous, but as someone born in '98, I haven't seen many of his films. Even if I had, it's been years, and I can only remember a few key scenes. Which movie is this again?" William wondered, his thoughts drifting.
Amused by Fache's comment, William chuckled. The glass pyramid in front of the Louvre was not universally loved by Parisians. Many believed that placing such a modern structure in front of the historic Louvre was an aesthetic blunder, creating a jarring contrast.
"This is William Devonshire. He's a friend of Saunière and was called to Paris from England just a few hours before Saunière's death. I've asked him and you to assist in the investigation. This way, please, Professor Langdon," Fache explained.
Langdon gave William, who was visibly excited, a curious look, offering a polite smile in greeting. William, aware that he needed to avoid suspicion from Fache, decided it was best not to engage with Langdon too much.
The group took the elevator down to the basement level. Langdon, noticing an inverted pyramid, exclaimed with delight, "It's the inverted pyramid. They might correspond to each other. It's truly unique."
To ease the tension, Langdon continued talking as they walked. "I'm just a historian and symbologist. I'm not sure how much help I can be."
Fache, dismissing Langdon's concerns, thought to himself, "I'm not bringing you here to help." "How long have you known Professor Saunière?" he asked.
"Not long. We've only met once at an academic conference," Langdon replied, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Is there something amusing about that?" Fache inquired.
"We had significant academic differences. So, when he called me, I was quite surprised," Langdon admitted with a sheepish grin.
As they reached the elevator, Langdon hesitated, looking visibly uneasy. "Can we take the stairs instead?"
Fache, showing no regard for Langdon's discomfort, stepped into the elevator with William and stared at Langdon, urging him to follow.
Feeling pressured, Langdon reluctantly entered the elevator. Inside, he appeared extremely tense, his eyes glazed over, and his speech became incoherent. William and Fache exchanged glances, both beginning to suspect that Langdon might indeed be involved.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter