Chapter 100: Saunière is Dead
A few minutes later, William saw a large group of police officers run into the café. Spotting William alone, they immediately surrounded him.
*Well, so much for a quiet trip,* William thought. *It seems I haven't escaped trouble, even in France. What do the police want with me?*
"Mr. William Devonshire?" a middle-aged, bearded policeman asked, stepping forward.
William nodded. "Yes, officer. Can I help you?"
"Mr. Devonshire, my name is Bezu Fache, Captain of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police," the man introduced himself. "At what time did you meet with Jacques Saunière today?"
William glanced at Bezu Fache, then at the French police officers surrounding him. The situation was tense. He said with a sigh of resignation, "I met him at this café at 3 p.m. Afterwards, we went to the Champs-Élysées and bought two Patek Philippe watches from the boutique there. One of them is on my wrist."
William showed the watch to Fache, who gave it a brief, expert glance. As a veteran policeman, he could tell it was genuine. The watch was not cheap, which slightly lessened his suspicion of William. At the very least, a man like this was unlikely to be loitering outside the Louvre, waiting for the police to arrive.
Fache gestured for William to continue.
"After leaving the Patek Philippe store, we went sightseeing at the Eiffel Tower, where we met a couple of celebrities from Hong Kong. We chatted with them until 7:30, then walked to this café and ordered dinner. The professor received a call just before 8:40 and left. The next thing I know, you're here. Officer, may I ask what's going on? Why didn't Professor Saunière come back? Did something happen to him?"
Fache ignored William's questions. He first directed his men to question the café's waiter and then used his radio to instruct the surveillance center to check the CCTV footage from the Champs-Élysées and the Eiffel Tower plaza. A minute later, Fache received a reply confirming William had an alibi.
Fache hesitated for a moment before saying, "Professor Jacques Saunière was murdered tonight inside the Louvre, around 7 p.m."
"What?" William shot to his feet in shock. The wooden chair he had been holding onto creaked loudly under his grip.
Fache and the surrounding officers jumped, startled by William's sudden movement. They stared at the back of the chair, which was now splintering in William's hand, and swallowed nervously. The thought of that same force being applied to a person sent a chill down their spines.
"Damn it!" William yelled. "Tell me who did it!" He had only just established contact with Jacques Saunière, and the man was dead within hours. This threw a wrench in his plans to uncover Henry's secrets. He immediately wondered if this was the work of hostile forces Henry had mentioned in his letter. Was someone else searching for the Devonshire family's secrets?
Fache unconsciously touched his own wrist and said calmly, "I don't know. I am also looking for the murderer. You came under our scrutiny because, before he died, Professor Saunière used invisible ink to write your name and the name of Professor Robert Langdon on the floor. Now that your alibi has checked out, the murderer can only be Robert Langdon. We have located him, and I intend to expose him on the spot and arrest him in front of his victim's body."
"You are free to go, Mr. Devonshire, but I must ask you not to leave France for the time being. I may need to summon you at any time," Fache added.
But William had no intention of just leaving. He wanted to see if he could find any clues on the professor's body.
"Can I go with you to see the professor? I just flew in from Oxford today to meet him. I can't believe he was killed only a few hours after we parted ways. I want to see you catch the murderer with my own eyes. Besides, you said the professor wrote my name before he died. Perhaps I can spot something at the scene. Officer, I might be able to help."
Fache considered it. Saunière had indeed written an abbreviation of William's name at the scene, which suggested the professor was thinking of him in his final moments. Perhaps letting the young man get a closer look wouldn't hurt.
He nodded. "Very well, Mr. Devonshire, you may accompany me. But I expect you not to interfere with my investigation."
"No problem," William promised. "I promise I won't disturb you. I'll just watch."
William followed Fache into the Denon Wing of the Louvre, where Jacques Saunière had been killed. It was his first time in the museum, and he stared curiously at the huge oil paintings lining the walls. "Officer, are these paintings real? I've never seen canvases this large. This one must be seven or eight meters high."
Fache shot William a disdainful look. *What a nouveau riche upstart,* he thought. "This is the Louvre. Do you really need to ask if the paintings are real or fake?"
William nodded to himself, gazing at the massive paintings with an expression of obsession, as if they were treasures beyond measure. *God,* he mused silently, *how much would these be worth?*
Fache looked at William as if he were an idiot. "Of course they're fakes. With so many tourists passing through here every day, do you think we would display the real ones?"
Seeing William's crestfallen expression, Fache smirked. *You're so gullible.* William glared at him, annoyed. The man was just as abominable in person as he was on the phone.
Fache just smiled and shrugged, as if to say, *You're just an upstart who doesn't even know how to act your part.*
Frustrated, William followed Fache to the crime scene and was stunned by the sight of the professor's body.
Jacques Saunière was naked, a five-pointed star drawn on his torso in his own blood. There was a puncture wound below his left breast, which must have been the fatal injury. But why would the murderer have posed the body this way?
"God," William whispered, "why did the killer pose him like this? And why draw a pentagram on him? Is this some kind of vulgar ritual?"
Bezu Fache shook his head and said grimly, "You've got it wrong. The murderer didn't do this. The professor did it to himself."
"What?" William exclaimed. "Why would he do that? What was he trying to say?"
Fache took out a UV flashlight and shone it on the floor. Several lines of numbers and text appeared, but before William could get a clear look, Fache's radio crackled. One of his men reported that Professor Langdon had arrived. William had no choice but to follow Captain Fache to an elevator to meet him on the ground floor.
"Professor Langdon?"
"Yes."
"Hello, Professor. I'm Captain Bezu Fache." After they shook hands, Fache noticed Langdon staring at the glass pyramid in the Louvre's courtyard. "Do you like our pyramid?" he asked.
"It's quite spectacular," Professor Langdon replied.
"It's a scar on the face of Paris," Fache said with disgust.
William stared at Langdon in amazement. *Isn't this Tom Hanks?* Hanks was famous in his previous life, but for William, who had been born in 1998, he hadn't seen many of the actor's movies. Even the ones he had seen were over a decade ago; he could only recall impressive scenes, not every detail. *What movie is this from?*
Fache's comment brought a dazed William back to reality. The Louvre Pyramid was not beloved by all Parisians. Many French people felt that erecting such a modern glass structure in front of the ancient palace was a desecration that looked terribly out of place.
"This is William Devonshire," Fache said, gesturing to William. "A good friend of Jacques Saunière. In fact, Saunière had him fly from England to Paris just a few hours ago. I've asked both of you to come here to assist in the investigation. This way, please, Mr. Langdon."
The professor gave William a strange look, noting his excited expression, but offered a polite smile and a nod by way of greeting. Realizing this was the real world, William reined in his reaction. To avoid arousing Fache's suspicion again, he kept his mouth shut.
They took an elevator down to the sub-level. As they passed an inverted pyramid, Langdon remarked cheerfully, "This is the Inverted Pyramid. The two pyramids might be counterparts. They're so unique."
Trying to ease the tension, Langdon said as they walked, "I'm just a historian and symbologist. I'm not sure how I can be of assistance, Captain."
Fache pursed his lips, thinking, *I didn't ask you for your help.* "How long have you known Professor Saunière?"
"Not long. We only met once, at an academic seminar," Langdon said, then gave an awkward smile.
"Is something funny?"
"We had a major academic disagreement. I was shocked when he called me later."
When the three of them reached the elevator, Professor Langdon grew visibly nervous. He hesitated, then asked, "Can we take the stairs?"
The rude captain paid Langdon's request no mind. He ushered William into the elevator, then fixed his gaze on Langdon, motioning for him to get in.
Intimidated by Fache's stare, Langdon had no choice but to step inside. Once the doors closed, he became extremely tense. His expression went blank, his eyes glazed over, and he mumbled incoherently. William and Fache exchanged a look, both of them suddenly finding Professor Langdon highly suspicious.
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