Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 35
Overview
Sophie turns the supposed Lyon train escape into a decoy, using Langdon’s traceable credit card purchase to misdirect the police while the pair leave by taxi. Langdon then discovers that Saunière hid an ultraviolet address on the Priory key, sending them toward 24 Rue Haxo.
The chapter shifts the fugitives from pure evasion back into active investigation. Sophie’s decision to ask Langdon about the Priory also signals that her grandfather’s secret life can no longer remain separate from her personal history.
Summary
At Gare Saint-Lazare, Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon enter amid the late-night crowd and check the departure board. Sophie chooses the Lyon train, which leaves in seven minutes, and tells Langdon to buy two tickets with his credit card precisely because police can trace the purchase.
Instead of boarding the Lyon train, Sophie leads Langdon away from the platform, through a side lobby, and out to a quiet street where a taxi is waiting. Once inside, Sophie tears up the tickets, revealing the train purchase was a deliberate false trail to mislead anyone tracking them.
As the taxi heads north out of Paris, police cars pass in the opposite direction, confirming the danger remains close. Sophie gives the driver only a general instruction to leave the city while she considers their next move, and Langdon studies the Priory-marked cruciform key for clues.
Langdon notices the key smells of rubbing alcohol and reasons that it may have been recently cleaned or treated. Using Sophie’s UV penlight, Langdon shines ultraviolet light on the back of the key and reveals hidden purple writing: 24 Rue Haxo.
Sophie asks the driver about the address, and he identifies Rue Haxo as near the tennis stadium on the western outskirts of Paris. As they head there by the fastest route through Bois de Boulogne, Sophie wonders whether the address might be a church or Priory site, then tells Langdon she needs him to explain everything he knows about the Priory of Sion.
Who Appears
- Sophie NeveuEngineers the false train trail, directs the taxi, and seeks answers about the Priory.
- Robert LangdonBuys decoy tickets, studies the key, and uncovers the hidden Rue Haxo address.
- Taxi driverDrives Sophie and Langdon out of Paris and identifies Rue Haxo’s location.
- Jacques SaunièreAbsent but central; his hidden UV message on the key directs the fugitives onward.