Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 36
Overview
Fache escalates the manhunt after learning Sophie and Langdon appear to have fled by train, though he suspects the Lyon trail is false. By bringing in Interpol and targeting travel, hotels, banks, taxis, and Sophie’s personal contacts, Fache turns the escape into a citywide dragnet. This raises the stakes sharply: Sophie is no longer merely assisting an investigation but is being pursued as a fugitive alongside Langdon.
Summary
Outside the Louvre’s Salle des Etats, Captain Bezu Fache fumes while warden Grouard explains how Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon escaped and disarmed him. Lieutenant Collet arrives with news that Sophie’s car has been found at a train station, where two tickets were bought for Lyon.
Fache immediately suspects the Lyon tickets are a decoy, but orders the train stopped and searched anyway. He also tells Collet to leave Sophie’s car under plainclothes surveillance, search the surrounding streets, question taxi drivers, and contact the taxi company dispatcher with descriptions of the fugitives.
Recognizing that the first hour after an escape is crucial, Fache decides to involve Interpol despite the embarrassment. He plans to distribute Langdon’s and Sophie’s photos to travel authorities, hotels, and banks, cutting off transportation, lodging, and cash so the fugitives will be forced into a mistake.
When Collet questions whether Sophie should be flagged because she is a police agent, Fache angrily insists she must be treated as part of the escape. He also orders her employment file searched for friends, family, and contacts who might help her.
Fache sends Collet to coordinate the field search at the train station while retaining final authority over any moves. Alone, Fache reflects on losing the fugitives but reassures himself that Interpol’s pressure should overwhelm a cryptologist and a schoolteacher before dawn.
Who Appears
- Bezu FachePolice captain who escalates the hunt by involving Interpol and targeting Sophie’s contacts.
- Lieutenant ColletFache’s subordinate; reports the Lyon train lead and is sent to coordinate field searches.
- Sophie NeveuAbsent fugitive whose train decoy prompts Fache to flag her despite her police status.
- Robert LangdonAbsent fugitive pursued with Sophie through Interpol alerts and travel restrictions.
- GrouardLouvre warden who explains how Sophie and Langdon disarmed him during their escape.