Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 17
Overview
Fache discovers that Sophie Neveu was not officially sent by Cryptology and that she is Jacques Saunière's granddaughter, turning her presence at the Louvre from routine procedure into a serious mystery. Collet begins to suspect Saunière's code was designed to summon Sophie and perhaps communicate with her.
The investigation abruptly escalates when an alarm sounds in the men's restroom and Langdon's tracking signal appears to move out of the building. Fache and Collet believe Langdon has fled by jumping from a Louvre window, intensifying the manhunt.
Summary
Fache demands that Collet reach Sophie Neveu by phone, but Collet cannot get an answer. Fache is already agitated after speaking with the director of Cryptology, who has contradicted Sophie's earlier explanation for being at the Louvre.
The director told Fache that Cryptology did not send Sophie to the crime scene. Instead, Fache had ordered the team paged to study Saunière's images; Sophie saw the photos and the code, then left the office without explanation. The director also revealed that Sophie is Jacques Saunière's granddaughter, a connection neither Fache nor Collet had known.
Collet realizes this changes the meaning of Saunière's message. Saunière may have written the number sequence to draw Cryptology into the case and thereby summon Sophie, suggesting that the rest of the message may have been meant specifically for her and somehow involved Langdon.
An alarm suddenly sounds from the men's restroom in the Grand Gallery. Collet sees Langdon's tracking signal still there, then moving toward the window ledge, making the police believe Langdon has broken the window and is attempting escape.
Fache rushes out with his revolver while Collet watches the tracking dot leave the building perimeter. After recalibrating the GPS on a street map, Collet sees the signal stopped in the middle of Place du Carrousel, leading him to conclude that Langdon has jumped from the Louvre window.
Who Appears
- Jérôme ColletMonitors Sophie and Langdon, pieces together Saunière's possible intent, and tracks the alarming GPS movement.
- Bezu FacheLeads the Louvre investigation, discovers Sophie's unauthorized actions, and rushes after the apparent escape.
- Sophie NeveuAbsent but central; revealed to be Saunière's granddaughter and not officially assigned to the Louvre.
- Robert LangdonSuspected fugitive whose tracking signal appears to leave the Louvre through a restroom window.
- Jacques SaunièreDead curator whose code may have been meant to summon and communicate with Sophie.
- Director of CryptologyInforms Fache that Sophie left without orders after seeing Saunière's photos and code.