CHAPTER 13

Langdon studies the erased postscript, P.S. Find Robert Langdon, and realizes why Fache treated him so confidently as a suspect. Sophie explains that Fache brought Langdon to the Louvre because Saunière appeared to name him, and that Fache has been secretly recording their conversation through a concealed microphone in hopes Langdon will reveal a motive.

Langdon protests that he has an alibi from his hotel, but Sophie says Fache already checked it. The record only proves Langdon retrieved his key around 10:30, while the murder occurred closer to 11:00, leaving open the possibility that Langdon could have left unseen. Sophie warns that Saunière’s date book, the writing beside the body, and the public pressure surrounding a famous curator’s murder give Fache enough reason to detain Langdon.

When Langdon asks why Sophie is helping, Sophie says she believes Langdon is innocent and that his danger is partly her fault. She explains that Saunière was not trying to frame Langdon; the message on the floor was meant for Sophie. The scrambled number code was intended to bring in cryptographers, ensuring that Sophie would be alerted quickly.

Sophie then reveals why she recognized the message as personal. Saunière used the pose of The Vitruvian Man because it was Sophie’s favorite Da Vinci work, and the letters “P.S.” were not merely a postscript but Sophie’s childhood nickname, Princesse Sophie. Langdon begins to understand that Sophie and Saunière had a deep personal connection.

Sophie finally discloses the central reason she understood Saunière’s intent: Jacques Saunière was her grandfather. She also reveals that they had fallen out ten years earlier and had barely spoken since, making his final attempt to reach her both urgent and emotionally painful.