Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 90
Overview
Collet discovers that a hidden surveillance system at Château Villette has been monitoring powerful French figures for more than a year, including Jacques Saunière. An audio file proves the bug captured police activity at the Louvre that very night.
The revelation that Saunière’s desk knight hid a listening device deepens the conspiracy and suggests that someone connected to Villette had long-term access to sensitive information. This shifts Collet’s investigation from chasing Langdon and Sophie toward uncovering who orchestrated the surveillance.
Summary
In the hayloft at Château Villette, Collet examines a computer surveillance system and learns from an agent that it has been collecting audio data for over a year. The list of targets includes several prominent French figures, among them Jacques Saunière, which immediately alarms Collet because of Saunière’s central role in the night’s investigation.
The agent plays a recent audio file from Saunière’s office. Collet recognizes his own voice from earlier that night, when Collet radioed Fache from Saunière’s desk about Sophie Neveu’s arrival at the Louvre. This proves that much of the police investigation inside the Louvre could have been overheard by whoever controlled the system.
When Collet asks whether anyone has searched for the bug, the agent says the device’s location is already known. The agent shows Collet a photocopied ancient schematic of a fully articulated medieval French knight—the same kind of knight that sat on Saunière’s desk.
Collet sees red handwritten notes in French on the schematic, outlining how to conceal a listening device inside the knight. The discovery confirms that Saunière’s office was deliberately compromised and links the surveillance at Villette to the broader conspiracy surrounding the murder and the keystone.
Who Appears
- ColletInvestigates Villette’s computer system and realizes Saunière’s Louvre office was bugged.
- Unnamed agentShows Collet the surveillance files, audio recording, and schematic identifying the hidden bug.
- Jacques SaunièreMurdered Louvre curator revealed as a surveillance target through his desk knight.