‘Yes, Madame Dénarnaud mentioned them, a circle of royalists. Their big secret is that they have a copy of Le Serpent Rouge – the Grimoire of Pope Honorius III.’
‘Well then, there is another more obscure and highly secret group called AGLA that is related to them. Did you know that?’
Rahn sat back. ‘The symbol in the church!’
‘What?’
‘In the church – along with the raven there was a sign drawn in blood. I forgot to mention that it spelt out AGLA.’
‘But here’s where your theory falls down,’ La Dame said, smugly.
‘What theory?’
‘You told me just now in your account of events that you thought the young Abbé Lucien was a part of the desecration of that church. If he was, he doesn’t belong to this group AGLA. You see, members of this order are like a Catholic mafia: they go right to the top. They are strictly forbidden to do anything to bring attention to themselves – on pain of death. So whoever made that sign in the church you described, could not have belonged to AGLA.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Rahn said. ‘Perhaps that young abbé was warning us about AGLA – now it makes sense! He might be a member of the penitents and that’s what Madame Dénarnaud was trying to tell me the night of the storm. Penitence, penitence ... watch out for that raven! But then how did I work out the way into the crypt by using that clue – was it just a coincidence?’
‘Everything is connected, Rahn, as they say.’ La Dame shrugged, grinning at Eva. ‘Interestingly,’ he continued with emphasis, ‘Association Angelica allowed the admission of women and laymen into its ranks and that’s how that printer Manutius got to be a member without being a Jesuit.’
Rahn took out the list and put it on the table for La Dame.
‘See here? Abbé Bigou and Abbé Boudet of Rennes-les-Bains were members of Association Angelica.’ He wrote the order’s initials beside their names. ‘The same order that safeguarded the Grimoire of Pope Honorius III, or Le Serpent Rouge, the book I was sent here to find and the same one Monti was looking for. Saunière wasn’t a member and neither was Gélis. But the man in the barn had the tattoo of the anchor and the snake on his wrist so he was also a member. Jean-Louis Verger, on the other hand, belonged to the penitents.’
Jean-Louis Verger – Paris 1857 — Penitents
Antoine Bigou – Rennes-le-Château — 1781 AA
~
A J Grassaud – Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet 1886
A C Saunière – Rennes-le-Château 1885
A K Boudet – Rennes-les-Bains 1885 — AA
A A Gélis – Coustaussa murdered 1897
A L Rivière – Espéraza refused last sacrament 1915
‘But the walls of the church at Rennes-le-Château are covered with that symbol?’ Eva said.
‘Isis the veiled goddess speaks!’ La Dame cried jovially.
‘That was no doubt Bigou’s work,’ Rahn said, ignoring him.
‘So we know of at least two groups that have a copy of Le Serpent Rouge – Association Angelica and the penitents,’ Eva said. ‘And now they want the key, the Cathar treasure whose secret location is encrypted in that parchment.’
‘Yes.’ ‘I don’t understand, old boy,’ La Dame said, ‘does Deodat’s life depend on you finding Le Serpent Rouge or the treasure?’
‘I don’t know…perhaps both,’ he answered.
At this moment a boy came into the boulangerie and walked towards them carrying a note. ‘For you, messieurs,’ he said.
Rahn opened it.
‘What does it say?’ La Dame asked.
Once more, Rahn felt the hairs stand up on the back of his head. He turned to look out of the window. Parked outside was a black car, a Citroën.
Eva frowned. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘This is Deodat’s handwriting! Don’t look now, but there’s a car parked outside. The same car, I think, that I saw at Bugarach near Maison de Cros. Something’s been bothering me.’ He formulated his thoughts. ‘Why did Cros fall into the pond looking for the key, when he’d already told us the clue? We could have opened the tabernacle eventually, even without a key. We could have picked the lock or broken into it with enough time. What if he didn’t fall into that pond at all? What if the man outside in that car killed him while we were at the church?’ He gave them a significant look.
La Dame slipped his flask into his pocket and said, ‘Perhaps the best recourse is to find the back door to this establishment.’
THE ISLAND OF THE DEAD