A A Gélis – Coustaussa murdered 1897
A L Rivière – Espéraza refused last sacrament 1915
‘The two names at the top of the list differ from the rest,’ Eva pointed out.
‘Yes, they’re separated, as we said before, because those priests weren’t contemporaries of Saunière,’ Rahn reminded her.
‘No, there’s something else,’ she said.
‘What?’
‘She’s right!’ La Dame erupted. ‘Look, Rahn, Verger and Bigou both have their first names. The others on the list below only have initials.’ He gave Eva a conspiratorial smile that annoyed Rahn so much that he was hard pressed not to kick him. Even so, he had to admit it was true.
‘The A must stand for Abbé because it occurs before every name,’ Eva said, ‘so we’ll ignore that. Now, logic would say that the other initials point to first names. But they don’t, do they?
‘Saunière’s first name was Bérenger,’ Rahn said. ‘And that doesn’t match.’
‘And what about Abbé Grassaud?’ La Dame said. ‘What was his name?’
Eva gave Rahn and La Dame a significant look. ‘His name was Eugene.’
‘Another mismatch,’ Rahn announced.
‘I’ll wager that all the initials are wrong,’ Eva said, finally.
‘Yes, it might be another cipher,’ Rahn agreed. ‘Let’s see, if you put all the initials together it makes . . . JCKAL.’
Eva looked at it. ‘What if it is meant to be jackal, but Cros had to conform to the number of priests on the list and so he had to leave one letter out. Is there a connection?’
‘Anubis!’ Rahn said, looking at the two of them. ‘Anubis is the jackal-headed Egyptian god . . . the god of the Underworld!’
‘That took you long enough to figure!’ said a voice that made them all jump nearly out of their skins. Rahn saw a shape in the darkness. When it came into the light he wanted to faint.
42
What did King Dagobert Say to His Hounds?
‘The surprise was not all on one side I assure you!’
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles
The man stepped out from the shadows. ‘The mademoiselle is right. There is a church missing on that list . . . that is why the word JCKAL is not complete.’
Rahn couldn’t believe his eyes. ‘Deodat! We thought—’
‘Yes, I know.’ Deodat looked perfectly calm and not at all tortured, harangued or abused. In fact he looked better than Rahn felt. Rahn had to sit down, and found a pew. He was breathless and feeling faint. The crushing weight of responsibility that he had felt until now lifted from him, leaving him completely unable to speak for a moment. He was thoroughly numbed.
‘Come, come, dear Rahn, are you alright? I owe you a thousand apologies!’ Deodat said, making his way to him.
Rahn stood a moment, looking at his friend’s concerned face. ‘Good gracious! I can hardly believe my eyes. I – I’m in shock!’ Then, ‘I’ve never been more glad to see anyone in all my life!’ He was choked up, and took Deodat’s hand and shook it vigorously, but his joy soon gave way to a sudden vexation. ‘How dare you upset me like that!’ he said, letting go the hand. ‘For Heaven’s sake, Deodat! Where have you been? What have you been doing? We found a note, the house was ransacked, you were gone . . . They nearly killed me!’
‘Hold on, Rahn,’ Deodat said, lifting up a hand to stay him. ‘For things to make sense you have to tell me everything from the beginning.’
Rahn held in his annoyance and curiosity until he had told Deodat of his misadventures: his being locked in the boot of the Tourster; the man with his throat cut; the conversation with Grassaud at the hermitage; the Sator Square and what led them to Rennes-le-Château. He told him about the underground crypt; the desecration of the church; Madame Dénarnaud; the circle of abbés; the parchment; Saunière’s dealings with Association Angelica, the penitents and the Freemasons. He told him about Abbé Lucien, the anchor and the snake, and about the Serbians who accosted them and were killed for their efforts. He told him how they had managed to decode the parchment using the Vigenère Square and how the solution had led them to Saint-Just-et-le-Bézu, where they had found the second clue, which had brought them here to Coustassa. He also told him about the hearse and the black Citroën that had been following them.
Deodat listened without interruption, nodding now and again as was his custom. When Rahn finished, Deodat was thoughtful for a long time before speaking. ‘Well, Rahn, you’ve exceeded my expectations. Well done! Capital job. Things are falling into place, everything you’ve told me coincides quite beautifully with what I have discovered.’