The Sixth Key(123)

‘This is just like Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles!’ La Dame said, looking on with admiration.

Deodat sighed. ‘As Dagobert said to his hounds: “Sometimes even the best of friends must part if there is to be a hunt . . .” I knew that if you could just keep out of Beliere’s clutches, you would be safe.’

‘Why did you think that?’

‘Because your name was in Monti’s diary, that’s why! Monti being the man he was, he no doubt told others that you were the one who could find the key. You were tenet, as I said to you that night in my study: the lowest common denominator, the only one capable of finding what had been lost for hundreds of years. That’s why the groups looking for the treasure were not going to get in your way. In fact, it seems some groups were even willing to give up whatever clues they had to help you along, hoping that they would be the first to seize the treasure from your hands once you had found it for them.’

‘But what about you – what happened to you?’ Rahn asked.

‘That’s a long story too. To cut it short, they took me to Maison de Cros where I was detained in the wine cellar and that is where I finally met the real Inspecteur Beliere.

‘So what did he say to you?’ Rahn asked.

‘Not much actually, it’s difficult putting words together when you’re hanging by your neck from the rafters! At any rate I wasn’t there long. Last night I heard a commotion, some muffled sounds and this morning, the man who had been guarding my door seemed awfully quiet, so I ventured out carefully to take a look and found him sitting in the kitchen with his face in his dinner and his throat cut from ear to ear. That’s when I took the Citroën—’

‘The black Citroën!’ Rahn said, suddenly illuminated. ‘The one that had been parked outside the Maison de Cros!’

‘Exactly so.’

‘Then you’re the one who’s been following us?’

‘Yes – you see, last night the fake Beliere told me he knew you were at Rennes-le-Château, and he was going to fetch you so that he could take turns at torturing us into telling him what we knew. This morning when I escaped I went straight to Rennes-le-Château to find you but the police were already there. The problem was, I couldn’t tell if it was the fake Beliere, men working for him, or the actual police, so I waited outside the town. That’s how I saw you leaving with La Dame and the mademoiselle, headed for Couiza and the boulangerie. I sent the boy with the note but you didn’t get my clue, did you? The rebus.’

‘That was you? I thought your kidnappers made you write it. I feared they were becoming impatient and quite possibly about to cut off your nose or something equally as precious. Why didn’t you just come into the boulangerie, or write something simple, for instance: “I’m outside in the Citroën”?’

‘Because, dear Rahn, firstly, I knew you were being watched by those Serbians, so I wasn’t about to just walk in and announce myself; and secondly, I thought you’d be smart enough to instantly recognise the note as a warning from me about the mademoiselle. I had to make it enigmatic in case the note was intercepted or the girl got a hold of it. I thought you would have put two and two together to make four, but instead, once again, you’ve come up with twenty-two!’

‘Well, whatever the case, we gave you the slip!’

‘Yes you did, and a good chase it was, until I finally found you lying on the ground with a gun to your head. So I did the only thing I could do. I shot those men.’

‘That was you? You’re a crack shot, Deodat!’ La Dame effused.

Deodat gave him a sideways glance. ‘Luckily, that Citroën came fully equipped with a virtually brand new Mosin-Nagant carbine rifle, with a scope mount, no less – any sniper would have been proud. A marvellous weapon for a hunt. It’s the latest technology and deadly accurate, as those men found out.’

‘I didn’t know you could shoot like that!’ Rahn said.

‘Why not? Have you forgotten how we ate when we were potholing? Those rabbits don’t grow on trees, you know. At any rate, after that I lost you for a small time and caught up with you again on the road back from Saint-Just-et-le-Bézu when you were behind that hearse! That was a clever manoeuvre, Rahn, quite ingenious. After that I drove around Granes looking for you and found your car in a side street. I waited and followed you here to Coustassa and now I have something to tell you . . . but first, where is she?’

‘Who?’

‘Mademoiselle Cros, or should I say – Mademoiselle Fleury!’