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So far, the evidence they had uncovered was unhelpful: a single bullet buried in the floor; a paper with several symbols scrawled on it along with the words blade and chalice; and a bloody spiked belt that PTS had told Collet was associated with the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, which had caused a stir recently when a news program exposed their aggressive recruiting practices in Paris.

Lieutenant Collet helped himself to a Perrier from Teabing's refrigerator and strode back out through the drawing room. Rather than accompanying Fache to London where the action was, he was now baby-sitting the PTS team that had spread out through Chateau Villette.

Moving down a lavish hallway, Collet entered the vast ballroom study, where the chief PTS examiner was busy dusting for fingerprints. He was a corpulent man in suspenders.

Collet sighed. Good luck making sense of this unlikely mélange.

"Anything?" Collet asked, entering.

The examiner shook his head. "Nothing new. Multiple sets matching those in the rest of the house."

Collet studied the photo and turned. "This is peculiar?"

"Turn it over."

"This Brit's a strange one," the examiner said. "Have a look at this." He sifted through the evidence bags and selected one, handing it to Collet.

The man shrugged. "Force of habit. I bag anything peculiar."

The photo showed the main entrance of a Gothic cathedral -- the traditional, recessed archway, narrowing through multiple, ribbed layers to a small doorway.

"How about the prints on the cilice belt?"

On the back, Collet found notations scrawled in English, describing a cathedral's long hollow naveas a secret pagan tribute to a woman's womb. This was strange. The notation describing the cathedral's doorway, however, was what startled him. "Hold on! He thinks a cathedral's entrance represents a woman's…"

Collet walked over. Peculiar?

"Interpol is still working. I uploaded everything we found."

The examiner nodded. "Complete with receding labial ridges and a nice little cinquefoil clitoris above the doorway." He sighed. "Kind of makes you want to go back to church." Collet picked up the second evidence bag. Through the plastic, he could see a large glossy photograph of what appeared to be an old document. The heading at the top read: Les Dossiers Secrets -- Number 4lm"249

Collet motioned to two sealed evidence bags on the desk. "And this?"

"What's this?" Collet asked.

"Lieutenant?" Another agent stuck his head in. "The switchboard has an urgent call for Captain Fache, but they can't reach him. Will you take it?"

"No idea. He's got copies of it all over the place, so I bagged it." Collet studied the document.

PRIEURE DE SIGN -- LES NAUTONIERS/GRAND MASTERSJEAN DE GISORS 1188-1220 MARIE DE SAINT-CLAIR 1220-1266 GUILLAUME DE GlSORS 1266-1307 EDOUARD DE BAR 1307-1336 JEANNE DE BAR 1336-1351 JEAN DE SAINT-CLAIR 1351-1366 BLANCE D'EVREUX 1366-1398 NICOLAS FLAMEL 1398-1418 RENE D'ANJOU 1418-1480 IOLANDE DE BAR 1480-1483 SANDRO BOTTICELLI 1483-1510 LEONARDO DA VINCI 1510-1519 CONNETABLE DE BOURBON 1519-1527 FERDINAND DE GONZAQUE 1527-1575 LOUIS DE NEVERS 1575-159 5ROBERT FLUDD 1595-1637 J. VALENTIN ANDREA 1637-1654 ROBERT BOYLE 1654-1691 ISAAC NEWTON 1691-1727 CHARLES RADCLYFFE 1727-1746 CHARLES DE LORRAINE 1746-1780 MAXIMILIAN DE LORRAINE 1780-1801 CHARLES NODIER 1801-1844 VICTOR HUGO 1844-1885 CLAUDE DEBUSSY 1885-1918 JEAN COCTEAU 1918-1963 Prieuré de Sion? Collet wondered.

It was André Vernet.

Collet returned to the kitchen and took the call.

The banker's refined accent did little to mask the tension in his voice. "I thought Captain Fache said he would call me, but I have not yet heard from him."

"I was assured I would be kept abreast of your progress tonight."

For a moment, Collet thought he recognized the timbre of the man's voice, but he couldn't quite place it. "Monsieur Vernet, I am currently in charge of the Paris investigation. My name is Lieutenant Collet."There was a long pause on the line. "Lieutenant, I have another call coming in. Please excuse me. I will call you later." He hung up.

The armored car driver. With the fake Rolex.

"The captain is quite busy," Collet replied. "May I help you?"

Collet now understood why the banker had hung up so quickly. Vernet had remembered the name Lieutenant Collet -- the officer he blatantly lied to earlier tonight.

For several seconds, Collet held the receiver. Then it dawned on him. I knew I recognized that voice! The revelation made him gasp.

He immediately called Interpol and requested every shred of information they could find on the Depository Bank of Zurich and its president, André Vernet.

Collet pondered the implications of this bizarre development. Vernet is involved. Instinctively, he knew he should call Fache. Emotionally, he knew this lucky break was going to be his moment to shine.