Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty Seven

Lieutenant Collet sat at Saunière's desk, pressing the phone to his ear in surprise.Did I hear Fache right? "A bar of soap? But how did Langdon know about the GPS tracker?" "Sophie Neveu," Fache said, "Sophie Neveu told him." "What? How did this happen?" "Fuck, good question. I just listened to a recording of the phone call, which confirmed that Sophie was instigating it." Collet was too surprised to speak.What was Neveu thinking?Fache already has evidence of her obstructing the police, and she will not only be fired, but thrown in jail. "Sheriff... where is Langdon now?"

"Did the fire alarm go off?" "No, sir." "Nobody walks out of the gates of the great art galleries?" "No. According to your instructions, we have sent a security guard from the Louvre to guard the gate." "Okay, then Langdon must still be in the art gallery." "Still in there? But what is he doing in there?" "Do the security guards at the Louvre have weapons?" "Yes, sir. He's a senior security officer." "Let him in," Fache ordered, "I can't get my men back in a few minutes, and I don't want Langdon running away." Fache paused, and then said, "You'd better So tell the security guard that Sophie Neveu might be with Langdon."

"I think Officer Neveu is gone." "Did you actually see her go?" "No, but—" "None of the guards saw her leave either. They just saw her go in." Collet is blindsided by Sophie's bravado.She's still in the Louvre? "You go and do this," Fache ordered. "I hope to see Langdon and Neveu at gunpoint when I return." After the trailer truck drove off, Inspector Fache assembled his men.What happened tonight has proved that Langdon is an elusive target, and now that he has the help of Officer Neveu, the pursuit will be much more difficult than imagined.

Fache decided to act slowly and steadily. He split the bet in half, sending half back to the Louvre to guard the exit, and the other half to the only safe haven Langdon could find in Paris.