Sophie wondered how long it would take Fache to figure out she had not left the building. Seeingthat Langdon was clearly overwhelmed, Sophie questioned whether she had done the right thing bycornering him here in the men's room.
What else was I supposed to do?
She pictured her grandfather's body, naked and spread-eagle on the floor. There was a time whenhe had meant the world to her, yet tonight, Sophie was surprised to feel almost no sadness for theman. Jacques Saunière was a stranger to her now. Their relationship had evaporated in a singleinstant one March night when she was twenty-two. Ten years ago. Sophie had come home a fewdays early from graduate university in England and mistakenly witnessed her grandfather engagedin something Sophie was obviously not supposed to see. It was an image she barely could believeto this day.
If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
Too ashamed and stunned to endure her grandfather's pained attempts to explain, Sophieimmediately moved out on her own, taking money she had saved, and getting a small flat withsome roommates. She vowed never to speak to anyone about what she had seen. Her grandfathertried desperately to reach her, sending cards and letters, begging Sophie to meet him so he couldexplain. Explain how!? Sophie never responded except once—to forbid him ever to call her or tryto meet her in public. She was afraid his explanation would be more terrifying than the incidentitself.
Incredibly, Saunière had never given up on her, and Sophie now possessed a decade's worth ofcorrespondence unopened in a dresser drawer. To her grandfather's credit, he had never oncedisobeyed her request and phoned her.
Until this afternoon.
"Sophie?" His voice had sounded startlingly old on her answering machine. "I have abided by yourwishes for so long... and it pains me to call, but I must speak to you. Something terrible hashappened."Standing in the kitchen of her Paris flat, Sophie felt a chill to hear him again after all these years.
His gentle voice brought back a flood of fond childhood memories.
"Sophie, please listen." He was speaking English to her, as he always did when she was a little girl.
Practice French at school. Practice English at home. "You cannot be mad forever. Have you notread the letters that I've sent all these years? Do you not yet understand?" He paused. "We mustspeak at once. Please grant your grandfather this one wish. Call me at the Louvre. Right away. Ibelieve you and I are in grave danger." Sophie stared at the answering machine. Danger? Whatwas he talking about?
"Princess..." Her grandfather's voice cracked with an emotion Sophie could not place. "I know I'vekept things from you, and I know it has cost me your love. But it was for your own safety. Nowyou must know the truth. Please, I must tell you the truth about your family."Sophie suddenly could hear her own heart. My family? Sophie's parents had died when she wasonly four. Their car went off a bridge into fast-moving water. Her grandmother and youngerbrother had also been in the car, and Sophie's entire family had been erased in an instant. She had abox of newspaper clippings to confirm it.
His words had sent an unexpected surge of longing through her bones. My family! In that fleetinginstant, Sophie saw images from the dream that had awoken her countless times when she was alittle girl: My family is alive! They are coming home! But, as in her dream, the pictures evaporatedinto oblivion.
Your family is dead, Sophie. They are not coming home.
"Sophie..." her grandfather said on the machine. "I have been waiting for years to tell you. Waitingfor the right moment, but now time has run out. Call me at the Louvre. As soon as you get this. I'llwait here all night. I fear we both may be in danger. There's so much you need to know."The message ended.
In the silence, Sophie stood trembling for what felt like minutes. As she considered hergrandfather's message, only one possibility made sense, and his true intent dawned.
It was bait.
Obviously, her grandfather wanted desperately to see her. He was trying anything. Her disgust forthe man deepened. Sophie wondered if maybe he had fallen terminally ill and had decided toattempt any ploy he could think of to get Sophie to visit him one last time. If so, he had chosenwisely.
My family.
Now, standing in the darkness of the Louvre men's room, Sophie could hear the echoes of thisafternoon's phone message. Sophie, we both may be in danger. Call me.
She had not called him. Nor had she planned to. Now, however, her skepticism had been deeplychallenged. Her grandfather lay murdered inside his own museum. And he had written a code onthe floor.
A code for her. Of this, she was certain.
Despite not understanding the meaning of his message, Sophie was certain its cryptic nature wasadditional proof that the words were intended for her. Sophie's passion and aptitude forcryptography were a product of growing up with Jacques Saunière—a fanatic himself for codes,word games, and puzzles. How many Sundays did we spend doing the cryptograms and crosswordsin the newspaper?
At the age of twelve, Sophie could finish the Le Monde crossword without any help, and hergrandfather graduated her to crosswords in English, mathematical puzzles, and substitution ciphers.
Sophie devoured them all. Eventually she turned her passion into a profession by becoming acodebreaker for the Judicial Police.
Tonight, the cryptographer in Sophie was forced to respect the efficiency with which hergrandfather had used a simple code to unite two total strangers—Sophie Neveu and RobertLangdon.
The question was why?
Unfortunately, from the bewildered look in Langdon's eyes, Sophie sensed the American had nomore idea than she did why her grandfather had thrown them together.
She pressed again. "You and my grandfather had planned to meet tonight. What about?"Langdon looked truly perplexed. "His secretary set the meeting and didn't offer any specific reason,and I didn't ask. I assumed he'd heard I would be lecturing on the pagan iconography of Frenchcathedrals, was interested in the topic, and thought it would be fun to meet for drinks after thetalk."Sophie didn't buy it. The connection was flimsy. Her grandfather knew more about paganiconography than anyone else on earth. Moreover, he an exceptionally private man, not someoneprone to chatting with random American professors unless there were an important reason.
Sophie took a deep breath and probed further. "My grandfather called me this afternoon and toldme he and I were in grave danger. Does that mean anything to you?"Langdon's blue eyes now clouded with concern. "No, but considering what just happened..."Sophie nodded. Considering tonight's events, she would be a fool not to be frightened. Feelingdrained, she walked to the small plate-glass window at the far end of the bathroom and gazed out insilence through the mesh of alarm tape embedded in the glass. They were high up—forty feet atleast.
Sighing, she raised her eyes and gazed out at Paris's dazzling landscape. On her left, across theSeine, the illuminated Eiffel Tower. Straight ahead, the Arc de Triomphe. And to the right, highatop the sloping rise of Montmartre, the graceful arabesque dome of Sacré-Coeur, its polishedstone glowing white like a resplendent sanctuary.
Here at the westernmost tip of the Denon Wing, the north-south thoroughfare of Place du Carrouselran almost flush with the building with only a narrow sidewalk separating it from the Louvre'souter wall. Far below, the usual caravan of the city's nighttime delivery trucks sat idling, waitingfor the signals to change, their running lights seeming to twinkle mockingly up at Sophie.
"I don't know what to say," Langdon said, coming up behind her. "Your grandfather is obviouslytrying to tell us something. I'm sorry I'm so little help."Sophie turned from the window, sensing a sincere regret in Langdon's deep voice. Even with all thetrouble around him, he obviously wanted to help her. The teacher in him, she thought, having readDCPJ's workup on their suspect. This was an academic who clearly despised not understanding.
We have that in common, she thought.
As a codebreaker, Sophie made her living extracting meaning from seemingly senseless data.
Tonight, her best guess was that Robert Langdon, whether he knew it or not, possessed informationthat she desperately needed. Princesse Sophie, Find Robert Langdon. How much clearer could hergrandfather's message be? Sophie needed more time with Langdon. Time to think. Time to sort outthis mystery together. Unfortunately, time was running out.
Gazing up at Langdon, Sophie made the only play she could think of. "Bezu Fache will be takingyou into custody at any minute. I can get you out of this museum. But we need to act now."Langdon's eyes went wide. "You want me to run?""It's the smartest thing you could do. If you let Fache take you into custody now, you'll spendweeks in a French jail while DCPJ and the U.S. Embassy fight over which courts try your case. Butif we get you out of here, and make it to your embassy, then your government will protect yourrights while you and I prove you had nothing to do with this murder."Langdon looked not even vaguely convinced. "Forget it! Fache has armed guards on every singleexit! Even if we escape without being shot, running away only makes me look guilty. You need totell Fache that the message on the floor was for you, and that my name is not there as anaccusation.""I will do that," Sophie said, speaking hurriedly, "but after you're safely inside the U.S. Embassy.
It's only about a mile from here, and my car is parked just outside the museum. Dealing with Fachefrom here is too much of a gamble. Don't you see? Fache has made it his mission tonight to proveyou are guilty. The only reason he postponed your arrest was to run this observance in hopes youdid something that made his case stronger.""Exactly. Like running!"The cell phone in Sophie's sweater pocket suddenly began ringing. Fache probably. She reached inher sweater and turned off the phone.
"Mr. Langdon," she said hurriedly, "I need to ask you one last question." And your entire futuremay depend on it. "The writing on the floor is obviously not proof of your guilt, and yet Fache toldour team he is certain you are his man. Can you think of any other reason he might be convincedyou're guilty?"Langdon was silent for several seconds. "None whatsoever."Sophie sighed. Which means Fache is lying. Why, Sophie could not begin to imagine, but that washardly the issue at this point. The fact remained that Bezu Fache was determined to put RobertLangdon behind bars tonight, at any cost. Sophie needed Langdon for herself, and it was thisdilemma that left Sophie only one logical conclusion.
I need to get Langdon to the U.S. Embassy.
Turning toward the window, Sophie gazed through the alarm mesh embedded in the plate glass,down the dizzying forty feet to the pavement below. A leap from this height would leave Langdonwith a couple of broken legs. At best.
Nonetheless, Sophie made her decision.
Robert Langdon was about to escape the Louvre, whether he wanted to or not.
法希什么时候才能揣度出自己并没有离开卢浮宫，索菲不得而知。看着兰登的窘态，她也开始怀疑把他逼到男厕所的一角，是否是恰当之举。
她的脑海中浮现出祖父尸体的样子，像一只展翅的老鹰而又一丝不挂。曾几何时，祖父是她生活中最重要的人，但奇怪的是，她现在却并不为祖父之死感到悲伤。他们已成了陌路人，他们的关系在一个三月的夜晚就决裂了。那件事发生在十年前，当时索菲二十二岁。正在英国一所研究生院读书的索菲提前几天回到了家，目睹了祖父所做的一些事情，而这些事是她不应看到的。那天她几乎无法相信自己的眼睛。
如果不是我亲眼所见……
震惊而蒙羞的索菲不接受祖父煞费苦心的辩解，立即带着自己的积蓄搬了出去，找了间小公寓与几个人合住在一起。她发誓永远也不向别人提起她的所见所闻。祖父又是寄明信片又是寄信，想尽一切办法要与她取得联系，乞求索菲给他一个当面解释的机会。如何解释？
索菲仅做了一次回复--让祖父不要再打电话给她，也不要在公众场合等她。索菲担心他的解释会比事情本身更可怕。
令人难以置信的是，祖父一直没有放弃努力。如今，索菲衣橱抽屉里还原封不动地存放着十年来祖父写给她的信。祖父恪守承诺，满足索菲的要求，再也没有打电话给她。
直到今天下午。
"索菲吗？"祖父的声音从留言机中传来显得格外苍老。"很久以来，我一直尊重你的意愿……我也不愿打这个电话，但我必须告诉你，可怕的事情发生了。"这么多年以后，又一次听到祖父的声音，索菲站在公寓的厨房里不寒而栗。祖父温柔的声音带回了许多童年的美好回忆。
"索菲，请听我说。"祖父用英语说道。索菲小时候，祖父就对她说英语。在校练法语，在家练英语。"你应该理智起来。读过我给你写的那些信了吗？你还不明白吗？"他停了一下，接着说。"我们必须立刻谈一谈。请满足祖父的这个愿望。立刻打电话到卢浮宫来找我。我认为你我的处境都极其危险。"索菲目不转睛地望着留言机。危险？他在说什么？
"公主……"不知是出于什么样的感情，祖父的声音哽咽了。"我知道我对你隐瞒了一些事情，这让我失去了你的爱。但这次是为了你自身的安全。现在，你必须知道真相。求你了，我必须告诉你关于你家庭的事实。"突然，索菲紧张得可以听见自己的心跳。我的家庭？索菲四岁的时候就失去了双亲。
他们乘坐的汽车从桥上掉入水流湍急的河里。索菲的祖母和弟弟也在车上。这样，索菲的整个家庭在刹那间就不复存在了。她有一箱的剪报可以证明这件事。
索菲没有料到，祖父的话在她内心深处激起了一阵渴望。我的家庭！转瞬间，无数次将儿时的索菲惊醒的梦又浮现在她眼前：我的家人还活着！他们要回家了！但这个梦已经渐渐地消失，渐渐地被淡忘了。
索菲，你的家人死了。他们再也不会回来了。
"索菲……"留言机中传来祖父的声音。"为了告诉你真相，我等了很久。我等待着一个合适的时机，可是现在不能再等了。你听到留言后，立即打电话到卢浮宫来找我。一整晚我都会在这里等你。我担心我们的处境都很危险。你需要知道很多东西。"留言结束了。
索菲默默地站在那里，几分钟后才停止了颤抖。她琢磨着祖父的留言，猜测着他的真正意图，想到了一种可能：这是个圈套。
显然，祖父迫切地想见到她，并动用了一切伎俩。索菲对他更加厌恶起来。索菲怀疑是因为他患了绝症，而不择手段地让索菲去见他最后一面。如果真是这样，他找这样的理由倒是很聪明。
索菲没有打电话，也根本没有这个打算。但是现在，她的想法受到了质疑。祖父在其掌管的博物馆里被谋杀了，还在地板上写下了一串密码。
她可以肯定，这是为她留下的密码。
索菲虽然还不清楚密码的含义，但她肯定密码的神秘性本身就可以证明这是为她而留的。雅克。索尼埃是个密码、拼字游戏和谜语的爱好者，由他抚养长大的索菲自然对密码学充满了热情，并且在这方面颇具天赋。无数个星期天，他们曾在一起做报纸上的密码游戏和拼字游戏。十二岁的时候，索菲已经可以独立地完成《世界报》上的拼字游戏了。祖父让她做更难的英语拼字游戏、数字谜语和密码替换，索菲也将它们统统完成。后来，索菲将她的爱好变成了职业，成为了司法部门的一名密码破译员。
今晚，作为密码破译员，索菲佩服祖父仅用一个简单的密码就把两个完全陌生的人联系在了一起-他们就是索菲。奈芙和罗伯特。兰登。
可他为什么要这样做呢？
不幸的是，从兰登那迷惑的眼神中，索菲看得出这个美国人也和她一样，为此大惑不解。