“I’m not interested. I have some documents for you. Then I’d like to conclude our business.” Alex kept his words brief and his voice level to project a control he didn’t truly feel, but the act was convincing. The contents of the dossier bag from his briefcase were scrutinized, page by page, almost word by word, in gloved hands. Time spilled dangerously on, and Alex became nervous about Lucy’s drugs. He indicated that the papers were old and vulnerable; they ought not to be subjected to unnecessary handling.

What did he think was in them, his interlocutor wondered. He was surprised at Alex’s professed lack of interest or knowledge. Alex stated firmly that he had no idea, and thought the whole preoccupation with them a storm in a teacup; but he never revealed the word he’d written on Will’s postcard earlier that evening, and he kept his peace until he was allowed to leave.

Shortly after one a.m., he was behind the wheel of the Citroën and driving west. The rain-affected road back to Chartres would take the better part of an hour, even though much of it was highway. His cell phone rang, and the buttery voice of the Templar knight resumed.

“Highly impressive performance, Dr. Stafford. And we’re gentlemen. So: la porte d’hiver. Two o’clock precisely. Je vous souhaite une bonne nuit. Au revoir.”

MOMENTS AFTER THE CATHEDRAL CLOCK CHIMED TWICE, ALEX FOUND LUCY alone, huddled and trembling in the doorway of the north porch. This made him angry. He slid out of his heavy overcoat and flung it around her, then became aware glancing over his shoulder of a dark car with headlights dimmed, pulling away at speed. He returned to Lucy’s face, rapidly assessing her mental condition, then her physical state. Her battery was low, but she smiled at him.

“They won’t get me back. I didn’t eat a bite they offered me. Not even a sip of water.”

Alex took a second to register that she was talking as the goddess returning from the Underworld, then he managed a quiet laugh of relief and disbelief. He held on to her for a moment before he could move, ostensibly to infuse his own body heat into her; but she felt him shivering almost imperceptibly. His real anxiety of the last hours was oddly transparent to her. She felt stronger for once than Alex, showing no fragility when she reciprocated his embrace and tilted her face up to his.

“I’m all right, Alex. I knew you’d get me out of it.” Then she asked: “But, what do those papers contain?”

He couldn’t answer.

“THE HOTEL’S VERY CLOSE BY.”