Reading – The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, p. 348- 398

In chapter 78, when Sophie opens the cryptex, she finds another cryptex wrapped in a piece of vellum with a poem written on it. The poem includes a reference to a knight who is buried in London. Teabing says he knows where they should look.

In chapter 79, Collet, still at the chateau, is supervising the team that is looking for evidence there. One of the examiners has found a postcard of a cathedral with Teabing’s ideas, as well as Teabing’s list of speculations as to who has been the head of the Priory over the years.

In chapter 80, Teabing tells Sophie and Langdon that he plans to bribe officials to let them into England without passports. Langdon is skeptical, but Teabing convinces him that his status as an eccentric old knight will help him get away with it. The pilot says the control tower has asked him to land in a different place and to keep everybody on the plane. Thinking this sounds suspicious, Teabing goes to the front of the plane to try to bribe the pilot.

In chapter 81, Simon Edwards, the manager of Biggin Hill Airport, watches Teabing’s plane taxi onto the runway. Unexpectedly, the plane heads toward Teabing’s private hangar, which was not part of the plan. Before the police arrive at the hangar, Langdon and Sophie exit the plane and drag Silas into the limousine. When the police arrive and search the cabin, they find nobody.

In chapter 82, Teabing explains that the knight a Pope interred was a Knight Templar, or one of the knights of the Priory, and that he was interred at the Temple Church in London. If they can find that tomb, they will find a clue about the “missing orb” that was supposed to be buried with this knight. While Teabing discusses directions with Remy, Sophie and Langdon talk about whether the truth about the Grail should be revealed to the world. Langdon says it might be better to let people believe the myths that help them have faith. Sophie isn’t sure she agrees.

In chapter 83, Teabing lies his way into the Temple Church. He tells Sophie and Langdon that the Knights Templar used to run a primitive sort of bank, storing gold in their churches and allowing people with the right documents to withdraw the gold while they were traveling. Teabing, Sophie, and Langdon make their way into the tomb, where ten knights lie.

In chapter 84, outside of the Temple Church, Remy drinks vodka and thinks about how he will soon be rich. He unties Silas and tells him that he, too, serves the Teacher. They each take a gun and Remy says they have a job to do. At the airfield, Fache is furious with the policemen who have not stopped Teabing.

In chapter 85, Teabing, Sophie, and Langdon try and fail to find the missing orb to which the verse referred. There are ten tombs containing knights; nine of the tombs are decorated with statues of knights. One has no statue. The altar boy who let them in comes back and asks them questions. He hears a sound and goes to investigate. Remy and Silas, who have entered, threaten him. The boy wets his pants in fear, and then he is allowed to run away.

In chapter 86, Silas holds Langdon at gunpoint and demands the cryptex, but Langdon threatens to smash it on the floor and ruin the papyrus inside unless Silas lets Sophie and Teabing go. Since the Teacher has had Remy instruct Silas not to shoot anyone, Silas doesn’t know what to do. The Teacher has also told Remy not to show his face, but Remy takes Teabing at gunpoint and makes Langdon give Silas the cryptex. Remy leaves with Teabing. Silas keeps Langdon and Sophie at gunpoint.

In chapter 87, at the chateau, one of the agents comes in from the barn and tells Collet to come look at something. In a loft in the barn, out of view, a high-tech surveillance station is set up. Collet asks who is being observed, and the agent says the answer will surprise him.

In chapter 88, Sophie and Langdon descend into the subway. Sophie tells Langdon that the best thing they can do for Teabing is to call the police on Remy and Silas and turn them into fugitives. Langdon wants to go to a library and look up one of the phrases from the poem on an electronic database. But when Sophie calls the police, they transfer her to Fache, who tells her he knows Langdon is innocent and he wants her to come into the London police station to ensure her own safety.  

I think that at this point, the identity of the Teacher is the second most important secret of the book, after the location of the Grail itself.  I was surprised when it turned out that Remy was working with the teacher all along just for money.  Remy does not want to be a servant to Teabing for his entire life, so he turns against the employer who has been so kind to him. I think that Remy’s betrayal kind of echoes the biblical story of Judas, who betrayed Jesus for money.