章 110: Chapter 110: Langdon is Truly Smart
William slept until 5 PM. After getting up and freshening up, he put on his coat and headed to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
While waiting for his meal, he noticed some travel brochures on the restaurant's bookshelf. He picked one up and returned to his seat, flipping through it out of boredom.
As he browsed, he came across an introduction to Rosslyn Chapel in Edinburgh, Scotland. The brochure detailed the chapel's origin, history, and various religious symbols and emblems.
William was surprised to find the emblem of the Order of the Monks in the brochure. Suddenly, he remembered a line from the Oxford Codex: "The Holy Grail rests beneath ancient Rosslyn."
"Damn it, how did I not think of this?" Combining this phrase with the brochure in his hand, William immediately knew where the Holy Grail was.
He snapped his fingers to get a waiter's attention and asked the hotel to book him a flight to Edinburgh. He needed to get there overnight.
Half an hour later, after finishing dinner, a hotel staff member approached him. "Mr. Devonshire, your flight is ready. You can leave whenever you are ready."
"Thank you," William said, tipping the staff member 20 pounds. He then took the hotel's car straight to the airport. Not short on money, he booked a small private jet that would take off as soon as he was ready.
At 9 PM, the plane landed. A Mercedes-Benz drove onto the runway to pick him up and take him to a Four Seasons Hotel in Edinburgh. Exhausted from the day, he had a drink and went straight to bed.
Unbeknownst to William, when Sophie was seeing Langdon off at the airport, she spotted William disembarking from a car and boarding a private jet from the glass observation deck on the second floor.
Still determined to continue the search for the Holy Grail, Sophie, despite being suspended, easily found out through her contacts at the police station that William had booked a flight to Edinburgh.
The two quickly decided to follow him. However, unlike William, they couldn't afford a private jet and had to take a commercial flight at midnight. By the time Sophie and Langdon arrived in Edinburgh around 1 AM, William was already asleep.
Sophie asked Langdon, "We're in Edinburgh. I can't get anyone to track him here. What should we do?"
Langdon thought for a moment before saying, "I've been wondering why William came to Edinburgh. Until I saw this on the plane," he pulled out an Edinburgh travel brochure and flipped to the page on Rosslyn Chapel, showing it to Sophie.
"What does this mean?" Sophie asked.
Langdon smiled. "Remember what Tebin said? The Holy Grail under the rose. Rosslyn Chapel is built on the meridian, and the symbol of the meridian on the map is a rose.
The Devonshire family must have clues about the Holy Grail, but William just hadn't figured it out until now.
Early this morning, when we were at Tebin's house examining the keystone, William told us he was hungry and asked if we wanted to join him. Remember?"
Sophie nodded. "We were busy examining the keystone and didn't have time, so we didn't go. What's so strange about that?"
"Yes, it's very strange," Langdon said with a smile. "William asked us twice. Now that I think about it, he might have already guessed where the Holy Grail was at that time.
And did you notice how quickly he rushed into the archives when Selass charged at Tebin? It was as if he knew Selass would break free from the tape and was waiting outside."
Sophie thought for a moment and then said in shock, "Now that you mention it, it does seem like William was waiting outside the archives."
"Exactly. Thinking back, William must have already known the whereabouts of the Holy Grail by then. That's why he wasn't upset when the keystone broke and the paper inside was destroyed. I remember being suspicious of his expression at the time, but I thought he was just focused on saving Tebin.
In hindsight, there was even a hint of joy in his eyes. He was thrilled that the keystone was broken and the map inside was destroyed, making him the last person in the world to know the secret of the Holy Grail."
"How is that possible?" Sophie exclaimed. "Does that mean William already knew Selass would break free from the tape, and he deliberately tried to get us to leave, leaving only Tebin inside?
He didn't care about Tebin's safety at all. He was waiting for Selass to take Tebin hostage so he could legally shoot Selass."
Sophie covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my God, just because Selass threatened his family, he never gave up on killing Selass.
He only couldn't shoot immediately because I was in the way. When Selass took Tebin hostage and hid behind him, that's why he wasn't immediately killed."
Langdon nodded. "That seems to be the case. Normally, you only ask about supper once. William is smart and wouldn't ask twice after we declined. We were just too focused on the keystone to notice.
It seems William isn't entirely cold-hearted. He knew Selass would break free and was concerned for our safety, so he tried to get us out."
"Oh my God, William really is vengeful. Just because Selass threatened him, he was determined to kill Selass. To achieve this legally, he didn't care about Tebin's safety at all.
This guy is too dangerous. Langdon, do you think if William knows we came to Rosslyn Chapel, he'll silence us?" Sophie said, clutching Langdon's arm nervously.
Langdon, now also nervous, couldn't be sure. "Why don't we go to Rosslyn Chapel right now?"
"But the chapel is closed at this time. Without a key, we can't get in. And there are many antiques inside. If we're caught by the chapel's staff, the police will treat us as thieves."
"Then let's call William now. I'll meet him alone while you stay at a distance with a camera. If he tries anything, you can call the police and leave. That way, I have a safeguard, and he won't dare to kill me," Langdon volunteered.
After thinking for a moment, Sophie said, "I'll go instead. My grandfather was the Grand Elder of the Order of the Monks and the guardian of the Holy Grail. I have a more reasonable excuse to find him. William is less likely to kill me."
Seeing Langdon's hesitation, Sophie decided firmly, "That's the plan, Langdon. William is very unlikely to kill me, but he might kill you."
Langdon thought for a moment. "We'll arrange to meet William in the airport lobby. Let's buy a camera first. You meet him, and I'll watch from the second floor with a phone and camera. If he tries to take you away, I'll make a scene and draw the airport police."
"Alright, let's do that. I'll call William," Sophie said, picking up her phone to call William.
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