"It's French," Cassiopeia said. "Bigou's language."
Mark nodded. "I see them."
He added spaces so the message made sense.
"Templar treasure can be found at lagustous," Malone translated.
"What's lagustous?" Henrik asked.
"I have no idea," Mark said. "And I don't remember any mention of such a place in the Templar archives."
"I've lived in this region all my life," Cassiopeia said, "and know of no such locale."
Mark appeared frustrated. "The Chronicles specifically say that the carts carrying the Devise came south to the Pyrenees."
"Why would the abbe have made things so easy?" Geoffrey calmly asked.
"He's right," Malone said. "Bigou could have built in a safeguard so that just solving the sequence would not be enough."
Stephanie looked puzzled. "I wouldn't say this has been easy."
"Only because the pieces are so scattered, some lost forever," Malone said. "But in Bigou's time, everything existed, and he erected the tombstone for all to see."
"But Bigou hedged his bet," Mark said. "The marshal's report specifically notes that Gelis found a cryptogram identical to Sauniere's in his church. During the eighteenth century Bigou served that church, as well as Rennes, so he hid a marker in each."
"Hoping that a person of curiosity would find one of them," Henrik said. "Which is precisely what happened."
"Gelis actually solved the puzzle," Mark said. "We know that. He told the marshal. He also said he was suspicious of Sauniere. Then a few days later he was murdered."
"By Sauniere?" Stephanie asked.
Mark shrugged. "No one knows. I always thought the marshal might be suspect. He disappeared from the abbey within weeks of Gelis's murder and specifically didn't note in his report the solution to the cryptogram."
Malone pointed to the pad. "Now we have it. But we need to find out what lagustous is."
"It's an anagram," Cassiopeia said.
Mark nodded. "Just like on the gravestone where Bigou used Et in arcadia ego as an anagram for I tego arcana dei. He could have done the same thing here."
Cassiopeia was studying the pad and her gaze beamed with recognition.
"You know, don't you?" Malone asked.
"I think I do."
They all waited.
"In the tenth century a wealthy baron named Hildemar came to know a man named Agulous. Hildemar's relatives resented Agulous's influence over him, and, in direct opposition to his family, Hildemar turned over all his lands to Agulous, who converted his castle into an abbey that Hildemar himself joined. While kneeling in prayer inside the abbey's chapel, Agulous and Hildemar were slain by Saracens. Both were eventually made Catholic saints. There's a town there still. About ninety miles from here. St. Agulous." She reached for the pen and converted lagustous into St. Agulous.
"There were Templar sites there," Mark said. "A large commandery, but it's gone."
"That castle, which became an abbey, is still there," Cassiopeia made clear.
"We need to go," Henrik said.
"That could be a problem." And Malone cut a glance to Cassiopeia. They'd not told the others about the men outside, so he did now.
"De Roquefort will act," Mark said. "Our hostess, here, allowed him to have Dad's journal. Once he learns the thing is worthless, his attitude will change."
"We need to leave here unnoticed," Malone said.
"There's a lot of us," Henrik said. "Such an exit would be a challenge."
Cassiopeia smiled. "I like challenges."