The woman sounded surprised. Theres someone here asking for you. What? Im sorry, who is this? Officer Paige Montgomery with Preferred Security. Her voice seemed shaky. Maybe you can help us with this. About an hour ago, my partner responded to a 911 call in Kalorama Heights . . . a possible hostage situation. I lost all contact with her, and so I called backup and came to check the r ray ban aviator esidence. We found my partner dead in the ray ban aviator backyard. The home owner was gone, and so we broke in. A cell phone was ringing on the hall table, and I Youre inside? Langdon demanded. Yes, and the 911 tip . . . was a good one, the woman stammered. Sorry if I sound rattled, but my partners dead, and we found a man being held here against his will. Hes in bad shape, and were working on him now. Hes been asking for two
muffled scream through the cloth in his mouth. Stop it! Katherine shouted. I remember that night well, the man taunted as he finished packing. I heard the whole thing. The warden offered to let your son go, but you chose to teach Zachary a lesson . . . by abando ray ban aviator ning him. Your boy learned his lesson, all right, didnt he? The man smiled. His loss . . . was my gain. The man now retrieved a linen cloth and stuffed it deep into Katherines mouth. Death, he whispered to her, should be a quiet thing. Peter struggled violently. Without another word, the tattooed man slowly backed Peters wheelchair out of the room, giving Peter a long, last look at his sister. Katherine and Peter locked eyes one final time. Then he wa ray ban aviator s gone. Katherine could hear them going up the ramp and through the metal door. As
room began shaking, and a brilliant white light blinded him from above. The heavens roared. And Malakh knew it had ray ban aviator happened. Exactly as ray ban aviator he had planned. Langdon did not remember sprinting toward the altar as the helicopter appeared overhead. Nor did he remember leaping with his arms out-stretched . . . soaring toward the man in the black robe . . . trying desperately to tackle him before he could plunge the knife down a second time. Their bodies collided, and Langdon saw a bright light sweep down through the oculus and illuminate the altar. He expected to see the bloody body of Peter Solomon on the altar, but the naked chest that shone in the light had no blood on it at all . . . only a tapestry of tattoos. The knife lay broken beside him, apparently having been driven into the stone altar
class carriage flying along en route for Exeter, while Sherlock Holmes, w ray ban aviator ith his sharp, eager face framed in his ear-flapped travelling-cap, dipped rapidly into the bundle of fresh papers which he had procured at Paddington. We had left Reading far behind us before he thrust the last one of them under the seat, and offered me his cigar-case. We are going well, said he, looking out the window and glancing at his watch. Our rate at present is fifty-three and a half miles an hour. I have not observed the quarter-mile posts, said I. Nor have I. But the telegraph posts upon this line are s ray ban aviator ixty yards apart, and the calculation is a simple one. I presume that you have looked into this matter of the murder of John Straker and the disappearance of Silver Blaze? I have seen what the Telegraph and
I know that he is a pretty shrewd judge. Hew swears by London, you know; and I by Birmingham; but this time I shall follow his advice. Pray consider yourself definitely engaged. What are my duties? I asked. You will eventually manage the great depot in Paris, which will pour a flood of English crockery into the shops of a hundred and thirty-four agents in France. The purchase will be completed in a week, and meanwhile you will remain in Birmingham and make yourself usefu ray ban aviator l. How? For answer, ray ban aviator he took a big red book out of a drawer. This is a directory of Paris, said he, with the trades after the names of the people. I want you to take it home with you, and to mark off al the hardware sellers, with their addresses. It would be of the greatest use to me to have them. Surely there are classified
sir, and never spoke again. Who shot him, then? The burglar, sir. He was off like a shot and got clean away. Hed just broke in ray ban aviator at the pantry window when William came on him and met his end in saving his masters property. What time? It was last night, sir, somewhere about twelve. Ah, then, well step over afterwards, said the Colonel, coolly settling down to his breakfast again. Its a baddish business, he added when the butler had ray ban aviator gone; hes our leading man about here, is old Cunningham, and a very decent fellow too. Hell be cut up over this, for the man has been in his service for years and was a good servant. Its evidently the same villains who broke into Actons. And stole that very singular collection, said Holmes, thoughtfully. Precisely. Hum! It may prove the simplest matter in the world,
shrugged his shoulders. He has played a not unimportant part in this drama, said he. The three men having ascended the stairs, which they did on tiptoe, the elder man first, the younger man second, and the unknown man in the rear My dear Holmes! I ejaculated. Oh, there could be no question as to the superimposing of the footmarks. I had the advantage of learning which was which last night. They ascended, then, to Mr. Blessingtons room, the door of which they fo ray ban aviator und to be locked. With the help of a wire, however, they forced round the key. Even without the lens you will perceive, by the scratches on this ward, where the pressure was applied. On entering the room their first proceeding must have been to gag Mr. Blessington. He may hav ray ban aviator e been asleep, or he may have been so paralysed with terror
! gasped our client. Do you tell me that during these long ten weeks of agony the stolen papers were within the very room with me all th ray ban aviator e time? So it was. And Joseph! Joseph a villain and a thief! Hum! I am afraid Josephs character is a rather deeper and more dangerous one than one might judge from his appearance. From what I have heard from him this morning, I gather that he has lost heavily in dabbling with stocks, and that he is ready to do anything on earth to better his fortunes. Being an absolutely ray ban aviator selfish man, when a chance presented itself he did not allow either his sisters happiness or your reputation to hold his hand. Percy Phelps sank back in his chair. My head whirls, said he. Your words have dazed me. The principal difficulty in your case, remarked Holmes, in his didactic