The Priests' Code

by B. B. Balthis

  Once again, tears were rolling down his face; his hands shaking whilst trying to wipe them away.

  ‘Forget it. After everything that’s happened over the past few weeks it’s insignificant. Let’s move on.’

  The three of us chatted until the early hours. His frankness about his humble beginnings and childhood trauma had deeply touched us both, and despite issues with my own parents, my childhood had been perfect in comparison. We waved him off the following morning, promising to keep in touch.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  ‘Listen, Ben, I’ve been thinking. We’ve done what we’ve had to do so far to keep safe, and it’s worked, but we can’t hide here for ever. I know I said the players would all show their hands eventually, and that’s proved to be true, but I think it’s now time to change the game. We need to become the hunters, not the hunted. We should contact Niort and see if he has found out any more. The bishop said he would help if he could, so it might be a good idea to ask him if any of his contacts know where Harcourt is. I suspect that once we start snooping around again, he and his henchmen won’t be far behind. That’s when we backtrack and start to follow them. I know we won’t have guns, but we’re also not being driven by greed, which makes us smarter. The Italian will soon hear of what we’re doing and may show himself too. What do you think?’

  She was right – it was time to change the game and up the tempo, but as a strategy it carried its risks. They would have guns, and we wouldn’t. It’s hard to argue with a gun, and being shot was a rather conclusive ending.

  ‘I agree with you, but my main concern is being either seriously injured or killed. They wouldn’t hesitate to shoot us to get what they want. We need to play it smart so that they still wouldn’t get what they wanted, even if they did kill us. More than that, we need to make it the very worst thing that they could do. You’re right about Franco, and I agree that he won’t be far behind. If I could just talk to him, I’m sure I could work something out. I’ll give the bishop a ring and see if he knows any more. You call Niort – you might antagonise him less than I seem to.’

  The bishop answered his mobile within a couple of rings. He had stopped in Esperaza to buy water and had been lured into the café by the smell of strong black coffee. He listened carefully.

  ‘Leave it with me, Ben, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Do be careful; Harcourt’s a lunatic from what I hear. I’m off to Narbonne now to meet my friend who’s a priest there. I’ll leave my phone on all the time, and can drive straight back if you need me.’

  He rang off, and I listened whilst Caro spoke to Inspector Niort. She had switched the phone to loudspeaker.

  ‘I was wondering if you had found out anymore, inspector. I mean, my aunt is dead, and we seem to be targets too. Surely you must know something?’

  ‘Professor de Morny – you know far more than you are telling me, that is quite clear. It seems to me that you brought trouble with you when you came from England. If I knew what that was, I might be able to help more. As it is, I only have half the picture and, unusually, when I enquire further I am finding doors slammed shut in my face. At a guess, I would say that you and your brother – yes, professor, I found that much out – have something that someone else wants.’

  I didn’t like the tone of his voice at all. Not only was he angry, but he sounded menacing and threatening. I looked at her and shook my head. She nodded.

  ‘Inspector, if I knew what was going on, I wouldn’t be phoning you, would I? You sound very angry, and I’m sorry that I’ve upset you. For the record, we have only just found out about not being cousins. My aunt told us just before she died. It’s been quite a shock, particularly for Benoît, and has certainly not been deliberately withheld from you.’

  ‘Maybe, but whatever is going on involves your aunt, too. With her history, that’s not surprising, but why wait until she is nearing death to raid her house or try to kill her? It makes no sense at all, and she hadn’t worked for years. Something has been stirred up and it involves you all. My family has lived in this region for more than a thousand years and, like you, I’m aware of its history. This isn’t the first time that people have been killed because of what they know, including my own relatives, nor will it be the last. But this is different… even the people who usually help me are refusing to speak through fear.’

  ‘Let’s hope something turns up soon. We look forward to hearing from you with any news you may have. Good day, inspector.’ She put down the phone.

  ‘Well handled. I’ve begun to feel very mistrustful of his motives. Just instinct, but, really, who’s rattled his cage?’

  ‘We have, Ben. He’s a man who’s used to getting his own way, but I also think there’s more to him than meets the eye. Whilst you and the bishop were snoring your heads off last night, I ran a few checks on him online. His behaviour at Hortense’s wake yesterday made me suspicious. I recognised his name the first time we met him, Niort, or Aniort. They were lords around here a long time ago. In fact, one of his ancestors, Guilhaume Othonis, was lord of Rennes-le Château way back in the 1100s. His two sons both became Templars.’

  ‘I’m beginning to think that the saying “all roads lead to Rome” isn’t altogether correct. It should be “all roads lead to Rennes-le-Château.” Seriously. I think it was, and still is, far more important than either of us has ever realised. Holding the secret about Jesus and his mortality has given it so much power over the years, but there’s more to it than that. I’m struggling to put it into words, but it feels like it’s the central point of everything. I know that sounds ridiculous, but lately all my old disciplines are slowly being thrown out of the window. I’m covered in goosebumps just talking about it. Certain people are special, so why not a place?’ She raised her hand in Hortense style, and continued.

  ‘We acknowledge the greatness of Gandhi, or Mandela, or Darwin, or Martin Luther King, all remarkable because of what they knew, or had discovered, or stood for. They were ridiculed for their discoveries or beliefs, even killed for them, and yet they left legacies behind that have never been forgotten, because truth will find its way out in the end. It always does and I believe it’s about to again. The time wasn’t right when Saunière made his discoveries, but he did do everything he could to speak out.’

  * * *

  ‘I’ve a possible truth I’d like to share with you.’

  ‘Cough up, then, but I warn you, Ben, nothing will surprise me… not now.’

  ‘We shall see. I wasn’t snoring my head off all night, as you so kindly stated. I woke really early, and came down here to look up a few things.’

  ‘Let me guess: the price of Parma ham?’

  ‘Very funny, Caro. Listen – this is serious. It’s just a theory, but I think we’ve got a few things wrong in our research. Well, one thing mainly, but the most important thing of all.’

  She sat up straight, looking directly at me.

  ‘I had been running the last letter that Hortense wrote through my head, and her warnings about treasure maps and the Ark. Then I started to think about the old Baptist church under her house, and people only remembering the name St Peter’s, and the church at Arques being renamed. I got her letter out, look here.’ I pointed to where she has reiterated the name John the Baptist in a sentence on its own.

  ‘I did notice that when we read it first.’

  ‘Me too, but this morning when I was going over things, something else came to me. The Cathars and Templars both revered John above Jesus. They were intelligent men, and if they revered John, there must have been a reason. A quote from the Gospel of Thomas came to mind:

  Know what is in front of your face,

  and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

  For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.

  ‘It really struck a chord, and I thought about the clues left by Saunière, and the
side chapel at Brenac, and then started to look up more artwork from the medieval period and just after.

  ‘Have you seen how many paintings there are with Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, and Mary, Jesus and John’s mother, holding a baby? They’re portrayed as being the Virgin Mary and Jesus, but that’s ridiculous, even with artistic licence, because John and Mary Magdalene are shown as adults. Most biblical references state that John and Jesus were about the same age, even if they had different mothers, which I don’t believe they did.

  ‘To name just a few, there’s Procaccini, Previtali, Cesari, Cima da Conegliano… I could go on, there are so many. And lots of them place a hand or some cloth in a strategic position, so that you can’t see if the baby is a boy or a girl.’

  As I spoke, Caro started to tap away on her laptop.

  ‘I see what you mean. I’ve never really searched for them, but you’re right. I had no idea there were so many of John and Mary together as adults, let alone with a baby. Here’s the one by Previtali.’ She pushed her laptop back so that we could both see the painting displayed on the screen.

  At first glance, it was a fairly typical religious scene, showing the supposed ‘Virgin’ Mary with a baby, her hand placed to hide any clue as to whether it was a boy or girl. John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene stood to her left. Looking at them more closely, John could be seen clearly pointing the usual single finger, and Mary too, pointing, as well as forming a triangle with her thumb and forefinger.

  ‘Well, Ben, we know what the symbolism of a triangle is and, in this context, I would definitely say it was man, woman, and their offspring.’

  ‘Yes, but whose offspring?’

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  ‘What are you saying? That the baby belongs to John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene? And John and Jesus’s mother is holding their baby?’

  ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying… or another version, which is that the person holding the baby is also Magdalene. This painting, and so many others, are simply more allegorical, pictorial narratives. The Brenac chapel with Joseph, Mary holding a baby, Germaine the stepchild, and Jesus taken down from the cross and put below them on the floor? It’s incredibly disrespectful, and so very odd in a Christian church; it must hold some meaning, as a lowering of status. Well, maybe the step-parent is Jesus. Maybe he’s placed where he is to say several things: one, that he didn’t die on the cross; two, that his status has been downgraded; and three, that he was a step-parent, and in that sense below John. Maybe the baby that’s being held is Sara?’

  ‘I hardly know what to say.’

  ‘That doesn’t happen very often! Look, we know that the laws of that time stated that a man only had to marry his deceased brothers widow if she had no children, but he could have married her if she was pregnant, in which case the baby would be John’s anyway. If the Sara we assume to be the child of Jesus and Mary was John the Baptist’s instead, where does that leave everything? Maybe Mary and Jesus went on to have other children, although there wouldn’t have been many if you look at the time scales involved. I’m inclined to think there were no further offspring. Maybe she tricked Jesus into marrying her by pretending that she wasn’t pregnant, and then claimed the baby to be his after they had consummated their marriage.’

  Caro became visibly paler. ‘I’ve just had a shiver down my spine. Looking at that a little more kindly, perhaps being a single parent in those days would have been a real stigma, or perhaps Jesus knew about her being pregnant and wanted to marry her anyway?’

  ‘All possible, but I’ve wondered if that was where she got her bad reputation from, formally declared by Pope Gregory in 591 AD in an ongoing attempt to tidy up a few loose ends. It was only in 1969 that Pope Paul VI made a half-hearted announcement to say the Church had got it all wrong. Of course, even then he didn’t actually state what the real position was. Now, look at the Bartolomeo one of John, Magdalene, and the supposed Virgin with a baby.’ She tapped away, within seconds displaying the painting on screen.

  ‘OK. John and Magdalene are at the back, both looking stern and cross. Oddly, the woman holding the baby, once again, giving nothing away about its sex, looks exactly like the Magdalene at the back, blonde hair, straight nose. John raises one finger again. He’s saying, “I was the first son, the first husband; it’s my first child.” Perhaps they are shown looking so indignant because of the injustice in their lives being altered in such a way. Another allegorical story. Like I said, there are lots of them, but a quick look at one by Luini makes the point again.’ A few clicks and it was on screen.

  ‘This one shows just Martha and Mary. Martha is looking stern, her two forefingers raised in front of Mary’s face, and the other hand in her lap, pointing with the forefinger only.’

  ‘She’s saying, “you are the second wife,”’ said Caro. ‘It’s like she’s trying to pull rank, isn’t it? And her left forefinger points to Mary, the other three fingers raised. Using your theory, and finger symbolism, she’s acknowledging Mary’s baby, and the triad of the relationship between them all. I must say, Magdalene looks amazingly smug, and I suppose Martha would have got a pretty raw deal overall, having to share her husband. And here’s another thought to add to the mix. The sealed jar that she carries with her all the time… perhaps everyone’s got that wrong too, or been deliberately misled. It’s not a pot of healing balm… it’s symbolism for a secret that she is carrying with her everywhere, quite literally, sealed.’

  ‘Maybe. I hadn’t thought that far, but I am clear in my own mind that the Marys of Bethany and Magdala are the same person, and Lazarus was just a convenient miracle added in. It’s interesting that Saunière built memorials to both, with his Magdala Tower and Bethany Villa, which adds a little weight to the theory.’

  ‘I’ll second that. I’m just uploading the painting by Procaccini.’

  ‘Hang on…’ She sat back in her chair, letting out a long breath. ‘Ben, look at it.’

  ‘I have.’

  ‘Magdalene with John and Jesus, all three looking highly sexual. It’s the seventeenth-century version of porn! And the title, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist and an Angel? Some angel… he’s the spitting image of John… the twins!

  ‘Overall, though, your theory would explain an awful lot: the Cathars, Templars, Mary so often with a skull symbolising John, and the living twig cross for Jesus, the leaves symbolic of him being alive, not dead. It might also explain the forming of the Knights of St John the Baptist, aka Hospitaller and Knights of Malta. They started out as Italian Benedictine monks, eventually becoming a military order taking part in the crusades.’

  ‘They were certainly in this area in the Middle Ages, and in Gloucestershire too; I did a bit of research when I was last in Oxford. It might explain Roncalli choosing to add to the 22 Pope Johns, or perhaps he was trying to get rid of the number itself and assist with the cover up.

  ‘We also know there were Jewish settlers right here in Croux, Antugnac, because of the Mikveh ritual cleansing pool discovered there. It dates to the third century, so that could be less than two hundred years after John and Jesus. I wonder what became of them and why they left Croux? Perhaps they just got assimilated into Constantine’s Christianity? I bet they would have a few tales to tell. Oh, for a time machine!’

  ‘I’ll echo that, Ben.’

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  ‘The JMS symbols in Rennes-le-Château, and other churches nearby could just as likely be John, Mary, and Sara as Jesus, Mary and Sara, although there’s no reason why they can’t be symbolic of both men. Have you got a photo on your computer of the symbol in Rennes-le-Château?’

  ‘Yes, hang on a minute… here it is.’

  ‘The inverted J branches off into two Js, one going to the left and the other to the right, which also becomes an M for Mary. And it’s just as I thought… if you look carefully, you can see a B laid on its side. Have
you got one from Brenac too?’

  ‘Yes, they’re in the same folder.’

  ‘Can you enlarge it, please? There you go… it’s slightly different from Saunière’s, but there’s a J and B joined together, an S going through the middle, and an M to one side. John the Baptist, or both. The church is dedicated to Saint Julien and Basilisse, so one might first think the J and B stands for them, but why not for John the Baptist too? And maybe their story is another allegorical tale of Jesus and Mary. Apparently, they were forced to marry, but then both did their own thing, she, starting up a convent and he, gathering a large group of monks. Between them they supposedly turned their home into an enormous hospital, and he became a martyr after being murdered by the Romans.’

  ‘You’re right. How come I missed that?’

  ‘It’s not just you. Everyone has missed it, including me up until now. Germaine is in just about every church around here, as is John the Baptist. Remember the John statue here in Antugnac? Its base was smashed and repaired, and the right arm too. Once again, someone got there before us, and had the clout to do whatever they wanted. Even the Fleury mount at Rennes-le-Château? Perhaps it was Saunière’s way of saying that Jesus was a stepfather, the flowers being yet another clue from Germaine, who was a stepdaughter?

  ‘And the side chapel at Brenac? Perhaps the statues are of John the Baptist, holding a black branch to signify his death, Magdalene holding baby Sara, Germaine the step daughter, and Jesus – down from the cross and below them – in second place, both as the second twin to be born and the stepfather. Even in that position, his hand very clearly shows two fingers. In fact, similar symbolism is shown in lots of the churches around here. Once you know what to look for, it’s everywhere.