The Lake of Learning by Steve Berry & M J Rose

Author:Steve Berry & M J Rose [Berry, Steve & Rose, M J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cassiopeia Vitt, Thriller, Mystery, MJ Rose, Evil Eye Concepts, France, Steve Berry, Art
ISBN: 9781970077452
Amazon: B07S25DW1M
Goodreads: 46005517
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Published: 2019-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The Aéroport de Carcassonne sat west of town, a bustling hub with flights due in today, Cassiopeia noticed, from Ireland, England, Scotland, and several cities in France. She’d ended the call to Simone Forte’s office and immediately chartered a plane out of Lyon that flew her three hundred kilometers south in less than two hours. By two p.m. she was on the ground and headed into the city thanks to a rental car agency.

The Cité de Carcassonne was one of the last remaining walled cities left in the world, perched where the River Aude made a sharp right turn toward the sea. Its ramparts were composed of two concentric walls with a widow’s walk atop, protected by merlons and battlements, all flanked by defensive towers. Its Castle of the Counts, located inside the walls, came reinforced with a deep moat, becoming a citadel within a citadel.

The town’s medieval feel had been carefully preserved with narrow winding streets, half-timbered façades, and small open squares that spread out from once active wells. A lower town outside the walls bowed to modernity, but it was the old world within, home to about seven hundred, that drew tens of thousands each year to visit. A World Heritage site. She smiled at that designation knowing the trouble Cotton had caused at several of those around the globe. She wondered what he was doing. She should call him. But first things first. She needed to speak with Simone Forte.

The Hôtel de la Cité carried the reputation as the best in town. It occupied the old neo-Gothic bishop’s palace, adjacent to the basilica, offering five-star accommodations. She’d stayed there twice. Inside, she learned that the professor was on the other side of town. Which would not be a long journey given the whole place was an irregular oval, curved at the north, pointed at the south, only five hundred meters long and about half that wide.

She left the hotel and navigated the cobbled streets.

The town dated back to the first century, when it was a remote Roman settlement. Charlemagne invaded seven hundred years later and claimed control. It was captured during the Albigensian Crusade by Simon de Montfort, who eventually erected the outer walls and provided its iconic appearance. During the 19th century, her hero, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, one of the founders of historic conservation, undertook a massive restoration project. Her master’s thesis had been on Viollet-le-Duc, focusing on his preservation of medieval architecture. That the city had once been a hotbed for the heretics had not been germane to her studies then.

But it was today.

Tourists were everywhere. A busy Sunday. The shops, many tucked into the alcoves that once sold necessities, now peddled souvenirs. She found her destination near the north wall. A red banner, attached to the front wall above an awning, read in gold letters Musée de l’inquisiton. A mannequin, dressed in medieval garb, added more camp to the local museum of torture.

She stepped inside and introduced herself, saying she would like to speak with Simone Forte.

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