The Magdalene Deception by Gary McAvoy

Author:Gary McAvoy [McAvoy, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780990837640
Publisher: Literati Editions
Published: 2020-06-30T22:00:00+00:00

21

The spacious fitness center in the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme was exceptionally well-equipped, as would be expected from one of Paris’s finer conference hotels. Dominic had awakened early to get in a workout before joining Hana for breakfast but was surprised to find her already in the gym, vigorously climbing a StairMaster, her hair tied back in a ponytail, her lithe body glistening with sweat. No wonder she’s in such good shape, he observed, tempering his thoughts.

Grabbing a fresh towel from a stack near the door, Dominic picked out a treadmill in front of Hana’s machine, set the timer for thirty minutes, and started his run.

“Our train to Montazels leaves at six in the morning, putting us there in the early afternoon,” Hana said as she buttered a flaky croissant while Dominic sipped his French roast coffee. “Rennes-le-Château is only two miles from there, so we’ll rent a car at the train station.”

“Has your aunt already contacted Marie’s niece?”

“Yes! Her name is Élise Dénarnaud, and she’s expecting us. She has lived in Rennes-le-Château her entire life, so I imagine she knows as much as anyone about the goings on there. I’ve emailed details of our train trip to my aunt and when she can expect us.”

Dominic picked up the symposium brochure, surveying the various sessions scheduled for the day. “I’ve pretty much got what I need from the Bibliothèque. I’ll just stay here and pick up a few of these talks and that symposium workshop while you finish up your work there. Sound good?”

“Sure,” Hana replied. “I shouldn’t be more than a few hours. I’ll just meet you back here, and we’ll have an early dinner, then call it a night.”

The morning air was warm and humid as Hana set out on the fifteen-minute walk to the Richelieu library, peering into shop windows as she made her way along the Rue Casanova.

Her thoughts turned to Michael Dominic, what a gentle man he was. Intelligent, witty, disarmingly attractive, and impossibly fit. What makes a man like that become a priest, for God’s sake? He could have any woman he wants—unless, of course, he preferred men. But she didn’t get that vibe from him, something she was pretty well-attuned to.

Enough of that, she scolded herself, the man is out of bounds. It had been some time since she was with any man, much less someone she could see spending a life with. Like her grandfather incessantly reminded her, she was indelibly wedded to her work. But she loved her job; it’s what made her get up in the morning, made her creative juices flow.

Still, a girl could dream….

Monsieur Duchamp was attending the reception desk when Hana entered the Richelieu. Signing in and showing her pass, she retrieved the same folder of documents held aside for her from the previous day and made her way to one of the long tables under the bright domes of the Labrouste Reading Room.

The documents, dated from 1949 to 1999, comprised mostly official investigative reports for three of

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