Summary: Captain Fache calls the United States Embassy, but learns that there is no message waiting for Langdon there. He concludes Langdon must not have called the Embassy. Realizing that Langdon used Fache’s own cell phone to place his call, Fache retrieves the dialed number and, as Langdon did before him, accesses Sophie Neveu’s home answering machine.
Analysis: This brief chapter brings Fache closer to realizing Langdon and Sophie’s deception; it also reinforces his image as a “bull”—strong-headed and stubborn in pursuit of his quarry—and raises his emotional investment in these strange affairs. Brown also continues to demonstrate his skill with verisimilitude by referencing embassy security protocols that, for all ordinary readers know, may or may not be true; however, they sound true—they seem at least plausible—and the willing suspension of disbelief all but guarantees that readers will allow Brown to continue to lead them on this fascinating ride, with all its twists and turns.
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