St. James's Park

St. James's Park is a public park in central London, bordered by the palaces of Westminster, Buckingham, and St. James's. Once enclosed by King Henry VIII and stocked with deer for the hunt, it is now open to the public. On sunny afternoons, Londoners picnic beneath the willows and feed the pond's resident pelicans, whose ancestors were a gift to Charles II from the Russian ambassador. The park's lawns are often covered with seagulls from the ocean, patiently riding out the damp wind. Despite the morning fog, the park affords splendid views of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Gazing across the sloping lawns, past the duck pond and the delicate silhouettes of the weeping willows, one can see the spires of the building that houses the knight's tomb—the real reason the Teacher told Rémy to come to this spot.

The Teacher's Final Meeting

It was in St. James's Park that the Teacher, having taken the keystone from Silas and Rémy, arranged to meet Rémy Legaludec. The Teacher approached the front passenger door of the parked limousine, and Rémy leaned across and opened it. The Teacher paused outside, taking a pull from the flask of cognac he was carrying. Then, dabbing his mouth, he slid in beside Rémy and closed the door. Rémy held up the keystone like a trophy, saying, "It was almost lost." The Teacher admired it a long moment, smiling, and then asked about the gun, confirming it had been wiped down and placed back in the glove box. The Teacher then took another drink of cognac and handed the flask to Rémy, proposing a toast to their success. Rémy accepted the bottle gratefully, feeling himself ascending to a higher station in life. The cognac tasted salty, but Rémy didn't care. As he gazed down the embankment at the duck pond below, Château Villette seemed miles away.

Rémy's Death

Taking another swig from the flask, Rémy could feel the cognac warming his blood. The warmth in his throat, however, mutated quickly to an uncomfortable heat. Loosening his bow tie, Rémy tasted an unpleasant grittiness and handed the flask back to the Teacher. The Teacher, pocketing the flask and the keystone, reached for the glove box and pulled out the tiny Medusa revolver. For an instant, Rémy felt a surge of fear, but the Teacher simply slipped it in his trousers pocket. The swelling in Rémy's throat came on like an earthquake, and he lurched against the steering column, grabbing his throat and tasting vomit in his narrowing esophagus. He let out a muted croak of a scream, not even loud enough to be heard outside the car. The saltiness in the cognac now registered. Incredulous, Rémy turned to see the Teacher sitting calmly beside him, staring straight ahead out the windshield. Rémy's eyesight blurred, and he gasped for breath. He tried to lunge for the Teacher, but his stiffening body could barely move. As his world slowly went black, Rémy Legaludec could have sworn he heard the sounds of the soft Riviera surf.

Aftermath and Revelation

The Teacher stepped from the limousine, pleased to see that nobody was looking in his direction. He then moved toward the rear door of the limousine to deal with the bound Leigh Teabing. Minutes later, the Teacher was crossing St. James's Park. Only two people now remained: Langdon and Neveu. Gazing triumphantly across the park, he could see his destination: the building that housed the knight's tomb. The Teacher had known the answer to the poem's riddle as soon as he had heard it, having listened to Saunière's conversations for months. The poem's reference to the knight was brutally simple once one saw it, and yet how this tomb would reveal the final password was still a mystery. The rain was getting heavier now, and he tucked the cryptex deep in his right-hand pocket to protect it from the dampness. He kept the tiny Medusa revolver in his left, out of sight. Within minutes, he was stepping into the quiet sanctuary of London's grandest nine-hundred-year-old building.