Chapter 6

           Havingsqueezedbeneaththesecuritygate,RobertLangdonnowstoodjustinsidetheentrancetotheGrandGallery.Hewasstaringintothemouthofalong,deepcanyon.Oneithersideofthegallery,starkwallsrosethirtyfeet,evaporatingintothedarknessabove.Thereddishglowoftheservicelightingsiftedupward,castinganunnaturalsmolderacrossastaggeringcollectionofDaVincis,Titians,andCaravaggiosthathungsuspendedfromceilingcables.Stilllifes,religiousscenes,andlandscapesaccompaniedportraitsofnobilityandpoliticians.

           AlthoughtheGrandGalleryhousedtheLouvre’smostfamousItalianart,manyvisitorsfeltthewing’smoststunningofferingwasactuallyitsfamousparquetfloor.Laidoutinadazzlinggeometricdesignofdiagonaloakslats,thefloorproducedanephemeralopticalillusionamulti-dimensionalnetworkthatgavevisitorsthesensetheywerefloatingthroughthegalleryonasurfacethatchangedwitheverystep.

           AsLangdon’sgazebegantotracetheinlay,hiseyesstoppedshortonanunexpectedobjectlyingonthefloorjustafewyardstohisleft,surroundedbypolicetape.HespuntowardFache.«Isthat…aCaravaggioonthefloor?»

           Fachenoddedwithoutevenlooking.

           Thepainting,Langdonguessed,wasworthupwardoftwomilliondollars,andyetitwaslyingonthefloorlikeadiscardedposter.«Whatthedevilisitdoingonthefloor!»

           Facheglowered,clearlyunmoved.«Thisisacrimescene,Mr.Langdon.Wehavetouchednothing.Thatcanvaswaspulledfromthewallbythecurator.Itwashowheactivatedthesecuritysystem.

Содержание книги
Настройки
Фон страницы
Размер шрифта
Межстрочный интервал
Фразовые глаголы
Показать / Скрыть меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Страница 41 из 575