Saturday, May 31, 1941
At the Safe House
Norris awakened as the sun rose. No one had arrived in the night, so he decided to get some breakfast and meet his colleagues at the abandoned garage. After eating a croissant and some black coffee, he departed, catching a string of busses to get across the river.
At the Garage
Raymond kept watch over the area around the garage. While looking over toward the Ollivier factory, he thought he saw a very large marine creature in the pond. Something that would not seem appropriate for such a small body of water. He wondered how it got there. Norris joined him there shortly before 8:00.
Norris relayed the dream he had had the previous night and they agreed that this was another vision of life if the Sleeper was awakened.
They reviewed their options:
- the plan for destroying the factory would require all five of them to pull it off.
- the plan for blowing up Cafe Morvan was dependent on Laurent’s return with the explosives.
Raymond and Norris elected to go to Châteaugiron to investigate the lead Antoinette uncovered at the POW hospital. Francis would keep watch at the garage. They decided to walk the 17km.
To Châteaugiron
The walk to Châteaugiron is was uneventful. They passed a handful of people heading toward Rennes, but were neither challenged nor acknowledged. The area between Rennes and the village was composed of farmers’ fields. They saw some remote farm houses, barns, and some cattle, but very few people on their journey.
As they entered the village of Châteaugiron, there were no Germans present. At the heart of the village, the Church of Saint Pierre was an attractive building that was well kept by the local population. The church was surrounded by a high wall that enclosed the small cemetery as well.
The Church of Saint Pierre
They entered the church. There was a pair of seniors and a priest inside. Raymond examined the crypts to the right of the entrance as Antoinette’s contact had indicated, but he was unable to locate a secret compartment. Norris went to front of the church and lit a votive candle to allay suspicions.
After a while, the priest approached and offered assistance to Raymond. He replied that he was looking for evidence of family buried in the area. The priest led him outside to a marker in the graveyard where Raymond occupied him for several minutes.
In the mean time, Norris examined a tomb on the right side of the sanctuary and discovered signs that an area at the base of the sepulcher did not match the rest. He noted that the stone in questioned was sunk into the floor partially, and suspected that it would need to be broken to retrieve whatever was behind it. He retreated to a pew when he noted an old woman watching him disapprovingly and awaited Raymond’s return.
After a while the old man left. Raymond and the priest returned and went up a stairway on the opposite side of the sanctuary to the church office. Norris persuaded the old woman, who was praying for her son, a POW imprisoned somewhere in Germany, to retire from her prayers for the day. Norris told the woman that her prayers had been heard and that there was only so much one could do. She still had her life to live. In the end, the old woman blessed Norris and went on her way.
Raymond continued to occupy the Father Kerviel with research into the Alois family tree in the church office. The priest was thoroughly engrossed in the examination of the old church’s records. Raymond took copious notes. The father went so far as to suggest other sites of church records in the area that might provide additional details.
Once the sanctuary was empty, Norris considered how to gain access to the hiding place. He noticed a large brass candelabra on a table next to the dias and suspected that the base would be heavy enough to crack the stone. After two attempts, the stone gave way, making a hole that was covered in shadow from an adjacent pillar and not obvious to the casual eye.
Inside the cavity he found a slim volume and took it. Norris then attempted to put the pieces back in place, but was not successful. He returned the candelabra to its place and sat in a pew until Raymond reappeared.
It was 2:00 when Raymond emerged with the priest from the upstairs office. Raymond solicited a place to get some lunch. Father Kerviel told him that he taven two doors down was the only place the village, but that if they mentioned his name, they might get something palatable.
As Raymond went to leave, the priest approached Norris asking if he could be of service. Norris declined and went to make a donation to the poor box. However, he found that he only had large bills on him. Raymond provided a suitable donation, and they departed.
At the Tavern
Norris waited outside while Raymond entered and obtained some sandwiches for their walk back. Having mentioned Father Kerviel’s name, he was provided with some nice looking sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper, a hunk of cheese and a bottle of wine, which the innkeeper packed in an old coffee sack. Raymond thanked the innkeeper and departed.
Leaving Châteaugiron
As they left the village, Father Kerviel stood in the doorway of the church and waved goodbye. His gesture was noted by a wagon of farmhands pulled by an ailing nag returning to the village from a day in the fields.
Raymond and Norris walked for about 45 minutes until they were confident that they were alone on the road. Sitting on the side of the road eating their meal, Norris examined the book. The Demon’s Bane was a written account of Saint Pol’s conflict with the ‘demon’, with instructions on how to create a ward or strengthen an existing one.
Around 5:00 they resumed their journey, arriving at the garage, just as night was falling.