Selected Detective
PROFESSOR TOPING II INTERVIEW
He swallowed the last part of the beer and threw the bottle into a basket five feet away from him. The bottle landed with a loud clatter.
“If we do not know the exact details, at least two things look certain. First, whatever the mysterious or secret object may be, he is intimately associated with the Esclarmonde of Castelombres, wife of Count Raymond III, who from his account appears to be regarded as a guardian or protective figure. Second, it seems to have great significance for the Jewish faith. As early as 1104, according to Rashi, we have leaders from the main Jewish communities of Languedoc in Toulouse, Beziers, Narbonne and Carcassonne visiting the castle.
In 1120 Jews came from as far away as Cordoba and Sicily. And in 1150 the place was seen to be more awake as a center of Jewish Jamaat and Kabala studies. Again, I have to emphasize how weak the source is. Even with that in mind, it is clear that something very unusual is taking place in Castelombres during this period.” Layla sat right on the lip of the chair.
“Forward.” The mask shook his head. “Unfortunately, since the middle of the twelfth century various sources were completely silent.the next thing we heard about Castelombres, the last thing we heard, was, it is something called the Chronicle of Guillaume Pelhisson that records how in 1243, during the Cathar Crusade, the castle was razed to the ground by the power of the Catholic Church, the land was redistributed and the residence of Castelombres was removed. Beyond the mysterious or secret treasure or whatever its name is, nothing else is heard.” He paused for a moment, then looked at Layla from behind the top of her paper.
“Or at least, it wasn't heard until I found a rather intriguing reference a few months ago in the Inquisition register I was studying at the National Library in Paris. Which explains how the whole thing started the first time.” There was a blunt clang outside as the bells clang the half-hour mark.
“You know about Cathars?” Topping asked. Layla had read glimpses of it during the trip, along with material she had picked up from the internet, which had given her basic knowledge.
“Slightly,” said. “I know they are a Heretical Christian sect that flourished in Languedoc in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. That they believed” He glanced at the short note he wrote on plane” this universe is governed by the God of Light and the God of Darkness, and that everything in the material world is the work of an evil God. That the Catholic Church declared a Holy War against them, the Cathar Crusade. That they made the last position in Montsegur Castle, and that moments before the castle collapsed they were actually prepared to smuggle the treasure out past the besieging army.” He looked up at the man. “That's it, I guess.”
He nodded impressed. “More than what most people know, I make sure it.” Then be quiet for a while. The two looked at each other, then, with a slight tilt of his head, Topping headed towards the kitchen again and picked up a beer.
“You really don't want to drink?” tanyakanya.
“Boleh then.”
He opened two bottles and, upon returning, gave one to Layla and sat opposite her, straightening her long, pale legs, smooth so that the bare soles of her feet were only an inch more than the chair Layla had occupied.
“The treasure of Cathars has long been the subject of speculation,” He said, quoting his narrative, “For the most part it is academic, and mostly just wild fantasy. All ideas have been put forward as to what the treasure really is, everything from gold sacks to the religious text of the Cathar to the Holy Grail. The fact is, as is the whole Secret of Castelombres, the truth is, source unclear.” He sipped his beer.
“We know about the treasure trove of statements given to the Inquisition by those who survived the siege of Montsegur. When the castle was overthrown by Catholic crusaders in March 1244, about two hundred men resisted renouncing the faith and were burned to death. The rest were left free on the condition that they fully admit the Inquisition interrogators. Twenty-two confession statements can be saved over four hundred pages four of which tell the story of the mystery of the smuggled treasure.” Layla only half-raised the bottle to drink the contents, but then took it down again and wrote what Topping had just said.
“Then, last December, I discovered what appeared to be part of the twenty-third Montsegur survivor statement. Who also mentioned about the treasure Cathars, but with extra interesting details.” He seemed relaxed as he said this, immersed in his chair with a beer bottle hanging in his hand. Apart from this, Layla can tell from the brightness of her eyes and her rather fast-paced talk that Topping, like herself, is interested in the story.
“The statement has been tied, quite possibly by chance, into a document register much later on,” he continued.
“He recorded the interrogation of a Montsegur survivor named Berenger D’Usat by an inquisitor named Guillaume Lepetit William The Small, or I prefer to call him Little William. In it, Berenger describes how, sometime around Christmas 1243, three months before Montsegur fell into Catholic siege, the four Cathar leaders he referred to in his account” Amiel Aicart, the Laurent's Fighter, and the other four Cathar leaders he referred to, Pierre Sabatier and a man named Hugon, attempted to escape the castle at night by taking away an important treasure. In it that does not shake the earth the fourth statement ’treasure’ another said the very same thing. What happened then was amazing, because when William, the interrogator, urged Berenger for more information about this mysterious treasure, he said” he glanced at his note again”’Credo Id Catelombrium Unde Venerit Relatum Esse Et This Sepultum Esse Ne Quis Invenire Posset’, which translates to ‘I believe this is returned to Castelombres, Castelombres, where it comes from, and it is buried there so that no one will get it.’”
Layla's jaw dropped. “Both are the same thing! montsegur's Treasure and the Secret of Castelombres!” Topping was stunned in his chair and sipped his beer again, “Yahh, admitted this is just a piece of testimony,” he said, “It is not absolutely true. It is more than likely that Berenger was just trying to mess with his inquisitor, giving them the wrong clue. All the same, this is an interesting opinion. And perhaps not entirely surprising. Nonetheless, Castelombres was less than ten kilometers away like a flying crow from Montsegur, so it is fair to assume that there was some kind of interaction between these two castles. Also, Cathars were famous for their friendship with the Jewish nation. Thus, it is fair to assume that in the face of the antisemitic forces of Catholic incursion, the guards defending Montsegur had offered a secret sanctuary or any treasure kept in Castelombres. What Lord Castelombres himself actually adopted the dogma of Cathar...” he shrugged. “I doubt we will ever know, even with their involvement with the Jews and the fact that their castle was destroyed by the crusaders, it would be a reasonable guess if they did. Frankly, not here or there. The important thing is, there seems to be a solid foundation on which it makes sense to speculate that what hitherto seemed to be two entirely different mysteries on to its reality is the same.”
Layla still hasn't drank the rest of her beer. Now he held up his bottle and swallowed a few sips, trying to process whatever he had just heard to associate it with what he already knew: William De Relincourt found the object under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; he sent it to his sister Esclarmonde in Castelombres; Castelombres became the focus of the Jewish mystery sect; the object was moved to Montsegur to be kept safe during the upheaval of the Cathar Crusade; when Montsegur fell, it was not until it was destroyed, he was returned to Castelombres and buried. Everything looks good and fit.
However, as interesting as it is, in the end this still has not made it forward any further.There are still many who remain his unknown, so many questions need answers.
What is that mysterious thing? why is it so important to the Jews? What is the significance of Al-Mulatham? And what happened to him?
“Report of your speech said something about the Nazi archaeologist,” Layla said, sipping her drink, raising her left leg and folding it under the right heel.
“How to get like that?” Smiling topping.
“I'm surprised you got to that question. In many ways it is indeed the most interesting part of the whole story.” He stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the field below. Other than the sound of music from the next room, everything was silent and silent.
“Inquisition transcripts is a pretty sketchy topic of lectures,” he said after a pause of a while. “Not many people are interested in learning it. Some of the Registers at Bibliotheque Nationale have not seen it for years, maybe even decades. I've encountered one of them that hasn't been opened since the mid-nineteenth century.”
Layla tapped her pen on her knee, wondering where she was going with the story.
“According to Library records,” he continued, while returning to Layla, “The last time anyone looked at the register in which I found the transcript Berenger d’Usat was in early September 1943, he wrote, at the time of the German occupation of France, while being researched by a Nazi scholar named Dieter Hoth.” The name seemed to illuminate a faint connection somewhere deep in Layla's mind. His mind was so full of information that he could not immediately think why.
“Continue.”
“Hmm, at first I thought this Hoth that I had coincidentally never heard of before, was, which seems strange under the circumstances how narrow this area must have escaped getting the Berenger transcript all because there is no record that he ever published anything about it. Anyway, I found out about him through a friend in Toulouse, a Nazi specialist, and guess what? Less than a week after the study, Dieter Hoth's register appeared in the farthest part of Languedoc, residing in the modern village of Castelombres, this time accompanied by SS special forces units. And what do you think they're all doing there?” Layla shook her head. Topping sipped his beer and leaned against the window sills, smiling wryly.
“Agroving.” He's aghast. “You're serious?”
“Dan? Did they find anything?”
Again he gave a wry smile. “It looks like yes, although I can't tell you. Like I said, Nazi archaeologists really aren't my area of expertise.” He looked at Layla, then distanced himself from the window sills, headed for the kitchen and began to rummage through the cabinets. Layla rewinds her body and gulps her beer, her mind buzzing.
So many things to follow, so many paths to explore.
“Who is your friend?” Layla asked after a while.
“Someone in Toulouse.”
“I don't call him a friend like that,” Topping replied,
“More as a casual acquaintance. I met him a few years ago, when I was on sabbatical from the University of Toulouse. He runs an antique shop near St. Sernin. What a strange man.
Eccentric knowing everything there is is knowing about the Nazis. His name is Jean-Michel Dupont.”
Like Dieter Hoth, this also seemed to ring the bell that was deep in Layla's mind. He closed his eyes, trying to find and mark it. Dieter Hoth, Jean-michael Dupont; Dieter Hoth, Jean-michel Dupont. How does he know these people?
And then, all of a sudden, it came to her. Sure was! From the web last night. Articles about Nazi archaeologists, with footnotes containing unidentified initials DH.
His eyes sparkled and, after writing something on his note, he drew the print he had made at the time: 13 November 1938 Thule Soc. Spirit is high after the events of the 9-10th, with WVS making a joke about “Speak of hope Jewish”. DH said they would be more upset if the matter of Relincourt missed, after a long discussion about Cathars, and others. Pheasant, champagne, cognac.apologies from FK and WJ.
“Yes God,” Layla whispers. “He knows. De Relincourt, Castelombres, Montsegur. He made that connection.”
“What is it?” topping. He ignored that question.
“Dieter This Hoth. What happened to him?” Topping back into the room while chewing an apple.
“Killed at the end of the war. His head was shot by Russian artillery. No more than he deserved.” He bit the apple again and leaned against the kitchen door.
“Don't imagine something to eat. Or, are you doing it? I know there's a really good Greek taverna on Trumpington.” Layla looked up, aghast.
“You're seducing me, Professor Topping?” He smiles.
“Pastya!”
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