At the Pont du Gard Inn, the knock at the door stirs up more than dust.

A snarling black dog greets the newcomer, but Caderousse himself rushes to make amends, offering wine and apologies when he realizes the unexpected visitor is a priest. The abbé’s Italian-accented words cut straight to the heart of recognition: he knows Caderousse’s name, his past, even his former address in the Allées de Meilhan.

Why such pointed questions? And what business could a foreign priest possibly have with a ruined innkeeper who thought himself forgotten?

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The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years.