CHAPTER 9

After touring the cathedral, we visited the Grand Palace, Palace Square, the Winter Palace, and the Catherine Palace.

Yep. There are a lot of palaces in Saint Petersburg, and Larissa Bukova told us absolutely everything about each and every one of them.

“The Catherine Palace, built in the flamboyant rococo style, was the summer residence of the Russian czars…”

Blah-blah-blah.

Mom and Dad were soaking it up. Tommy too. He was definitely falling hard for Larissa Bukova (that’s one of the reasons Mom and Dad call him Tailspin Tommy—he nosedives into a love spiral every time he meets a new girl).

Storm, however, did not seem happy. In fact, I had never seen her look so sad.

Larissa Bukova’s knowledge of Saint Petersburg, and everything else (including how to make Herring under Fur Coat, a Russian dish with layers of salted herring and cooked vegetables topped off with a frosting of grated beets mixed with mayo), totally dwarfed Storm’s knowledge, which we’d all thought was undwarfable.

“The Catherine Palace was also the last known location of the Amber Room, which was built in the early 1700s,” said Dad with a sigh. “It disappeared in World War Two.”

“Yes,” said Larissa. “I was just about to mention that.”

“Me too,” said Storm.

Larissa kept going. “The Amber Room was so named because it was lined with panels decorated with six tons of amber and gold, and it was considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. We suspect the Nazis took the room’s priceless panels back to Germany during World War Two, but they have never been found.”

Dad nodded and stroked his chin.

I wondered if he was thinking the same thing I was: Had the Enlightened Ones found the stolen panels from the Amber Room? Did they have a headquarters with a ballroom made out of gold-encrusted amber walls?

Only one thing was certain: Dad’s treasure-hunting brain never, ever went on vacation.

We left the Catherine Palace and moved on to the Hermitage Museum. Larissa Bukova, of course, went with us. Beck started calling her Krazy Glue because we couldn’t shake her. I didn’t like how sad she was making Storm feel by stealing all her thunder.

“The Hermitage has more paintings than any museum in the world,” said Larissa.

“Russian emperors used to live here,” said Storm.

“The museum opened in 1852,” Larissa shot back.

“Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month!” yelled Storm.

Yep. They were having a nerd-off.

“Larissa,” Dad cut in, “I was wondering—can you take us to the Fabergé Museum? I am very interested in the Easter eggs.”

“I can take you there,” blurted Storm. “I’ve already mapped out the shortest route in my head.”

“Wonderful,” said Mom. “Lead the way, Stephanie.”

Yay, Mom. She could tell Storm was feeling bummed too.