Four

Noah and Granny stood on top of the tower, looking out towards the calm gulf. It was peaceful to see and it was nice to just relax and sight see. Noah pointed towards a large tent to the right of town.

“What’s that tent over there? Is there a festival going on?”

“Not now, though they do have several during the year. That tent over there is for the around-the-world-fair.”

“Fair? Different shops and such?”

Noah chuckled softly. “No, it’s more like a circus. They come every year. The circus travels the world, working in different towns and cities. Their show is amazing, I must say. The acrobats are amazing. They can maneuver themselves anywhere and in any position. Before we leave, I’ll take you there. They have two shows a day for four days. People from all over the areas, including from Finland, come for the show.” Noah pointed to something in the distance, but before he could mention what it was, they both noticed movement near the bridge.

“Is that Max and Morris running back towards town?” said Granny.

Noah took a sharp intake of breath. “It looks like they’re being chased by two men in dark-green jackets, which means they’re working for the government or certainly some other official organization.”

“Are they in danger?” Granny’s voiced rose slightly.

“Very much so. I don’t know how we were identified so quickly. I took all the precautions necessary.” Noah was chastising himself for his lack of discretion.

Granny had another take. “If these men were sent by powerful people, they’d also have the means to find us. Don’t be too hard on yourself. We might be in way over our heads here.”

“No, we can elude them. Come on.” Noah took Granny by the hand and led her down the narrow steps of the tower. They had to walk slowly as they went against the crowds of tourists coming up the staircase. When they finally reached the ground floor, Granny took over the lead as she looked for anyone else left behind waiting for them. There was currently no one waiting in line for tickets to the tower and, other than the many tourists walking the castle grounds, they seemed to be safe.

Noah and Granny’s hand walked quickly towards the bridge and up Krepostnaya Ulitsa through the town, turning left on Suvorovskiy Prospekt. They passed the Alvar Aalto Library and the Statue of a Moose in the park before following the path the men seemed to have taken to Red Square where they saw the Statue of Lenin. Noah and Granny searched for any sight of Max and Morris, or the men chasing them.

“Do you see them anywhere?” mumbled Granny as she changed her position once more. Their walk had turned into more of a jog. Noah pulled Granny’s hand but Granny pulled back forcing him to look at her. “I’m not in my twenties like you, dear. Give me a few minutes if you could.”

A smile peeked out from Noah’s serious features as he apologized. After about five minutes, Granny nodded, implying she was ready.

“This way,” Noah urged, heading up Vokzalnaya Ulitsa back towards the train station. The two boys might have lost themselves in there. As they walked, they passed an abandoned building made of a grayish white brick. The door was closed tight, but on the ground by the door was Max’s black glove. Granny stopped Noah and stepped closer to the door.

“That’s Max’s glove,” Granny whispered. Granny bent down and picked up the glove, and two sets of hands reached out and grabbed her and Noah, pulling them inside of the building. The door shut instantly.

“I knew that would lure you in,” came Max’s voice. Granny took a deep breath before slapping Max on the shoulder. “What’s wrong with you?” she chided her grandson. “You scared the daylights out of me?”

Max smiled at Morris before returning his gaze to Noah and Granny. “What happened?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” said Max. “Morris and I were figuring out the message Noah had given us when two burly men began to chase us. We don’t know what they wanted, or who they were, only that they were Russian. They spoke it fluently when we eluded them and dodged in here.” Max looked around the deserted space, looking at the many cobwebs with distaste.

“Who were they, Noah?” asked Morris as he brushed away another spider that landed on his shoulder.

“They could’ve been government agents, the mob, or men for hire. I didn’t get a good look at them, but given how important you are to the government right now because of your parents, people from all walks of life are going to want a piece of you for a reward. That’s what they do now. People need money and have no qualms about turning you in to get it.

“The government has eyes everywhere I’m afraid,” Noah said.” If they were government men, then more will show up. We need to proceed to the next step of our journey so we can get out of here. I don’t know about you, but being caught isn’t something I’d look forward to. Shall we leave?”

Granny wrapped her arms around Max and Morris in a brief hug before shoving them behind Noah, who had cracked the door, scanning the area. He waved for everyone to follow him towards their car. He hit the security code, and the door unlocked. Everyone rushed inside, closing their doors with great haste. The doors locked, the group exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Noah started the car, then backed out and headed towards the other end of town. In a more secluded area, he turned on the invisibility cloak. “I don’t know about any of you,” he said, “but I feel better knowing no one can see us.”

“I agree,” said Morris as he set out his iPad, pressing a few buttons.

“Max, what did you conclude from the message?” asked Noah.

“That we’re meant to go to Monrepos, an estate northeast of here. It has a spring the locals call Narcissus.”

“Very good. We’ll head there now.”

“What kind of estate is it?” Granny asked Noah, then turned to Morris.

Morris gladly shared the knowledge he’d uncovered. “It’s a manor house and landscaped park tucked nicely along the shoreline of the Zashchitnaya inlet of the Vyborg Bay in Finland. The park occupies 180 hectares of land. Between 1788, when Ludwig Heinrich von Nicolai bought it, and 1943, Monrepos was owned by the family of Baron Nicolai. The historic core of the museum complex is a manor from the early 1800s. It consists of the Main House and the Library House, monuments of wooden classical architecture. The landscape rock park were designed in the romantic style.

“The park is marked by special physical and geographical features, like the old wiborgite granite, named after Vyborg, and glacial formations up to twenty meters high. In the nature reserve, fifty species of different plants can be found, some of them rare. Its fauna is diverse as well: the park abounds in birds and animals. That’s all I know about it, other than that it appears to be an amazing place. I’m actually excited to visit it.”

“What are we going to find there?” asked Max, wondering why they would be sent to such a place and how it was connected to saving his parents.

“Be patient, my friend,” said Noah. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

It didn’t take long to reach Monrepos. The entrance to the park was “The Gothic Gates” baring the arms of the family of the Barons von Nikolai. The gates had been erected in the 1830s after being granted the status of a not-for-sale reserve estate to the Monrepos and restored in 1992. They saw magnificent views of rock landscapes, including the waters of the Suomenvedenpohja Bay, part of the Vuoksa waterway in the Middle Ages. The exceptional look of the primary rocks of the Vyborg granites named Rappakivi added to the beauty of the landscaped park.

Noah pulled into the empty parking lot. Before he turned off the engine he brought out his cell phone, making sure they were in the correct location. The person on the other end of the phone call confirmed it.

“Follow me!” commanded Noah and stepped out of the vehicle. The Crypto-Caper team did the same. Noah left the invisibility cloak on the car so no one would know they were there. He just hoped they’d be able to find it when they returned. Noah set the security code and waved them towards a wooden path to their left. Their feet crunched beneath the freshly fallen snow. With the few flakes still falling like feathers from lake effect, the softness created a relaxing atmosphere and almost felt like they were in a different world of mystic beauty.

They had been walking for some time until they reached a sign. Beyond it up a hill was a pavilion designed in the canons of antique architecture. Max read the sign. The pavilion was called the Temple of Neptune, though originally dedicated to Pietas—the God embodying obedience and love to the elders. As they walked up the hill, closer to the pavilion, Max could see an immense statue of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, similarly compared to the Greek god Poseidon. Its pure white stone form was carved with precision. The sculpture had created a stone cloth that covered Neptune’s lower regions, hiding them from view, but kept in view his muscular torso and arms. His body was as perfect as any god of the sea should be, leaving nothing to the imagination concerning his strength and power. In his hand he held a long, fierce looking trident with which he would have fought off dangers. His empty eyes, when stared at long enough, seemed to envelope Max to his very soul, wrapped up in the statue’s power.

Max forced his eyes to wander to the structure of the pavilion. The straight wooden outline and monumental columns of the pavilion were a contrast to the restless open water seen beyond it. As they stood just in front of the pavilion, two people emerge from the hill on the other side. Max, as well as Morris, standing next to him, both drew breaths of shock—yet relief. Mia was walking next to Percival Peacock. Her thick white winter coat matched her white hat, gloves, and knee-high laced boots.

When Mia’s eyes caught sight of her brother, Percival couldn’t stop her from running towards him. They met in the middle of the pavilion, wrapping their arms around each other. Max didn’t want to let her go. When he did he saw tears of happiness on her cheeks. Max had shed a few himself.

“How have you been? I’ve missed you so much.” Max’s words rushed out. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been worrying about her safety.

“I’m fine, really. Though I’ll happily admit I didn’t like not having all of you with me. We need each other. Apart—it’s so lonely. I’ve missed you too, Max. I know we get on each other’s nerves, but there’s no one else I’d rather have as a brother. I’ve missed you terribly. I’ve missed your wit. Most of all, I missed the support you’ve always given me.”

Max hugged Mia. Though she had only been gone a few weeks, it seemed as if she had grown an inch or two. Her head tucked right underneath his chin. Max held Mia for a few seconds more, vowing never to let her out of his sight like that again. Then he relinquished her to Granny’s open arms, then into Morris’s.

“Mr. Percival Peacock,” Max said, “thank you for bringing Mia back to us, though I’ll admit I’m angry about this. I’m also curious why you took her from us in the first place. I assure you it won’t happen again.”

“There’s a very good reason,” said Percival. “To save your parents.”

“And yet since we’ve arrived we haven’t heard one thing about them. All we know for sure is government men are chasing after us,” Max said.

Percival narrowed his gaze. He turned to Noah, who nodded.

“Of course government men are after you. You’re the children of the detectives they have in custody. They know your reputation. I assure you I haven’t said not a word.” Percival took a deep breath. “The Panther’s here, in disguise of course, but he’s in a position to bend the ear of the people holding your parents. He’s been spreading lies, even has had the audacity to frame them for a crime they didn’t commit.”

“And what crime did they commit?” asked Granny.

“You saw the picture of the egg, did you not?” Percival said. Max, Granny, and Morris nodded. The picture was simply of a decorated egg—not something of supreme importance at the time. “Then you know exactly what they’re accused of stealing.”

“Forgive me, Percival, but are you saying my mum and dad were accused of stealing some egg?” asked Max.

Percival snorted. “Not just some egg, my boy. The Madonna Lily Clock Egg.”

Max shook his head, still unsure of the egg’s importance in all this.

“Tsar Nicholas II had a standing order for two Easter eggs to be made every year—for his mother, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, and his wife. These eggs were made by the team of Peter Carl Fabergé. This one in particular, is one of the largest ever created.” Max opened his mouth, his eyes growing wide. “I see you recognize that name. Good! This is what the egg looks like.” Percival pulled out a picture from the inside of his coat.

The egg-shaped clock and its rectangular pedestal were decorated with translucent enamel on a guilloché background. The body of the clock was divided into twelve parts, outlined in diamond-studded stripes. The belt of the dial, which revolved around the perimeter of the egg, was enameled white with twelve Roman numerals set in diamonds. The hours were indicated by a diamond clock hand shaped like the head of an arrow in a drawn bow. The hand was fixed to an immobile onyx base. The varicolored gold base itself was decorated with rosettes. The date of its manufacture, 1899, was set in diamonds. It was designed as a vase with red-gold scrolls serving as extra supports at either side. A gold key was used to wind the mechanism.

The clock was crowned with a bouquet of Madonna lilies, carved from onyx. The pistils of the flowers were set with three small rose diamonds, and the leaves and stems were of tinted gold. The egg used the language of flowers to tell its story, well known at the time. The roses were symbols of love and the lilies were symbols of purity and innocence.

“Like each one of the Tsar Nicholas II’s decorative eggs, this one had a surprise inside,” continued Percival. “Depending on the egg, the surprise would be something that matched the exterior in some way, like a little train or carriage or something. This egg was no exception.”

Before Percival could continue, Mia interrupted from behind Max. “You never said where the egg was originally stolen from.”

A smile began to hinge on Percival’s lips. “No, my dear, I didn’t.”

Morris interjected at just the right time. “I can tell you exactly where the egg was situated. The Kremlin Armoury in Moscow.”

“Is that where my parents are being held?” asked Mia, taking several steps closer to Percival. Granny rested a hand on her arm restraining her.

“I can answer that as well,” supplied Morris. “No. The Holmes are being held in a police building in St. Petersburg. I found pictures of them. They’re currently together and, as far as I can see, unharmed.”

Mia took several deep breaths. Relief filled her.

“What’s in the armoury then?” she asked as she glared at Percival.

Morris said, “The Kremlin Armoury’s one of the oldest museums in Moscow. Established in 1808 and the home to the Russian Diamond Fund, it boasts unique collections from Russian, Western European, and Eastern applied arts, spanning the period from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. Some of the items of note are the Imperial Crown of Russia, Monomakh’s Cap, the ivory throne of Ivan the Terrible, as well as other regal thrones and regalia. The Orloff Diamond is there, along with the helmet of Yaroslav II. Lots of other stuff as well. One of note is that they have ten out of the fifty-two Fabergé eggs. The eggs they have on display are the Imperial Eggs. Their collection is the second biggest of overall Fabergé eggs owned by a single owner.”

“With exhibits of such extravagant lineage, I’m sure they’re under various kinds of security protection,” concluded Max.

“Correct. The armoury’s heavily guarded,” replied Percival.

“Then how were Mitchem and Martha able to steal the eggs?” asked Granny.

“Funny you should mention that,” continued Percival. “The eggs have only been away from the armoury twice. It just so happens there is also a few jewelery pieces in a collection at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg by Carl Fabergé. The museum has an area known as the Treasure Galleries. In these rooms are remarkable collections of priceless artifacts from ancient Scythian and Greek goldwork to exquisite decorations from St. Petersburg’s court jewelers. Because of an upcoming event at the Hermitage, they requested the eggs from the armoury. The Holmes were accused of stealing the eggs while they were in transit.”

Granny raised her hand to her face and shook her head. “Weren’t the eggs in an armoured car if they were that important to keep safe?”

“Around here, anything in an armoured car is definitely worth stealing. They tried to be covert about it, hiding them in a bullet proof secured case in the back of a van surrounded by guards, but that obviously didn’t work. The guards said they were forced to pull over, then two people in black masks came out of an unmarked vehicle with stun guns. When they awoke, the guards said the case was gone and their tires flattened.”

“That doesn’t sound like my parents at all,” blurted Max.

“No, but when they were taken into custody at the train station in St. Petersburg, black masks were found in their belongings as well as stun guns. They denied them being theirs but were nonetheless taken into custody. I told you, the Panther’s playing games here. I personally think the masks and stun guns were planted on them. I also believe one or two of the guards lied about being stunned and helped remove the case. With several large delicate eggs and the weight of that case, two people would not be able to remove it without damaging its contents.”

“Great, all we have to do is prove it,” spouted Morris.

“Well, I have a handle on that one, but it comes with a catch,” oozed Percival.

Max narrowed his gaze at the man. “What kind of catch?”

“One that requires your team’s services, I’m afraid. I worked out a deal with a local fair in town. I’m sure you noticed their tents set up?” Granny nodded her head. “Well, their acrobats are amazing and very skilled at breaking into places. They have information that can help us save your parents, but, before they’ll give it to us, they have a problem of their own. A particular item of importance was stolen from their tent. They want it back before they’ll help us.”

“That’s ridiculous!” shouted Max as he began to pace. “My parents’ lives are more important than some trivial item.”

“Nonetheless, if you want their information, we have to help them. There’s no way around it.”

Max looked at Mia. She said, “I’ve met the acrobats. I’ve seen their skills first hand. Percival tested them just as he tested us back in England. They’re impressive, indeed. I refer to them as the ‘circus for hire’ because, apparently, they have extensive skills few know about. But I do think they’ll help us, Max.”

Max turned to Granny, who shared his frustration, but also knew Percival was right. Getting frustrated over it wasn’t going to solve anything. “We concede, Percival,” Granny said, “and will help you, but this circus for hire better have information we need to save my son.” Granny had taken a step closer to Percival, her lips pursed tightly, eyes narrowing on him.

Percival apparently could feel Granny’s hostility though she hadn’t said anything threatening. “They do, madam, or I wouldn’t be putting you through this.”

Granny glared at Percival a few seconds more. “Max!” she urged.

“What do you need us to do?” asked Max.

“Follow me to the circus tent in town. Once there we will talk with the owners and uncover more details about what is missing and the possible suspects that are involved.” Max glanced at Granny and made eye contact with Mia and Morris.

“Lead the way!” Max raised his arm away from the pavilion towards the path they had taken there. Percival glanced at Noah and jerked his head to the side, encouraging him to follow. Noah quickly fell in line. The group made their way back down the path, the snow crunching like dried leaves beneath their feet. Max hadn’t notice it until they all lined up that all their coats were similar. Max smiled. It could have been a coincidence, but he knew better. The coats were more than they appeared to be, he was sure of it.