“The original room was covered in amber with twenty-four-carat gold mirrors and precious and semiprecious stone inserts,” McAdams said. “The repro is still in the Catherine Palace. I saw it. I remember it in detail because I’ve never seen anything like it before. There was an intimacy about it even though it was over the top. The history of how it came to exist eludes me at the moment. . . . Hold on, let’s see what I have. Okay, originally constructed in Prussia, but Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia gave it to Peter the Great in order to secure the Prussian-Russian alliance against Sweden.”

Merritt sniffed. “Even the repro is magnificent in its craftsmanship. One can only imagine what the original was like. It must have been unworldly remarkable.”

McAdams said, “What’s unworldly remarkable is that two major countries had to form a pact against Sweden.”

The art dealer managed to crack a smile. He said, “Everyone knows the room was dismantled by the Nazis. Twenty-seven crates were moved to East Berlin and then the crates went underground in Konigsberg, supposedly destroyed in a fire.”

“You have doubts?” Decker asked.

“I do. If for no other reason, it’s a romantic notion.”

McAdams was still pulling up information. “This article says that the original cartons may now be located in the bunker in Auerswalde near Chemnitz, Germany.”

“Perhaps the boxes will magically surface. You should go to St. Petersburg, Detective. See it for yourself.”

“You’re the second person who’s told me that within twenty-four hours.”

“It’s a fascinating city, specifically in its scope of grandeur.”

McAdams said, “The whole city is like Park Avenue on steroids.”

Decker said, “I was told that most of the great artworks of the Hermitage were stored in the basement of St. Isaac’s and remained there until the end of the war.”

“That’s true,” Merritt said. “Most of the great pieces survived, specifically the two Da Vinci masterpieces, but there was looting. The Hermitage did get its ounce of revenge, however.” He smiled. “Inside the museum, there are several out-of-the-way rooms entitled the Hidden Treasures. You have to look for the rooms to find them. They display marvelous works of impressionism and postimpressionism. So why aren’t the works with the Hermitage’s spectacular permanent collection?”

Decker thought a moment. “Stolen art?”

“The Russians would call it disputed art.”

“Depends whose ox is being gored.”

“You’re correct about that. It is clear that the paintings were looted from Germany. For fifty years, they sat in the basement of the Hermitage until the museum decided to do the audacious and display the pieces. Whenever the German government starts making waves about the ownership, the Russians come back with the Amber Room.