“And just who do you think I am?” His accent gets thicker, and it makes him sound like one of those bad guys in the movies my dad always watches.

“We don’t know,” I hurry to say. I’m not about to let Max ruin this whole thing. What if this is the only way I’ll ever know the truth? “I just know she came to see you. And that maybe she wasn’t born in France like my dad always said. I think maybe she was born in Russia.”

Yakov pushes off the bench and stands up to his full height. Olivia and I back up a few steps. His arms look pretty long. I don’t think he’d have too hard a time grabbing us if he wanted to.

“This is not my secret to tell,” he says. “Tatyana… Sue must be the one.”

“But what if she already—” I shut my mouth. If I tell this man anything about Gram, he could use it against her.

“Tell me why you’re here, little Tatyana,” he orders.

“Did you know her in Russia?” I ask, pulling myself up and meeting his stare. His eyes bore into mine.

His hand falls, and a part of his mouth twists in a half smile. “I think you learned your interrogation techniques from your babushka. She could always get answers from me. I will answer your questions when you are honest with me.”

My heart leaps to my throat. I don’t even know where to start. I point to his tattoos. “Where did you get those?”

He grins as if I’ve made a joke. “You are so much like her. She always knew how to pivot like a ballerina. How about this, little one? I will tell you this one thing. I received these tattoos courtesy of the Russian army. I am a retired soldier. Does that satisfy you?” He shakes his head and laughs. “No, I can see it does not. You want all my secrets, da?”

Max clears his throat. “Listen, man, Lulu needs answers. Can you understand that? If you really care what happens to her grandmother, then you’ll tell her what you know.”

Yakov glances at him before turning his full attention back to me. “I do care about your babushka. This is why I cannot speak to you until I talk to her first.”

23. Cerebrum

The largest part of the brain is the cerebrum. It’s folded in ridges and valleys, and if you flattened them out it would take up about two and a half square feet. We really need our brains to be all wrinkled or they would never fit inside our skulls.