Read 39 Clues - 05 - The Black Circle for Free Online Page A

wanting to let51it go. And then out of nowhere she understood. It
    felt like a gift."I've got it! I've got it!" said Amy. Dan jerked awake and jumped to his
    feet in a ninja pose as Amy wiped the last of her tears away."There!" she said, pointing
    to a picture of the Yusupov Palace. "You were right, Dan!""Does this mean I get to go
    back to sleep?""Before the Yusupovs took over the palace, it was owned by someone

    else. Care to know who it was?""Enlighten me," said Dan, awake but with his eyes
    closed to the world."It was the mansion of Count Pyotr Shuvalov. Count Shoe-VA-Love.
    Don't you get it? A shoe, the letters VA, and the heart-- Shuvalov.""That sounds right,"
    said Dan. Two seconds later, he bolted upright and turned to his sister with a big
    grin."Hey! You know what this means? You and I are on our way to the scene of a
    murder!"* * *Six rows back, Irina Spasky put down the newspaper she was hiding
    behind and frowned. She had walked past Dan and Amy's seat, shrouded in dark
    sunglasses and a low-brimmed hat, and planted a wireless mic. Every word, every
    stupid, dangerous idea Amy and Dan had discussed came through loud and clear.52The
    young Kabras are maniacs and the young Cahills are suicidal, she thought. And now I
    must track them across Russia and protect old secrets instead of hunting down new
    clues. She clicked her tongue in disgust and reflected on how much she disliked
    children. But her chest tightened in automatic protest. There was a child, a long, long
    time ago, she had liked very much.53CHAPTER 6Sleeping on the train gave Dan and
    Amy an electric energy when they hit the pavement in St. Petersburg. Why go to a
    hotel when there were palaces to be broken into?"We need to go that way," said Amy,
    the crisp evening air filling her with new excitement as she made her way down the
    bustling platform. They had arrived at Moskovsky Station, less than two miles from the
    palace, and decided to walk rather than risk another cab ride."There's a whole cluster
    of palaces along the banks of the Moika River. Yusupov is one of them.""You should be
    a tour guide," said Dan. "Lead the way."Soon they were outside following Nevsky
    Prospekt, an eight-lane avenue. Seventeenth-century pastel buildings and newly
    constructed stores stood side by side, competing for space in thriving
    twenty-first-century Russia."Dan," said Amy, jerking her brother's hand. "I think
    someone is tailing us."54Dan glanced over his shoulder."The man in black," he
    whispered.It was unquestionably him. The dark coat and hat, the gliding way he
    moved, the craggy face full of shadows. He was unmistakable.Amy and Dan broke into
    a run, darting between pedestrians on the busy sidewalk. Their movements seemed to
    set the world in motion. A truck barreled across two lanes, heading directly for them.
    Dan sped up, but Amy froze in her tracks. The truck swerved near the curb and an
    envelope came hurtling out the passenger window, landing in the gutter at Amy's
    feet."Watch where you're going, you big jerk!" yelled Dan. A lot of people turned to
    stare at him as the truck sped back into traffic and disappeared around a corner."He's
    gone," said Amy, her voice trembling in the night air. Had the man in black made the
    truck move? Either way, just as mysteriously as he had appeared, the man in black had
    vanished."I think we should keep going," said Dan. "That dude could be
    anywhere."Amy nodded and they hurried down Nevsky Prospekt. Dan ripped open the
    envelope as they went."What's it say?" asked Amy.As Dan read the letter aloud, Amy
    could almost feel the night getting blacker around them." 'Time is running out. You
    need to move faster. You are being followed, and I don't mean the Madrigal.55When
    your pursuers show themselves, give them this map to throw them off track and be on
    your way. You must enter the palace at night and find Rasputin. Follow the orange
    snake. NRR.'""The man in black is a Madrigal! Do you realize what this means?