“Of course,” said Church sounding relieved as he led them to the cellar and into the tunnel. The officials looked stunned as they entered the magnificent room. Speechless, they wandered around the artefacts taking photographs. A short while later, they took several items from their briefcases: old photographs, testing apparatus, and other portable devices. Boris showed Church the old photographs of gold dinner services, pots, and several small chests filled with precious stones, along with Faberge eggs and antique bespoke jewellery.
“Have you seen any of these items?” asked Boris.
Church looked at the pictures, shook his head, and said, “No, this was all that was in here. We removed nothing and called you straight away. Perhaps it’s somewhere else in the area.”
The two historians went f
