Poor Liza

Before it all—Senior investigator Volin takes on the case of a health ministry official Mikhail Golotchev, who works in Moscow. Golotchev is suspected of corruption, including the claim that he received billion-level bribes for distributing the state contract for the supply of medical equipment. During the investigation, it turns out that the official has neither significant real estate in Russia or abroad, nor bank accounts, nor luxury items. In Moscow he lives in an official apartment, and everything around him here is government property. For advice, Volin turns to his good acquaintance—Sergey Sergeyevich Vorontsov, a KGB general in retirement and a historian of special services. Through his channels, he may be able to find out something about Golotchev. At the general’s request, Volin also forwards Vorontsov the next memoir of Nestor Vasilyevich Zagorsky, which the senior investigator has deciphered.

A painting by Leonardo da Vinci, “Mona Lisa del Giocondo,” usually called simply “La Gioconda,” disappears from the Louvre. The thief is a man who calls himself Mr. Decorator, but the kidnapper cannot be identified. Meanwhile, Zagorsky and Gantszalin travel through Europe. In the Italian city of Florence, they are met with news that “La Gioconda” has been stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris. The painting vanished on Monday, when the museum was closed. In principle, this should make the investigation easier. However, the thief seems to have evaporated along with the painting, leaving almost no traces—except for a protective case and the frame.

Gantszalin persuades the owner to investigate the theft. Zagorsky finds the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping intriguing, and decides to take the case—especially since he was anyway planning to go to Paris.