Tuesday Tales: From the Word FAMILY

Hello and welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Our word prompt is FAMILY. I’m continuing with my Evie Chambers cozy mystery, The Case of the Missing Prince. Enjoy.

The next man, one who hadn’t featured in the article I’d read, had to be a diplomat of some sort. I recognized that sense of entitlement swagger I’d seen more than once. He might be Novak’s assistant, but I doubted it. Even I could recognize a thousand dollar suit when I saw one. He had that polished air that only money—and lots of it—could buy. Was he a member of the royal family? Could he be next in line if the crown prince were dead? Anything was possible, and in my business of providing security for a number of embassies, I’d learned to avoid people like him if for no other reason than the fact that entitled people almost always gummed up the work. If the guy was in the running for the crown, would he even want me to find the missing prince?

The last man reminded me of your typical, mercenary bodyguard. Broad shoulders, muscles on muscles, black hair with a trace of gray in it, dark brown shifty eyes, and a thick mustache that probably hid a thin upper lip. He didn’t smile, just looked around the room as if he expected a dozen ninjas to jump out at him. He wore a tailor-made dark suit, darker tie, and snow-white shirt with a collar so stiff it had to be starched. My dad had hated starched shirts. If the shirt wasn’t the reason he was so stiff, then he had to have a military background. I didn’t think he was packing, since I didn’t notice the tell-tale bulge, but if he was attached to the embassy, he could have some special permit.

Normally, I would’ve sicked Tony Lathan on these people … he was my missing people expert, but he was away looking into that multimillion dollar arson case, which meant I would have to do this one all by my lonesome.

I stood beside my chair, waited for the men to come over to me and once they were close, I sat.

“Gentleman, please be seated.” I waited a few moments. Novak and Horvath as well as my third man sat, but the security guard remained standing by the door. “I’ve been informed of the basic parameters of the case, and you have my sympathies. What is it that you think E.C. Investigations can do for you?”

“Shouldn’t we wait for your boss?”

My hackles rose. “I am the boss, Evie Chambers. Now what do you need from me?”

Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.