Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Our word prompt is YEAR. I’m continuing with The Case of the Missing Prince. In this scene, you see how Evie’s thought process works as she explains the situation to Al.
“What do you mean missing? I haven’t seen anything about that on the news.”
“I know, and that’s just one more thing that doesn’t add up. Hallie and I did a deep dive into the landslide near Banff, Alberta, in June. The prince was among the climbers, but he hasn’t been seen since the landslide. They’ve asked me to find him—my reputation for locating missing people is stellar—but from what I can see, if anyone’s been looking for him, it’s all been very hush-hush. His name wasn’t even listed as one of the climbers, although the other members of his party were—well, not the bodyguard, but that’s another issue. There have been no posters, no ads, not even online posts asking if anyone has seen him, even though the foreign minister says they are offering a million dollar reward for information leading to his return. It looks as if they haven’t made the disappearance public yet, even though he’s been missing a full quarter of a year. I’ve asked him not to make that reward public just yet. If the prince has gone off on his own or is hiding from someone who wants him dead…” I explained everything Hallie and I had learned about the landslide and what I’d been told by the foreign minister, Petrov, and Viktor. I also described Hallie’s kidnapping theory and my own that the prince might have gone off on his own. “I don’t know why I didn’t ask what they’d done so far to find him. I assumed they’d pulled out all the stops. They did interview those first responders, but I think the only others they spoke to were the prince’s friends, as if the fact that he’s missing is some kind of state secret. Don’t you think that’s odd? You would think that they would be tearing apart Banff and the surrounding area in their search.”
“Maybe they’re afraid of grifters, you know, people who claim to have information only to try and get money for nothing. The other side of it, a missing heir to the throne might start a civil uprising in the country. You did say there are people opposed to change. They might push the agenda. If the king is old and grieving, well, they might arrange an accident. You really won’t know until you ask.”
Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
Living the Dream 