I hope you had a happy Memorial Day weekend. Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Today, the authors are crafting scenes to the word prompt BUTTER. I’m continuing with The Case of the Missing Prince. The story has taken a few twists and turns since our last encounter. Hope you’ll be able to follow. Enjoy.
“Do you recall why you asked me to come with you on this job?”
I nodded. “Yes,” I stated looking as though butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth. “I remember all of the reasons I wanted you with me.” I ran my hand along his arm.
“We’ll discuss some of those other reasons after, but for now let’s talk about this one. How can I watch your back when you leave like that? Now that we know that the prince is alive and hiding from those who tried to grab him, the danger is greater than ever. They’ve killed at least once to set this up. They won’t be happy if we find him first. I’m not saying I expect you to take me to the can with you, but I am saying that I was worried, although I did suspect you were making a call. So what did the queen of hackers have to say?”
“I’m sorry, and to be fair, I didn’t expect to be gone that long.” As succinctly as I could, I shared what Hallie had with him concerning Andreea and her husband. “Despite his background he was very anti-nuclear energy—maybe it was because of it, but whatever the reason, it looks like Andreea picked up the torch after he died.”
I shoved my hands in my coat pocket to remove my gloves when a slip of paper fell to the floor.
“You dropped this.” Al handed it to me.
I reached for it. “It must be something old from before we left Ottawa,” I mused before opening it, thinking it was a receipt from Tim’s since I hadn’t worn this coat since last spring.
It wasn’t. The note was short and far from sweet.
Leave this area. Mind your own business or become a casualty of war. You’ve been warned.
War? Since when had this become a war? There was no signature, but I recognized the upside down horseshoe as the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega, the end, or the name of the person behind ZOE. Who had put it there?
Knowing who was after the prince should make everything easier, but it didn’t. What it did was send my brain into overdrive once more. How did I know this wasn’t a red herring, something to get me off the right track and send me in the wrong direction?
“What is it?” I handed the slip of paper to Al.
He read it and scowled. “Damn it, Evie. This is exactly what I was saying. Anyone who was close enough to drop a note in your pocket could’ve done a lot worse.”
Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
Living the Dream 