{"id":5588,"date":"2015-08-31T08:08:27","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T12:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/u-town.com\/collins\/?p=5588"},"modified":"2015-09-21T19:55:04","modified_gmt":"2015-09-21T23:55:04","slug":"a-princess-in-u-town-part-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/u-town.com\/collins\/?p=5588","title":{"rendered":"a princess in u-town (part six)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story started here<\/a>.<\/I><\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n

My employer enlisted a couple of people from neighboring rooms to help, and they quickly brought Fifteen, our young aide.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, whoever had rousted Fifteen out of bed had apparently mentioned that the emergency had involved gunshots, because Christy came with him. Her ensemble consisted of a big fuzzy bathrobe, some puffy slippers, and a large revolver. Her red hair was tousled, but her expression said that she was fully awake and ready for anything. <\/p>\n

We clustered in the doorway. My employer addressed her comments to Fifteen, but they were for Christy and me also.<\/p>\n

“There are three things which need to be done immediately, and two more which need to happen as quickly as possible:<\/p>\n

“1. We need a medic to examine the princess, to make sure she’s uninjured.<\/p>\n

“2. We need security for the princess, immediately, because her bodyguard has been murdered by person or persons unknown.<\/p>\n

“3. We need to move her highness to a more secure location. Marshall broke the lock on this door so that we could get into the room, and in any case I need to do a thorough examination of the crime scene.<\/p>\n

“4. We need to get the bodies to the hospital.<\/p>\n

“5. I need at least a preliminary autopsy as soon as that’s possible.”<\/p>\n

Fifteen nodded.<\/p>\n

“I don’t need a doctor,” the princess said. She’d come up behind me without making a sound. She was still wrapped up in the blanket, looking like a refugee from some sort of natural disaster. “I would like to get out of this room, though.”<\/p>\n

“Christy and I will take the princess to our room,” I said. “The door and the windows have good locks.”<\/p>\n

“Clear the hallway,” my employer said, then she turned to Christy. “We have to assume that the princess is in immediate danger. Please don’t leave her for a moment.”<\/p>\n

Christy nodded.<\/p>\n

When the hallway was cleared of the curious, we moved quickly. As we reached the door, the princess suddenly grabbed the door frame and started crying again. I scooped her into my arms and got her into the room. Christy closed and locked the door as I lay the princess on the bed. She curled up, as if trying to occupy as small a space as possible, the blanket still wrapped around her.<\/p>\n

Christy made sure the window was locked and the drapes were closed while I got a robe out of the closet. Christy took it from me and twirled a finger, telling me to turn my back. I did, and she helped the princess put on the robe. I took the opportunity to unlock my drawer and put the guns away. I can use a gun when I have to, but I always prefer to leave them to the experts, like Christy. <\/p>\n

After a few minutes, the princess recovered and sat up. Even with the robe on, she still kept the blanket wrapped around her. Her face was blotchy and swollen.<\/p>\n

There was a knock on the door, and Christy went to open it a crack and look out. <\/p>\n

“It’s coffee,” she said.<\/p>\n

The princess frowned as if she’d never heard the word before, and I found myself trying to remember if I’d ever met anybody named Coffee.<\/p>\n

Christy, seeing our perplexed expressions, raised a hand and mimed drinking a cup of coffee — which was obviously something the princess and I needed. Then Christy’s eyes met mine and she frowned. Probably I did also.<\/p>\n

“Is there a problem?” the princess asked.<\/p>\n

I went to the door, keeping it half closed so that the princess wasn’t visible from the hallway. Christy was behind me, her gun in her hand.<\/p>\n

A man who I didn’t recognize said, “Fifteen asked me to–“<\/p>\n

“Very thoughtful, and please thank him for that, but not now. Thank you, also.”<\/p>\n

I closed and relocked the door, and the princess frowned. “Do you really think–” she began.<\/p>\n

“No. It’s unlikely, I admit, but it’s not impossible. I had somebody get poisoned right in front of me once. It’s not–“<\/p>\n

She nodded and sighed. “I would appreciate some coffee at some point, though. I…” Her shoulders sagged. <\/p>\n

“But not enough to die for it, I know,” I said. I went to my desk, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out a small electric tea kettle.<\/p>\n

Christy shook her head. “Isn’t there a rule…”<\/p>\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n

“Because of the wiring in this place…”<\/p>\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n

She watched as I filled the kettle in the tiny bathroom, set it on my desk, and plugged it in.<\/p>\n

“Well, I guess I’ll have some, too,” she said, which got a small smile out of the princess.<\/p>\n

I was glad to see that smile. Knowing my employer, her investigation of the crime scene could take hours, and, having spent a lot of time with people who were recently bereaved in my career as a detective’s assistant, I knew that the earlier you can introduce at least a tiny bit of humor, the better in the long run.<\/p>\n

Christy caught my eye. She didn’t need to do any more than that — I’d attended her father’s funeral with her, fairly recently, and we’d had quite a long discussion of this question.<\/p>\n

I suppose I should add that her father had died of natural causes, aided by a lifetime of heavy drinking.<\/p>\n

 
More to come…<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

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