The Stolen Heart: A Regal Whodunnit

Chapter 1

"'Give... give me 20 minutes, okay?' I stuttered through disbelief into the phone. I felt numb as I prepared the gurney, only able to feel the temperature change as my fingers hit the ice-cold surface of the cart, which jolted me back to reality. The news was radio silent for now, but I knew cameras would be flocking the building as soon as I arrived. The caller was the nurse from Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, who, through a quivering voice, had just informed me that the prince was found dead earlier that morning. I hurriedly shoveled supplies into my bag and snatched the van keys from the table. My numb legs were in a dead sprint through the halls of the hospital on the way to the van. Once inside, I turned the van on and cranked the radio. My drive was filled with the sound of radio announcers running the same report over and over again: 'At 9:46 AM, Prince Andrew was found dead in his bedroom at Adelaide Cottage. No further details have been released by royal officials.'

I pulled into the lot in front of the cottage and fought through the ocean of press that seemed to swallow the building. The halls were silent, except for the clink that the old gurney wheels made as they hit each crack in the floor. A nurse waved me down the hallway and into the room where the prince was. He laid still on a puff of silk linens as the queen sat motionless in a chair, glossy tears slid down her cheeks. 'Your majesty,' I said as I sunk into a curtsy. She looked up at me with an empty glance as she remained silent. She shifted in her chair to look at her son as the corners of her mouth began to turn downward into a frown. I decided not to try and press niceties any further with her and begin on the job at hand. I started preparing the prince for transport: filling out an I.D. tag, placing it around his ankle, and removing any extravagances that were to remain at the cottage. I summoned an extra nurse over to move him onto the gurney. 'On my count... 1, 2, 3.' I could see the queen wince as we lifted the prince and slung him onto the gurney. She stood and approached the cart, hovering over it as I began to zip the body bag. She grabbed my wrist as the zipper fastened over his chest.

'One more minute,' she whispered, as tears began to flood her waterline.