The Last Empress of Mars

to upset the guests needlessly!”

As Niko closed the room door a crowd was already starting to gather nearby as both guests and hotel personnel wondered what the excitement was all about with all the uniformed police running around the hotel. Walking into the room, Niko was finally in his element. For him this was the crucial moment when he took the entire, still virginal crime scene in, and started to deduce the sequence of events that led to this final unfortunate outcome. Most others only saw the end result and the Investigación Criminal team would be very efficient about gathering all the evidence, taking photos, prints, etc. but they did not have the gift of insight that Niko had been born with, which could take notice of details that would seem meaningless to others and tie them together days, weeks and even months later into a final “Eureka!” that put it all in place and solved yet another difficult case. Taking out a set of surgical rubber gloves and a small but very sophisticated Canon Elph camera, he began to snap pictures. Sure, the Investigación Criminal team would take ample photos of the crime scene, but these particular photos were his and his alone. Taken from his unique perspective, to be studied calmly afterwards while digesting all the details and thus making sure nothing was missed. Running a detective agency had sharpened his innate abilities and unique attention to detail, and his deductive mind was a God given gift that had nothing to envy Sherlock Holmes legendary abilities. As he took pictures, he noticed that someone had conducted a wild search for something in the room. Clothes from the closet were strewn on the floor, drawers had been pulled out and their contents were scattered everywhere. Suitcases emptied and generally it appeared that no part of the room had been left untouched. The question was, just what were they searching for and, even more important, had they found it? It was not valuable items, at least not ordinary ones, since the man’s money clip, which was still full of money and a very nice Omega Seamaster watch, were still on the nightstand in plain sight. The girl’s purse also had a valuable cell phone and a roll of American dollars mixed in with about another 60 dollars in Colones, the local currency. Also, the