The Last Empress of Mars

vague details from his OIF boss, Coronel Guardia, who had emphasized the need for a speedy investigation, as the last thing the Coronel wanted was the American Embassy hounding him about this case on a daily basis. The bodies had been found by the chambermaid who, after not getting any answer, had proceeded to open the room to get the place cleaned up and nearly fainted at the sight of the two dead bodies. She had barely managed to keep her shaky legs from giving out under her while she ran out screaming and frantically waving her arms, down the dimly lit hallway. The day manager had been sensible enough to immediately call the police and not allow anyone else to go in the room. So, hopefully, there was little or no contamination of the evidence since the police officers on the scene had been instructed to guard the door and not allow anyone in the room. Making sure that officers were posted at each entrance and exit to the hotel, he headed for the elevator. It was a slow, old elevator with a hotel security guard standing to one side and it always took a long time to arrive but unfortunately the stairs were not an immediate option since they were locked from the inside and could only be used by people exiting the upper floors. This was done to make sure all guests paid, more specifically, the short-term ones, like the many bubbly young ladies running around the lobby, the bar and the casino, which were all located on the ground floor. A guest needed to check in a girl or girls before he could take them up to his room. This was touted as being done for the security of the guest since the girls were required to produce a valid ID and the details were written down, but it was also meant to extract an extra 20 dollars per girl that signed in as an additional guest. This was a tidy extra profit for the hotel that most times surpassed the normal room rate income. After the usual long wait for the creaky old relic of an elevator, he was finally headed up to the fourth floor, very, very, slowly. As he approached Room 405; a small but nicely decorated corner room, he was greeted by an affable and extremely large officer who he immediately recognized as Sergeant Avila, not the brightest banana in the bunch but honest as they come and always ready to help. Next to him stood a new young officer, who he had never seen before, but that was not unusual, since the new Presidenta was trying to make good on her campaign promise of 5000 new police to stop a rise in petty crime, which according