Act one

It was the middle of the night, it was foggy and the sound of crickets was heard in the distance
as if they predicted that something dreadful was about to happen. The university guards were
doing their usual rounds when they heard a loud noise coming from the women's restroom;
they hurried to check what was happening. Professor Adrián Muñoz had vanished over the
sinks and the mirror was broken around. The guards quickly checked his vital signs only to
discover that he had died. They called 911 to request support for the removal of the body.
Everything indicated it was a heart attack because he had his hand on his chest as if he had
had pain in this place. However, something did not fit in that scene, the guards did not know
that the teacher had stayed up late working; the police did not understand why he had
entered the women's bathroom. Several loose ends were not understood and needed to be
clarified. The police began questioning the guards who had been on the scene.

- Did you hear any screams? – the police asked

- I only heard a loud sound coming from the restroom, it sounded as if a glass had been
broken. At first I thought it was a thief trying to sneak into the offices. So I called my colleagues
to accompany me to check the site. - replied one of the guards

- Did you see anyone else in the building? - asked the agent

- I am in charge of the apartment and there was no one when I made my round at 10 pm, I am
surprised that Professor Adrián was here. I guess he was in his office with the lights off. -
answered the guard.

- I keep a record of arrivals and departures, and Professor Adrián left at 5 pm as usual for him. I
do not understand how he entered without my realizing it. Although if I noticed him a little
nervous, he usually said goodbye with a smile, but this day he seemed to have a problem
because he left very shocked. - added the guard in charge of the door of the building.

- I saw on camera someone who ran of the infirmary downstairs at 11 pm, but I thought this
person was a student from nurse school, one of those who are doing their end-of-semester
projects. Just in case I went for a walk around the place where I saw this student, but I did not
find anyone, so I let it pass. - Another guard commented.

The information they received left the police with many doubts. Perhaps, it was a homicide.
The clues were not yet clear to define what had happened to Professor Adrián. They decided
to call Detective Gabriel Guerra, a very insightful agent with extensive experience in solving
complex cases.

Detective Guerra interested in the case rushed to the place where Professor Adrian's body lay.
He searched the body for details that the police may have overlooked. In one of the pants
pockets there was a key wrapped in a note that said, "I will miss you, S.V." In addition, on his
shirt hung a pen that had the name of his colleague and officemate José Ruiz inscribed. There
was a fresh coffee stain on his pants. He examined whether the body had any hidden wounds,
but not a single bruise. The detective had more doubts to resolve; who was S.V., what did that
key open and why had he taken his colleague's pen? Without further ado, they took the body
to perform an autopsy.
Act two

For the rest of the night, the detective could not fall asleep. He felt that something seemed to
be wrong with that professor's death. Who would want him dead? - he asked himself. His
alarm barely sounded at 6 am and he got ready to begin his investigation. He had a feeling that
day he would have some clue about Adrian's death.

As soon as the clock struck 8, Detective Guerra began his laborious task. In the department in
which Adrián had worked in recent years, all the staff were puzzled and dismayed at his early
departure. Guerra kept observing the attitudes of the staff and listening to comments, which
he wrote down in his notebook.

- He was so kind - the faculty secretary was sobbing - he was always very attentive to me.

His assistant added - he helped me with my research and lightened my tasks. I'm really going
to miss him.

José Ruiz, the colleague who owns the pen, suggested - it is sad to say goodbye to a friend, but
life goes on and we have to continue, it is what Adrián would have wanted.

The detective noticed that this comment was not common in this kind of situation, so he
decided to start his interrogation with José.

Professor José Ruiz would you mind answering a few questions- Guerra began.

Right now, I am going to class and I do not have time for these dramas - Ruiz replied.

I get it; work is first. As soon as you have spare time, would you help me with some questions,
Professor Ruiz. - added Guerra.

Guerra continued his interrogation with the faculty secretary. Miss Sofia Villa had arrived at
the faculty just four months ago, but she was very sad and heartbroken.

-Would you help me with some questions? - asked Guerra.

-Of course, anything I can help so that our dear Professor Adrian can rest in peace. I cannot
believe this is happening. - Sofia said.

- I am surprised that you say that Professor Adrian cannot rest in peace. Do you know if the
teacher had problems with someone? Do you know of anyone who had any reasons? - asked
Guerra.

-Nothing like that, I just think it is not a death worthy of a great teacher like him. –Sofia replied

Could you explain how you found out about the way he died? –Asked Guerra

-The guards told me, one of them is a great friend of mine and he told me about what
happened. As soon as he informed me, I gave notice to all the staff. The teacher Adrián was so
loved by everyone; even the students were preparing a surprise party for his recent
promotion. They made a collection to give him a nice ballpoint pen, one of those used by great
executives. –Sofia added

-And how do you know all that? –Asked Guerra

-The students asked me to help organize the party, because we got along very well with the
teacher Adrian. Do not think something suspicious happened, he was always very respectful
and I am engaged. In fact, I am getting married next month. –Sofia replied

-Of course not, I suppose you were good colleagues and supported each other at work. –Said
Guerra

-Yes, besides he was not my type. Sofia said.

Guerra thanked Sofia and continued; but he did not find the information he received from her
convincing. He realized that his initials matched those found in Adrian's note.

The detective continued his interrogation with the teacher's assistant, the student Silvia Vélez.
A young woman in her senior year, one of the best students in the class. She had been an
assistant to the professor since he began working at the university. Miss Velez looked sad, she
had spent about 2 years with Professor Adrián.

-Would tell me about your relationship with Professor Muñoz. –Asked Guerra

-He was like an older brother to me-Silvia said between sobs-I loved him very much and was
very proud of him, despite his short time he won a contest to be the new head of teachers, he
even beat Professor Ruiz. Professor Adrián was very intelligent, I admired and appreciated him,
and he always helped me. He even offered to be my tutor in the thesis that I am doing.

"Apparently you got along very well," said Guerra, "Do you know if anyone wanted the
professor to die.

-I don't think anyone in the faculty wanted him to die-added Silvia

-And if not from the faculty then who. Perhaps, there is some detail, which you are hiding from
me. Guerra asked.

-Not at all, the teacher was very reserved with his private life. All we knew was that his mother
passed away just before he got in the faculty and that he lived alone. Although, what was
strange is that he always left at 5 pm sharp. He had asked the dean not to put him to work
after 5 pm. We never knew why, it was something that he kept in secret very well. Maybe
Professor Ruiz knows something. They got along from a very young age. Silvia replied.

-Thanks for your time, miss, I am going to wait for Professor Ruiz. Can I wait here? -said Guerra

Silvia replied -Of course, I would bring you a coffee from the secretary´s office. Yesterday
morning we ran out of coffee at the office.

Apparently, these two young ladies appreciated Professor Muñoz, it only remained to question
Professor Ruiz. However, they were supposed to be friends what could motivate him to make
such a decision. While he was waiting, the preliminary results of the medical examination
came to him, it turns out that the professor had died of cardiorespiratory failure. Perhaps the
teacher had an illness or a situation caused this, there were still things that were not clear.

Suddenly the door opened and he heard Professor Ruiz's screams. He was like crazy, shouting
at everyone who crossed his path.

"Is everything alright, professor?" Asked Guerra.

-How can something be right? I lost my best friend and you are harassing everyone. Why don't
you return the body to give him a holy burial, why don't you let us mourn in peace, "José
shouted." I lost my soul brother, you cannot even imagine the pain I carry inside, just
yesterday, they had promoted him, I went with him to sign his new contract and we were
going to celebrate but he didn't show up. I had this bad feeling that something bad had
happened to him; he had never missed any of our meetings.

"Weren’t you jealous that he beat you in the promotion contest?" Asked Guerra.

- How you can think something like that, as soon as I found out that he was in the contest I
withdrew my candidacy. No one but him deserved to be the new boss, he had sacrificed so
much in life and this would cheer him up.

"What do you mean by sacrificed?" Asked Guerra.

-His mother passed away, and right at the funeral, he found out that he had a sister from a
relationship that his father had had and for which he had abandoned them. He was so
generous that as soon as he met his sister, he took care of her and her little son. Despite his
disappointment about his father history, he was unable to abandon his new family. –José
added

-So, he didn't live alone. -asked Guerra

-Indeed, he lived with his sister and his little nephew. Moreover, this promotion would help
him improve their situation. –Said José

At that time, Guerra received a call for legal medicine indicating that the toxicology test
showed tetryzoline, a substance found in eye drops.

Act three

Someone had poisoned Professor Adrian, but who. Guerra continued the conversation with
José.

-About this sister, how can I communicate with her? –Guerra asked

- I know that you already questioned her -José replied

-How come? What are you talking about? I have talked with two young ladies, the secretary
and the assistant.-replied Guerra

-That is her, Sofia is his sister, she did not tell you. How strange, maybe she wants to keep the
secret because he was the one who helped her get this job.- José added

-Let me tell you we found a note that said “I'll miss you.” With the initial S.V. Do you know
anything about it? "Asked Guerra.

-Well, Sofia is ready to get married and moved in with her fiancé a month ago. Yesterday she
returned the house key to Adrian. It was very sad, because by this time, they got along very
well and Adrián considers his little nephew as a son. He felt that he was alone again.-José told
Guerra

-I thank you for your time, I will talk to my colleagues so that they can speed up the process
and tomorrow you can receive the body of the professor.-added Guerra
The detective began to analyze all the information he had obtained and how it was related
with the clues he found.

First, the note with initials S.V. was from Sofia who turned out to be his sister, but why did she
keep the secret?

The pen of Professor José hanging from one of his pockets, he allegedly borrowed after the
signing of the new contract.

-The coffee stain- Guerra mumbled

He had a fresh coffee stain and all the offices were closed except his. However, Silvia told him
that they ran out of coffee yesterday morning. Something did not fit, why Miss Velez lied to
him. He decided to visit Silvia again.

"Excuse me for interrupting you," Guerra said.

-Don’t worry, how can I help you? - added Silvia

- Did Professor Adrián have the keys to some other office?-Guerra asked

-No, just this one. Why?-Silvia replied

Guerra notice that Silvia got nervous; she was moving her feet and biting her lip.

- Could you help me with a coffee, please?-Guerra asked her

-Sure, but you have to wait for me. As I said, we ran out of coffee yesterday.-Silvia said

-How is that possible if the teacher had a fresh stain of coffee, when they found his body?-
Guerra questioned

-Maybe he bought it in some cafeteria. –Silvia said.

-I notice that there is an empty bottle of eye drops near the coffee maker. Can you explain
what is this medicine doing here?-Guerra asked Silvia

-They belonged to teacher Adrian. He had sore eyes from being in front of the computer all
day.-Silvia said

-Do you know what is tetryzoline?-Guerra asked

-How would I know, I study administration, not pharmacology.-Silvia replied very angry

-How do you know it is a drug?-Guerra inquired

- A friend of mine studies nursing, she was reading about that drug for her examination.-Silvia
answered

-Did you know that tetryzoline in doses greater than 10 ml can cause cardiorespiratory failure?
In addition, that tetryzoline is the main component of eye drops.-Guerra told her

-Well, I did not know, and why you have tell me that.-Silvia said

-That was the drug they found in Professor Adrián's blood test. Why don't you confess that you
were the one who murdered Professor Adrián. -Guerra told Silvia
-How can you think of it? That is a lie. I held him in high esteem. Why would I want to harm
him.-Silvia cried

-I don't know, you tell me. Before the teacher's death, the guards saw a person running out of
the infirmary, and just your friend works there. Let's not waste any more time, tell me what
really happened. I assure you that the judge will consider your cooperation.-Guerra insisted

-I didn't want to kill him, I really appreciated him- Silvia said to him while crying- the professor
was thinking about managing without my job for his new position and I only wanted him to
feel sick so he would be absent and showed him I was too important to get rid of. A month
ago, I heard from my friend Nicole who is studying nursing that the eye drops caused
discomfort, but nothing serious.

-So it was you who entered the infirmary and took those drops?-Guerra asked

-Yes, I was very scared. I need the money. Nobody knows this, but I am pregnant. I had only
told Professor Adrián when I knew his decision of firing me.-Silvia said

-Obviously, you got angry when you knew he would suspend your work.-Guerra told Silvia

-How not to feel angry with him, if he knew how much I needed this job and still did not touch
his heart to kick me out. I tried to reason with him, but he got angry with me and told me to
look after my health and my baby. He said it was time to be responsible and he wouldn´t help
anymore because I had disappointed him. I yelled at him and he got offended. –Silvia said

Can you tell me how this mess happened?-Guerra asked

Silvia told Guerra- Everybody knows that sometimes I sleep here because of my research. It
was never a plan. I called him around 10 pm to tell him I was feeling sick and I was worried
about my baby, so he came to help me. I was crying when he arrived. He offered me some tea,
but he had forgotten his keys so I lent him the women’s restroom keys to get water. While he
was preparing the tea, I told him I needed to go to the restroom that´s when I ran to the
infirmary to get the drops. When he wasn’t looking, I pour the content of the medicine in his
cup and I prepared a coffee. Nevertheless, it was never my intention to kill him. When I saw he
started feeling ill, I walked with him to the restroom to make him vomit. I knew everything got
wrong. In the hurry, I leaned over the mirror, but he was too heavy for me so I broke the
mirror by accident. When he stopped breathing, I ran away. I am very sorry. I swear, I don't
know how all this happened.