Room 4 was just off the entrance to the Dining Car. With little time to waste, I entered through an unlocked door.

The room had been turned upside down.

Emilia’s bed lay on its side, thrown against the western wall like a heap of scrap metal. A blue comforter was spread across the floor in the center of the room. Dozens of white fabric squares–the remains of what had once been her bed sheets– lay on top of it.

What could be the meaning of this chaos?

Poking my head into the closet, her nightstand had been shoved inside. A pry bar rested against the wall with a bag of nails sitting next to it.

Turning from the closet to face the center of the room, I saw them: sitting at one end of the comforter were the three Aztec artifacts. The first, a feathered ritual mask, had been split in two, as if peeled like a banana. Next to it, what looked to be an ornate stone calendar had been hollowed out and now lay empty on the blanket. The last was a clay jar. Once sealed with wax, it was open and tipped on its side.

My thoughts raced as I knelt to take a closer look. Each had traces of dark, sticky resin within their inner chambers; a similar residue was found on the blanket. 

Just above a pile of Emilia’s clothes, a small, black safe jutted from the wall. Jiggling the handle, I found it to be securely locked.