Light Recreation

Later, Harry was taking a walk around the streets at the police station. The wind was clearing the clouds from the sky and the sun came out. Harry was thinking - and having a short chat with Mr Cooper, who was always happy to have some company.

After a while, Harry went to get himself a sandwich at a nearby shop and sat down in the warm sunlight under an almost bare tree. So, what did they have so far? A very healthy old man, killed in the middle of the night with a pair of hedge clippers by his gardening bot in his glass house. A large number of shredded flowers and a stolen paper weight, stolen from the dead man's office. And then there was the confusing information from the wildlife drones. And Mr Wong, who obviously had taken care of having a good alibi for the time when the crime had happened.

There must have been something they had missed. After a while he sighed and got up and went back to the police station. He took the short ride down on the lift and checked the board in the bland grey corridor with the black doors of the holo suites. He was lucky to find one currently empty and not booked for another half hour. After he loaded the drone coverage from the crime scene in the computer at the door, Harry entered. Behind him the door closed automatically and merged with the surroundings.

Harry was back under the blue and yellow dome of the glass house, which was submerged in white fog. In front of him, there was Henry Morgenstern lying on the gound in his red morning gown and striped pyjamas. The floor was covered in blue petals, chopped green leaves and stems. Broken flowerpots and soil were lying next to their tables. Harry told the computer to remove the body. He crouched down to the floor, looking at what that was lying there. Everything was a mess of blue and green flower parts, sprinkled on the ground like confetti. The flowers had not simply been knocked over, they had been shredded.

Harry went on to remove all the plant parts and soil, leaving him with a dark grey metal floor full of potting mix for orchids and parts of pots. Of course, the tables with their elegant cast iron legs,were also still there.

Finally, Harry also removed the tables and was left with the clean metal floor below and the coloured glass roof above him. He sighed in frustration. Nothing. He was left with a very nice and clean greenhouse and had found nothing. Just as he was about to leave and shut down the program he suddenly saw it: scratch marks on the floor. He crouched down to examine them. They seemed to be a result of repeated movement and started just where two floor panels met each other.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door of the holo suite and a male voice reminded Harry that there was a reservation for its use for this time.

'Just give me another minute, please!'

Harry got down on all fours and looked all over the floor. He was certain. There was something... and then suddenly the metal floor he was inspecting was replaced with a red carpet with a pattern that was as charming as the design of a seat in public transport. The glass house was replaced with what seemed to be the interior of a cheap hotel room with ochre-coloured walls and flower curtains.. The whole place was kind of a mess with sheets on the floor and suspiciously bloody footprints leading out of the bathroom. Harry groaned, got up from the floor and left the holo suite just as three people entered from the grey corridor.

Tavaron