After a week of sun, snorkeling, boogie boarding in the exotic vacation land of Cancun, Mexico, we were ready to head home.

We have to line up to board the airplane outside of the gate and it took forever for the airplane gate to open.  I noticed there was a skinny Mexican guy in front of us.  He struck a lively conversation with a group of American female tourists.  I marveled at how easily he talked with them about himself, his family and what he was going to do in America, and I reflected that I was never at ease to talk to someone that I did not know well.

Soon, we settled in the airplane and the airplane took off.  A lot of people took out their laptops and games to get on their business.  A man with a laptop approached us, he showed us a picture on his laptop and said excitedly:”see, you are in our pictures”.  It was a picture taken in a restaurant in Cancun that we enjoyed so much.  The waiter made fresh guacamole in front of us and it was the first time we saw the actual process of making guacamole.  I guess the man took his family’s picture while dining in the same restaurant.  Now, seeing us in the same airplane and reviewing the pictures, he and his kids recognized us and were very excited to show us the picture.

After a while, the captain announced that a lady’s purse was reported missing and he cautioned everyone to watch his/her belongings closely to avoid the same thing happening.  I noticed that the man showed us the pictures was very busy going up and down the aisle and I was wondering  probably he was just taking care of some personal business like the rest of us do.

Before the airplane landed at SF international airport, the captain announced that the thief was caught and policemen will come on board to escort him off and asked us to remain seated till the man was cleared. 

To my surprise, the man that was escorted off the plane was the man that talked lively with the American female tourists. And the man that solved the mystery was the man that showed us his family picture with us in the back ground.  The man actually was a detective in San Francisco Police Department.  Everyone on the airplane gave him a round of applause after the thief was escorted off.  His detective instinct still works during his family vacation. Solute to the detective for his dedication for his line of duty.