Page 40 of Last Seen Alive
“I can help with both, but I’m going to need a warrant.”
That word seemed to summon a broad-shouldered man in his fifties from a back office to join the clerk at the desk. “Is there a problem here?”
“No problem.” Amanda lifted her badge for the new arrival. She ran through the highlights after he introduced himself as the manager.
“Yes, as you were just told, we’ll need a warrant first, but then we’ll be happy to assist.”
“Thank you.”
“Uh-huh.”
Amanda and Trent stepped back outside. The day was getting away from them, and it was nearing four in the afternoon. She made a call to Sergeant Graves to fill her in on their progress and added, “I’d like to contact Judge Anderson for a verbal warrant so Detective Stenson and I can move on this immediately.”
“Do what you must.” With that, Graves hung up.
“She’s a piece of work, I tell you.”
“No need to tell me.” He’d just ended a call too, but his was to Hans Rideout. “Rideout’s going to reach out to Michelle and set up a time for her to ID Claire.”
She nodded, almost absentmindedly. Her empathy going even more to Trent in this moment. She knew what it was like needing to notify a friend. She’d been in that exact position only a few months ago. “You all right?”
“I’ll be fine. It is what it is, right? I mean all we can do now is get answers. Give Shell and Logan closure.”
She squeezed his shoulder, offering comfort and reassurance, but she felt another energy surging beneath her hand.Chemistry?She drew back.
FIFTEEN
After making a call to the judge for a verbal warrant, Amanda and Trent went back inside to inform the hotel manager and his clerk. “We’ll need to start with the room number assigned to Deb Smith,” she said.
“Room eight fifty-two.” The clerk handed her a key card.
“Thanks. And while we’re up there, if you could get a list of the times she left and returned, along with the video for us to take, that would be great.” It could be a painful process for her and Trent to wade through, but it might give them a solid lead.
“I’ll write down what I remember,” the clerk responded.
“One more thing before we head up,” Trent interjected. “Did Ms.Smith receive any calls to her room or make any?”
Good thinking, Trent…
The clerk went to the computer, where the system must log incoming and outgoing calls. Made sense, as they’d need to know when long-distance charges applied. “Looks like she received one Wednesday afternoon around four. Don’t know fromwho, but I have a phone number I can give you.” The clerk prattled it off, and Trent scribbled it down in his notepad.
“Thanks.” Trent tucked his book into his pocket again.
She and Trent left the manager and clerk and went up to room 852.
“We’ll need to figure out who that number belongs to.” A no-brainer and not even worth saying. She wasn’t sure why but she felt on edge with Trent since their visit to the Maxwells, like she had to smooth things over with him. She just didn’t have a clue how, and really, it wasn’t her job to make sure he was okay.
The elevator pinged their arrival on the eighth floor. Signs on the wall directed them left to reach number 852, and they found it about midway down the hall.
She slid the key card into the reader, the light flashed green, and she twisted the handle. They were in. But what they were inforremained to be seen.
Straight across from the door was a window. Its drapes were open, but the sheers were drawn and the late afternoon sun was diffused. Amanda flipped the light switch next to her, and the shadows crept into the corners of the room to nest.
They both gloved up, though what remained was already potentially compromised as the cleaning staff had been here since Claire last left. She went into the bathroom while Trent spread out into the main part of the room.
She turned the light on in the bathroom and looked at the vanity. A cosmetic bag, a bottle of hairspray, perfume. The items were all gathered together and took up little counter space. Either the work of the maid, or Claire liked her things tight and organized.
She looked inside the bag, but it only contained makeup. She exited the bathroom. “Nothing exciting in there.”
