Murder in the Alley

Chapter Five-Forensics

The next morning Leisia had let the police complete a forensics investigation in the room. The lodger, Mr. Sessions, lived with a woman and a child. She had come a few months prior to his death to live with him bringing a child.  No one knew who she was.  Plus no one asked as well.  When the police came to his hotel room after identifying his body she wasn’t there.  The front desk had seen her leave the room prior with the baby. She had called a cab and it was waiting for her outside the front of the hotel.  There was a baby bag, her purse, and an older woman. All got into the vehicle and drove off. 

The hotel management was not happy to let them in.  The manager said to the officer, “I run a clean establishment now.  Too many cops after the last one.  That girl we got working here- not one lick of trouble out of her.  She is in school and finished.  Going to night school but virtually.  Says she knows too many people.  Say you don’t think she is involved?”  When the manager was done talking, the officer looked at him with a steady gaze and quietly shook his head no in response to the question. But that was all. The officer whose name was Officer Vitale gestured to the door and requested that he “Open it.”  Grumbling to himself the hotel manager complied. Thanking him the officer went inside the hotel room and stated to the manager, “I have several other officers coming. Please direct them all to this room.  One is going to request your hotel records regarding this room and if you have any camera-recorded video. Oh, and can you bring me a soda. Ginger ale would be nice.  It’s $1.00, correct?” Waiting for his nod he smiled and gave the manager the money in all quarters.  “Please bring it back or send it with one of the officers.”  Then the officer went inside and closed the door.

Quickly looking around the officer had put on his feet the white booties prior to entering the room.  He also made sure to have on latex gloves as well. Taking his flashlight and turning it on he quickly glanced under the bed, in the closet and drawers, and in the bathroom. He could see that some of the officers had already been there. He had dropped his bag outside the door; in it he had a black light.  A black-light allowed him to see if any bloodstains were in the room.  It hit upon several. All in the bathroom and a few on the mattress and one in a baby crib. Immediately he called his precinct and asked for the hospitals to be called to see if anyone had checked in from the hotel and gave the room number.  Also, he gave the name but did caution that the same name might not be used.  Hanging up the phone he then went to the bag and pulled out a cotton swab, sandwich bag, and a vial with a snap cap to place the sample that he picked up in. After collecting samples from all the bloodstains and marking all of them with little red-flagged evidence popsicle sticks, he then went to check the remainder of the room again.  Taking pictures, he stored the camera in an evidence bag as well. Mr. Sessions had left clothes, computers (2 laptops), cell phone; a cooler full of drinks and bills, and mail. By the time Officer Vitale was done, the rest of the forensic crew showed up at the hotel room. Sandy, who was the M.E., showed up but no one said anything.  Once he had seen the blood, he just wanted her opinion.  He thought it wasn’t enough for him to consider a dead body had been moved. But the M.E. Sandy would be able to tell.  Officer Michaels was the photographer, Officer Jones was the bagger and Detective Steve showed up to supervise if needed.

Quickly and efficiently the team went through the hotel room.  The sheets were bagged and tagged after the bloodstain was inspected.  The bedding the baby was in was inspected, bagged, and tagged marked immediate for the M.E. The bathroom was interesting because the tub was a smorgasbord of different blood types and some mildew.  Otherwise, it was clean. The toothbrushes were put in bags and tagged specimen one and specimen two. The hairbrush had hairs taken from the brush but otherwise, it would be left in the room.  The comb as well.  The clothes were looked at and the men’s clothing was taken bagged and tagged for comparison with the clothes taken off the dead body.  Nothing else in the room spoke of an identity.  The office equipment was used that morning as it was still warm. The telephone had a blinking light, so a message was waiting. The television channel last watched appeared to be the weather channel.  As they were glancing through the last weeks’ worth of television shows watched there was a knock on the hotel room door. The hotel manager was standing on the other side with more paperwork for Officer Vitale.  “Excuse me he said. I had to find the rest of what you wanted.  Mr. Sessions has lived at this hotel for a long time. He signed a rental agreement to use this room drawn up by the attorney for the hotel and the town. “Laughing, he continued, “Not sure why the city got involved.  Anyway, the bills as I stated to your other officer were always paid on time and in cash. He only paid by credit card one time and that was when he started living here. This is that receipt. They didn’t employ a computer then.  It was all paper.  Here is his original check-in, his original credit card receipt, and his original check-out.  Soon after he checked out for about two months, he checked back in.  With him, he had three people.  The other three people only stayed one night.  A lot of yelling and talking was happening from all accounts. We have several complaints all included in this file. But what I wanted to make sure you understood was this ledger.  He drew it up and had us keep it for his entire stay here. “The manager got quiet and contemplative.  He motioned to see if he could sit down on one of the chairs if it was okay and the crew said he had to stay outside. So, he turned to Officer Vitale and asked, “Could we continue this in my office?  I have a bad back so…”  Officer Vitale nodded and, on his way out said to Sandy, “Sandy makes sure the crew finishes up quickly and gets this down to the station. The blood I recovered is in the bin there.”  Sandy smiled and nodded.

            As they walked down the hall, the officer observed the hotel manager.  He walked with a limp just like the front desk person the other day. The two women who worked her Leisia, Steve’s girlfriend, and Nikki, who also lived at the hotel, did not. However, the two only worked the front desk and did not clean the hotel. It was his understanding that the hotel manager sometimes did clean the hotel rooms. When both men got to the office he was ushered in and told to take a seat. Once he was seated the door to the office was closed just enough to allow a sliver of light.  The manager went to the side table and poured himself some water, turned, and asked, “Do you want some water officer?”  When he shook his head and the manager said, “Ok. I need water.  It helps keep me cool and hydrated.” Sighing he sat down and relaxed.  It seemed like a good fifteen minutes had passed before he spoke but in reality, it was probably only five. Pushing a manila folder across the table, he started to speak. “When Mr. Sessions first came here, he was extremely paranoid. He feared everyone that walked through that door whether it was to see him or not.  The police got so frustrated that they took him into the psych ward for evaluation and a 24- or less-hour hold.”  Stopping to take a few sips of water he continued. “I didn’t know it at the time, but he originally checked in for his family’s protection. He was the last son and heir I was told.  Not sure if that is true. The police were with him when he checked in. The ledger was their idea. “Quickly opening the folder, Officer Vitale could see dates, times, and names all with symbols after them. Continuing, “The purpose was to see if the person who threatened his family and torched his parent’s office decided to go after him.”  Still confused he looked at the list until he saw one name there-Richardson, Kyle.  Age: 15 Date:  N/A.  Growling he waited for him to finish.  “I heard the growl. Did you read the N/A?  Yeah, well any children were listed with the age but not the date of the visit.  That was at Mr. Sessions' request.  No one knew why.  Turns out that all were supposed to be in school at the time.  They cut class to see him.  There are several more like that.  Look I don’t know if any of that is helpful now, but it might be. It is current up to three days ago.”  After finishing he waited for the officer to say something.  All he said was “Thanks.  I will look at this and return it when done. We might make copies so be aware of it. Any other questions the detectives will contact you. Thanks for your cooperation.”