Thankless in Death

invalid—it’s over a year out of date. The clerk didn’t check that or notice.”
    “What time did he check out?”
    “Officially, he hasn’t. But we did a room check at six P.M ., as he’d only paid for a day room. He wasn’t in residence, nor were his things.”
    “Let me see the feed for thirty minutes before he caught the cab.”
    Wurtz ordered the time to run.
    “Speed it up.” She watched, scanned. “Stop it there. In the suit now, no suitcases, just the duffel. He’d been in and out at least once between check-in and this. I’ll need a copy of the full day. Is the room he used occupied?”
    “No. We have it open.”
    “I want to see it.”
    “Right away. It’s very disturbing.” With nervous fingers, Wurtz tugged at his tie. “I wouldn’t like our guests to be made aware he was on premises.”
    “I’m not going to make an announcement. Let’s see the room.”

    “It’s on twelve.”
    He showed them out, gestured toward the elevators. “I’ll take you in, then unless you need me, I’ll go arrange for the disc copies.”
    “That works. I’ll also need a list of names. Who checked him in, if anyone helped with his bags, the doorman who got him the cab, anyone else on staff who had direct contact with him.”
    “I’ll see you have it.”
    He let them into the room on twelve, hurried away.
    “Has to cover his ass—or other asses as he wasn’t on,” Eve commented. “The expired ID should’ve been questioned, and he doesn’t look like Mal Golde. Same age, sure, basically the same height maybe, but that’s it. The clerk wasn’t paying attention so he got lucky again. He doesn’t check out so nobody pays attention. Just a day room for cash, his version of a flop.”
    She glanced around the streamlined, efficient space. Lots of tile and shiny silver—high-energy colors, its own business center and minikitchen.
    She’d have the sweepers go over it, but didn’t expect much.
    “Just a place to stay for a few hours while he ran errands, made plans, showered, changed into his new suit. We’ll see him going out with the suitcases again—who notices that in a hotel lobby, but he’s worked out where he’ll try to sell what he didn’t liquidate on Sunday. Takes it out, or pieces of it. Does some selling, does some buying. The suit, maybe, more clothes, the duffel, the bat. Need the duffel for the bat.”
    She wandered as she thought it through. “In and out, using this as a temporary home base. Jewelry stores, secondhand stores, pawnshops, selling, trading. Even the suitcases at one point, and probably at least some of his old clothes. Shedding it all now, for profit.

    “Then, all done, he just walks out of here, catches a cab, and goes down to kill Lori Nuccio.”
    She paced circles in the top-flight business-style suite. “Shopping bags. He’s bound to have come back with shopping bags, so we’ll see where he went at least.”
    She rubbed fatigue from her eyes. “Look, I’m going to go ahead and review the discs back at Central, catch a couple hours in the crib.”
    “I have a better idea. I had them hold us a room at The Manor, it’s close enough. You can review the discs there and we can both catch a couple of hours in a room that doesn’t include Peabody, McNab, and potentially other cops.”
    It was the room without other cops that decided her. “Sold.”

10
    THE ROOM AT THE MANOR SOOTHED WITH warm, deep colors, soft fabrics and thick, age-faded rugs over the gleam of hardwood.
    Over a small stone fireplace a wide-framed mirror reflected the style and dignity of the parlor. And at the touch of a button inside a wall niche, the mirror wavered away into the dark surface of a screen.
    “Well, that’s … pretty frosty,” Eve decided.
    “Manor guests prefer the look of Old World, with the convenience of the new. We’ve blended them wherever we can.”
    She needed the screen to view the security discs, but there were other priorities. “Does that include an AutoChef with decent coffee?”
    “It does, but we’ve both caffeinated enough at this point. I’ll make a deal,” he said before she could argue. “If you find something you can move on tonight, I’ll load us both up.”

    It was probably fair. She didn’t like it, but it was probably fair.
    While she sulked over that, he went through a doorway, came back a few moments later with two tall glasses of water with a slice of lemon in each.
    “Really?”
    “Yes.” He kissed her nose.