The woman finally answered the door. She was about fifty and scowled at them.
“Sorry, ma’am, for disturbing you. I’m Detective Holmes, and I need to hear what happened to you when the man broke into your room.”
“He said you were coming, but I already told him everything.” She motioned to Roland.
“Yes, ma’am. He said you were in the bathroom—”
“Showering. And I climbed out and heard someone rummaging through my drawers. I didn’t unpack. I was only staying here the night, then spending a few days with my mother, then leaving. Like I told the officer, I got in too late to see her. My mother goes to bed early and there’s no waking her once she goes to sleep. Anyway, ever since that case where the man broke into the woman’s room while she was in the shower, when I go to shower, I always close the bathroom door, meant to lock it too, and I keep my jewelry and phone in there. Just in case. I should have brought my purse into the bathroom too. I had ordered a meal and forgot to bar the door afterward.”
“So he didn’t take anything else but the money and your driver’s license?”
“No. All I had was a few articles of clothing. Nothing in that.”
“And you didn’t see him. You didn’t get a glimpse of him in the mirror…”
“No. My bathroom door was closed. There was no way I was going to open it to get a glimpse of him.”
“Okay, thanks. We’ve got your contact information, and we’ll let you know what happens.”
“It’s bad enough he took my cash and credit card. I’ve already canceled it. But it really pisses me off that he took my driver’s license.”
“What about your car keys?”
Her jaw dropped. “Aw, just great.” She searched through her purse. “Nope, they’re gone.”
“You live four hours from here?”
“Yeah, I’m a librarian. I had to work the rest of the day before I could travel, and I didn’t get off until six.”
“What’s the make and model of your car?” Adam asked.
“A 2018 Ford Capri. Red.” She gave him her license plate number.
“Where did you park, ma’am?” Adam asked.
“Out front.” She went to the back patio, unlocked it, and peered over the balcony.
They followed her onto the balcony and looked at the parking lot.
“It was right there”—she pointed to an empty parking spot—“in between that white van and that blue pickup truck.”
Roland had an APB put out on it.
The woman returned to the room and sat down hard on the bed.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We’ll do everything we can to get your things back.”
“The money’s gone. I won’t get that back.”
“We’ll get him.” Adam gave her his card and he and Roland left.
Roland said, “Hell, I didn’t think about her car keys. I should have thought of that.”
“You called me right away. Maybe we’ll get lucky. But that makes me wonder if he had an accomplice with him. Or if he had been dropped off. Or—”
“If his vehicle is still in the parking lot!”
“Exactly.”
“I checked the video security to see what he looked like, but he was wearing a baseball cap and was keeping his face hidden from the cameras when he was getting his key.”
“And when he left the hotel?” Adam asked.
“I didn’t see the same guy leave.”
“So he was wearing something different.” Adam would check the video to see for himself what the guy looked like. At least now that they knew he’d stolen the woman’s car and where it had been, maybe Adam could see him taking it.
They arrived downstairs to see Sierra talking to the desk clerk. He had figured she would be done by now.
She turned to see Adam and Roland. “The lady says that one of their staff was seen flirting with this guy earlier today.”
“Just like what happened before. These men have a way with women,” Adam said.
“Not all women,” Sierra said.
Adam agreed and reviewed the security videos. “Yeah, here he is running out of the hotel.”
“Light brown hair,” Sierra said. “Tall, gangly, not muscular. And you know what? He looks like the man who kidnapped Melissa and brought her to my house, based on Melissa’s description of him.”
“From the video, you can see he took the guest’s car here.” Adam pointed to the video. “He was wearing a hoodie then. We need to see what he was driving before that or who had driven him here.”
“There. An older car parked and he got out…right there,” Sierra said.
Roland and another patrolman immediately headed out the door.
“You ought to be a detective. Let me see the sketch you did,” Adam said.
She smiled and showed him the sketch. “He is the same man who was at my house.”
“I agree. And he’s back to their old tricks.”
“It was easy money. I guess they felt they could get away with it again.” Sierra sounded disgruntled.
“He got money, the guest’s credit card, her driver’s license, and her car, so he did, essentially. But these guys won’t lie low and we’ll catch them before long.”
Roland stalked back into the hotel lobby. “We’ve got the car. A 2010 red Toyota Corolla.”
“Have it impounded and check for prints. We might just get a hit on the car, if nothing else.”
“I ran it through the system. It belongs to a Lonnie Hicks. He’s the guy we have in jail for stealing the boat and selling it to Rivers.”
“Home address?” Adam asked.
“Yes, sir.”
Adam glanced down at Sierra. She looked tired. “I can have an officer take you back to my place.”
“No, we’ll do this together.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
Roland and another officer drove to the address where the car was registered, Adam and Sierra following behind them.
“I’ll need you to stay in the vehicle, Sierra.”
She sighed. “Of course. Just be careful. If you get shot before we go to bed tonight, I’ll be more than upset.”
He smiled at her. “Believe me, I will too.”