The man started to return to the back room when a car pulled up. As Dean began to search the cards, a teenaged boy entered with a girl no more than 16 or 17 hanging on his arm. The boy asked for a room and paid for it in cash, getting the last two dollars from the girl.
"I suppose you folks are on your way for a vacation in Florida and just stopped off for the night," the man said with mock innocence.
"Yeah," the boy said with a smile. "We're just a couple of tourists." The girl giggled, clinging tighter to his arm.
"Are you sure you don't need some help with all your luggage?" They all had a good laugh over that too, all but Dean. It wasn't that they didn't do the same stuff when Dean was young, but at least back then the girl stayed in the car.
After the young couple took their key and fairly skipped away, the old man retreated to the back room, leaving Dean alone with the stack of registration forms. After ten minutes he had found 14 cards for March fourth. One of the three 'Smiths' of the group listed his auto registration with the telltale 'SXX.' The last three digits were similar, but different. The number in the party was listed as one.
Dean could not tell from the writing if it compared to the signature Jeffrey Byrne left on the many expense forms Dean had reviewed-it was only a scrawl. He checked the room number and searched the cards until he found the occupants of the two adjoining rooms. There were three in all-Room 15, to the left, had been rented twice. There was a Smith and a Jones, each with local addresses that sounded fake, and Zeke Ambrowski of Raleigh, North Carolina. All three rentals listed two occupants. Dean copied the information from the forms, including the license numbers, and then rang the bell summoning the manager.
"I'm interested in this guy," he said, showing the car that listed the license number beginning 'SXX.'
"Oh sure, Mr. Smith," the night manager grinned. "We get lots of his relatives too-the whole Smith family."
"There are 14 cards for the fourth of March. This place only has 12 units."
"So, we do a good business. We advertise."
"In all the high school yearbooks?" Dean asked.
"Funny. Look, some folks check out early. What's the heat if I double rent once in awhile? A guy has to make a buck."
"It's against the law."
"So's spitting on the sidewalk. It's a bullshit law," he said defensively. "I change the sheets. The place is clean."