The Vanished Man (Lincoln Rhyme 5)

"This Constable case's full-up tough as this one." Nodding at the whiteboards.

Another knock on the front door.

Armed with a large coffee cup Kara walked into the room, looking more tired and haggard than the policewomen.

Sellitto was delivering a monologue about new techniques for weight loss when his Jenny Craig lecture was interrupted by yet another phone call.

"Lincoln?" the voice crackled through the speakerphone. "Bedding here. We think we've narrowed the key down to three hotels. Reason it took so long--"

The voice of his partner, Saul, interrupted. "Turns out that a lot of monthly and long-term hotels use card keys too."

"Not to mention hourly rate places. But that's a whole 'nother story."

"We had to check them all out. Anyway, that's what we found. It's probably, I say, probably, either the Chelsea Lodge, the Beckman or the . . . what is it?"

"Or the Lanham Arms," his partner supplied.

"Right. They're the only ones using this color Model 42. We're at the Beckman now. Thirty-four and Fifth. We're about to start trying it out."

"What do you mean trying it out?" Rhyme called.

"How d'I put this?" Bedding or Saul wondered. "The keys work one way but not the other."

"How's that?" Rhyme asked.

"See, only the lock unit on the hotel room door can read a key. The machine at the front desk that burns the room codes onto a blank key can't read one that's already been burned and tell you what room it is."

"Why not? That's crazy."

"Nobody ever needs to know that."

"Except us, of course, which is why we have to go from door to door and try them all."

"Shit," Rhyme snapped.

"Summarizes our feelings too," one of the detectives said.

Sellitto asked, "Okay. You need more people?"

"Nup. We can only do one door at a time. No other way to do it. And if there's a new guest in the room--"

"--this card'll be invalid. Which won't improve our moods any."

"Say, gentlemen?" Bell said into the phone.

"Hey there, Roland."

"We recognized the accent."

"You said the Lanham Arms. Where is that?"

"East Seventy-five. Near Lex."

"Something familiar 'bout the name. Can't quite place it." Bell was frowning, shaking his head.

"That's next on our list."

"After the Beckman."