Only one person stood out besides Noorhan, the owner of the Shell/7Eleven Gas Convenience store stop. Only one not Indian owned, The Lodger always went to that Shell for gas, food and to stock up on junk food. None of the other stores had seen him. All his receipts were from that store. The owner never knew where he came from either. Just that one time he came in and was distracted, upset. But he didn’t remember what the cause was. However, he was kind enough to let them look through the old footage of security for the week of the murder. The police also had that and now Leisia and Steve were looking through it.
Since the two weren’t at the police station, Steve was more relaxed both in dress and in manner. Laughing to himself, he couldn’t believe what they thought of him at the station, considering he was the more relaxed of the two. At least he thought so. When needed he would wear a tie, but it was not his idea of comfortability. Not only could he wear sweatpants and swea
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Finally, they got the killer of the Lodger. It was in the evidence and in the footage surrounding the convenience store. No one could find a reason for the murder. No robbery, no fight and no immediate phone call that caused him to do something rash before the murder. His wife stated that he was gone on business a lot. So, nothing stood out.Steve found it after Leisia showed him a receipt. It was the day of the murder. But not at the usual place. He actually had just bought food at the restaurant that Marisol breastfed her baby on the date the body was found in the alley. It was enough for two. He had planned to go to his wife.So, Steven and another officer went back to the restaurant to speak to the owner. He said they had an employee let go that day. He was let go for stealing guests’ personal and banking information. He had apparently been running a scam using their credit cards that he got from when they paid their bill. But as far as he knew the guy hadn&r
He walked into the alley to relieve himself on the way to the car. No way was he going back to that restaurant. As he zipped his pants up, turned, and walked back to the alleyway opening, he felt a searing pain on his body. Turning, he saw a flash and stumbled backward out of the alley. A faint scream was heard by him before death claimed him. He died before he hit the ground. Not many people were around to see him die except for the set of friends out for a walk. Those two would and could always find trouble even if they were sleeping on a trip for vacation-and have. Both Steve and Abdul thought their respective wife and significant other would be safe-they had just had babies. What could happen when out for a walk with their daughters?
Marisol and Leisia were out doing their early evening walk with their daughters, Mayra and Reyna. It was a nightly occurrence in late spring and all throughout summer. It stopped when the weather got cold in the fall. This would be their last evening walk into downtown. The two women were talking quietly to each other. Dressed identically in flare blue jeans and sweaters with tennis shoes, the two carried diaper bags and purses. Each had an infant asleep in a stroller. Marisol said, "Thank God Mayra finally dozed off." Leisia laughed, "Reyna too. I think they are on the same timetable. I told Nikki that. You know what she said, 'In seven months-time that be me'. " Marisol smirked," I told you she was preggers, but did you listen…No!" "Well," I said, "it's ten times harder now school, work, and a baby. Nikki said I know but I can handle it. I told her I hope so." "Leisia, you worry too much." Then, they walked in silence as they passed
Beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in sight as Marisol and Mayra gazed outside their window seat in the living room. Mayra's personality was showing more. Mayra smiled when she heard Mommy or Daddy, Abdul. She smiled when she heard you say Grandma and frown if she doesn't see Grandma. As Marisol held Mayra up so she could look out the window, the phone rang. She sat her daughter down on the sofa and went to answer the telephone. On the third ring, she answered. "Hello?" "Hey, girl. It's Nikki and I want to come over. We, Leisia and I, have the day off because the boss man hired someone new. Is it okay?" "Sure girl. Mayra and I would love company. We could sit out on the porch and have tea and scones." Says Marisol. Leisia jumped into the conversation and said, "Good. Listen, Nikki has been reading up on the murder. She wanted to tell you some information-think she told the police or Steve." "Oh well okay okay." They both said goodbye and hung up
Abdul comes home and he's angry at John because John didn't pay him his royalties for the song, they had released a year ago. He was on the phone yelling when he walked into the house. He said, "Look John I am home, and Marisol is waiting for dinner." “Hey, sweet pea”, says Abdul as he picks up Mayra. She bounces up and down as he holds her. Today she found his nose. Daddy said, "Don't pick my nose, Mayra." Marisol, said, "She's too young. Keep repeating it.” "You fed her?" asked Abdul. "Yes," said Marisol. As they sat down to eat, Abdul observed Marisol. She looked drained. He knew she was worried about how they were going to make it. He'd lost another job and no royalties had been paid. Bills were piling up. He looked down as his eyes filled with tears. All his hard work was for nothing. His mother would have been proud of him. Bought a house for his family which he paid for without too much assistance. Maintained for a year but now his past
The three women met up after Nikki’s ultrasound that morning for Starbucks, in Linden at Aviation Plaza. Nikki ordered a venti Vanilla Crème hot. Leisia ordered a venti Café Americano hot. And Marisol ordered venti Vanilla Chai tea. The babies were with the babysitter. After paying for their order, they decided to sit at an inside table until their orders were filled; then go outside to sit at their favorite spot. They had to drive to it but today the girls changed their mind and went to sit on the car top. Leisia spoke up saying, “A couple of months back in the end of November, the lodger, as Mr. Sessions was called, had a package delivered right before he left. When asked if he wanted it stored, Mr. Sessions said no. But a strange thing happened before it was delivered. I told him, ‘A call came through to verify his location. The man on the phone said needed to verify the room number but he wouldn’t give the company information.’ So,
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 to
The body of the lodger as he was called was brought in and placed in the morgue waiting to be autopsied. The police gave Sandy the bag which carried his personal effects. She shook her head and sighed, saying to the dead man, “Not sure why you were murdered but we are definitely going to find out what happened.” Quickly going over the notes from the crime scene, she notes that in the bag was his wallet. Spying his driver’s license, she got his full name: Mr. Leonard Sessions. He was 45 years old and not in bad shape. Inside his wallet, she found money in the amount of $1,000.00. His credit cards were also intact. Also contained in the plastic evidence bag were a cellular phone-the latest model Samsung S-series and an awfully expensive coat. Prior to moving on, she attempted to take fingerprints off the coat, wallet, driver’s license, credit card, and cellular phone. She would match them with the fingerprints if any were on the corpse. The process was slow and painstaking as she want