What bread crumbs would this person have left behind?

[neorxnawang]

I'm writing something set in the modern day and am scratching my head about how to cover my "clue tree" bases.

A is a rogue law enforcement agent fighting a Mythos threat. She's pretty smart but not brilliant. To avoid a Mythos threat, she has concluded that it was necessary to abduct a small girl from a public place. She has arranged to hold the child (in her company) in a motel room in an utterly random place with no connection to her. She abandoned her own car, switched to a rental (she had to use her own identity to do this without drawing suspicion). The car is parked near the motel (she does not want to hurt the child if possible, just keep her out of circulation for a few days). Diligent research by the investigators will reveal who she is and confirm that she is the kidnapper. They will be able to trace the rental car to her and might be looking for it.

What sorts of bread crumbs might she have of necessity, or inadvertently, left behind? I've thought of toll records (she's smart enough to try to avoid cameras). I need to get the investigators to the cheap motel. Thoughts? Do I have any alternatives to the proverbial Amber Alert/plastering her picture all over the media that might allow the investigators to get the drop on her?

[rylehNC]

Credit card receipts, phone calls. Perhaps they are in a name that can be logically deduced to be her. Maybe the kid has a phone or one of those chips they advertise. Then others can come looking.

[mib_dg]

I'm writing something set in the modern day and am scratching my head about how to cover my "clue tree" bases.

Stephan Alzis knows. Perhaps one of his creepy mentally ill Adepts has been following the girl or watching the motel. He is very likely to let the investigators know that he knows. But what does he want in return for this information?

[jasonw1239]

Having worked in the hotel business I can say that the paper trail would be the biggest "breadcrumb". A registration card with the persons information and handwriting. Payment is required up front and special attention is paid to anybody that pays with cash. The cash would be required for the first night in advance and if the person wants access to movies/mini-bar/long distance calling from their room a credit card pre-authorization would be a requirement.

Also, with regular customers and employees traveling throughout the building they would spot any irregularities such as the child trying to struggle or crying out that the person was not their parent or even asking their abductor where their parents were. This would be reported to management who usually have a very good relationship with the local police.

It could even start during the check in process if the person registers as being from one state and when they open their wallet visible identification indicates something else.

I had one case when I was working nights in the hotel business where a group of people in their early twenties checked in at 2 AM. The credit card they gave me had the name of somebody from the middle east but the person checking in was an English speaking freckled red-head. No offense intended Jeff . After they went to their room, I went to the parking lot where they left their car, got the license number and called the police. Turns out they were from Montreal and had car-jacked the owner of the vehicle and stole his wallet.

[jasonw1239]

If the investigators can narrow down the area that they want to search any of them with advanced computer use might be able to hack into the motel/hotel security cameras. Many small operators try to save money be purchasing off the shelf packages and doing the installation themselves.
Many of them do not want to purchase a separate computer for the front desk so they will plug the video card for the security camera(s) into an existing machine which is usually internet enabled to receive online reservation requests.
Some of the motel/hotel owners want to check on the motel and their employees from home so the security camera software that comes with the packages can be accessed remotely and many of them uses the default passwords.
An investigators who successfully connects to the motel/hotel IP address may be able to link to the stored camera data (video files) and scan them for the person they are looking for. The user interface usually allows you to scan through at high speed and stop when you see something you want to zoom in on.

[neorxnawang]

Thanks Jason. That makes a lot of sense and will flow logically; a lot of the clue tree is already go through the security camera footage from a lot of places, so it makes thematic sense to continue it (there's a theme in the scenario about being watched/inevitability). I want them to make a choice between a stealthy approach through research and blasting out an Amber Alert that the quarry might see.

[Skyman]

You rock Jason!
Purchase of a car seat for the child would be necessary unless that is one of the clues itself...as in complaints that the child was not in a car seat by concern witnesses.
Child/Agent might have special dietary needs such as being allergic to wheat/gluton products so the would be buying gluton free products. Thus having to shop at certain stores or making particular purchases that stand out. Having to buy under wear/diapers and clothes for the child...leaving a trail of dirty clothes behind because she would not be able to use the laundry.
If the agent had a handler/control person then they may have left cryptic/cyphered messages via e-mail. Or had written info on a note pad and left the note pad behind after ripping out the sheet with the information. The old runes rub technique to reveal the info on the blank note pad. Thats always a good old stand by.
Speaking of old stand by there could be a recorded message that is intercepted such as her calling in to something she incidentally needs like finding gluton free products that has background noise giving clues. Like train whistles or sea gulls or a TV with KVC local Foxnews that may indicate enviroment or area proximity.
She might leave a trail of people she might have threatened or assaulted in her own paranoia thinking they were after her or in pursuit.
She might have used a person/stranger she either befriended or seduced as necessity dictates(such as not wanting to use her credit card) thus leaving trail of people or things who might witness this person hanging around someone fitting the profile. Also she could have dumped the person who themselves would be a source of clues and info.

Just some ideas

[neorxnawang]

Skyman makes some good points as well. From her perspective, she just has to lay low until Tuesday (or whenever) and avoid capture until then. She doesn't want to draw attention, including from nosy/well-intentioned hotel staff. I need to address the car seat issue as part of the rental car. My initial thought is that she would want to pay cash, but she would realize that this would draw attention (she might start to pay cash and then go get a credit card from some patsy, who she will kill and dump because avoiding the End Times kind of depends on it). Either that or she has to get a prepaid one, her bank records would show a sizable cash withdrawal. And I could go back to the whole cameras everywhere issue.

[jasonw1239]

Even if you pay cash at a motel you might still have to show your drivers license to make sure that the address information you provided on the registration is correct.
We had a case where a cash paying customer left in the middle of the night and took all of the furniture from the room with them. They had asked for a quiet room around back and used that cover to move the furniture to their vehicle.
Other hotels have the ID check in place in case they have to pursue a customer for damage to the room.