The Contract Murder of Kathryn Ann Martini-Lissy

Detective Lloyd Davis, a twenty-one-year veteran of the Eugene Police Department, was sitting behind his desk shuffling paperwork and thinking about calling it a day when Sergeant Michael Cline stepped into his area a few minutes before 4:00 p.m. Davis, who had been a detective for the past 14 years, looked up at his colleague and immediately sensed that his day had only just begun. Cline advised him that he could forget about going home anytime soon.

View of the Valley River Inn

"I need you over at the Valley River Inn," Cline said. "We've got a suspicious death in Room 305. A housekeeper found the body, and she's pretty distraught. Officer Ellis is already on the scene."

Cline advised Davis, a kindly appearing, somewhat soft-spoken man with a reputation for leaving no stone unturned, that Detective Dave Poppe was also being assigned to the case. Cline assured Davis that he would send additional uniformed officers to the scene to help keep it secure, and that he would also notify the district attorney's office and would make certain that a medical examiner was sent to the scene right away.

Davis knew from past experience that death investigations, even the simpler ones, always took a lot of time and a great deal of paperwork. Not only was it getting close to quitting time, it was a Friday and he had been looking forward to having two days off, a luxury in his line of work. Davis pushed aside a stack of paperwork as he stood up and sighed, and grabbed a standard homicide kit on his way out of the office. His colleague, Detective Poppe, would meet him at the hotel.