The Contract Murder of Kathryn Ann Martini-Lissy

Davis, accompanied by the hotel's manager, went to the front desk to examine Kathy's registration information. He learned that she had indeed only planned to stay one night, that of July 5, and had listed her home address as being in the 100 block of Oswego Summit, Lake Oswego, Ore., which Davis recognized as the affluent suburb of Portland. According to the registration documents, Davis ascertained that she had charged her room and other expenses to a credit card, which had been nowhere to be found inside her room. As Davis scanned the guest registration card, he noted that she had indicated on the vehicle information section that she had driven a 1984 Datsun 300-Z, Oregon license plate KVC 525, to the hotel.

Map of Portland area with Lake Oswego locator.

Davis went outside and easily found Kathy's car in the hotel's parking lot. It was the only 300-Z parked near the hotel. After he tried the keys that he had discovered in Room 305 and found that they fit the car, he felt reasonably certain that both belonged to the dead woman. A subsequent routine inquiry to the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed that the car was registered to Kathryn Ann Martini-Lissy.

Davis returned to the front desk where he inquired whether Kathy had eaten any meals in the hotel restaurant. The desk clerk searched through the dining room receipts, then handed one to Davis that had been charged to Room 305 the previous evening. Davis asked to take the receipt with him, leaving a copy that the desk clerk made for the hotel.