Small detail in crime needs fixing

Hello! I'm working on an idea for a short story that has a crime as part of the plot. However, I've never written a crime story before. And I'm stuck on one little detail.


The synopsis: An astronomer who works at a research institute believes their work is scientific and not to be used to produce weapons. But the institute director hopes to land a defense contract with the U.S. Defense Department. The defense contractor comes to visit. He has a past with the astronomer's wife. The wife's aunt is also visiting.

The night that the crime takes place: The wife goes to the hotel to see her aunt. The defense contractor is staying at the same hotel. He bumps into the wife, and acts forwardly toward her. She leaves, upset, and calls her husband. Her husband comes to the hotel (just after his wife left) in order to confront the contractor. But someone has followed him there, and while he has an altercation with the contractor in the parking lot, that someone sneaks into the contractor's hotel room to steal important documents.

Here is where I'm stuck: How does the culprit sneak into the hotel room? I thought that perhaps the contractor could accidentally leave the door slightly open as he pursues the wife. But would that just make readers roll their eyes? Otherwise the hotel room would be locked, and the only way to get in is with a key or key card, but I'm not sure how the culprit would be able to obtain one.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? It's such a little detail but I want to try to make it seem fairly plausible or realistic.

Namatu said:

Or the thief could have stolen or copied the key card from the contractor earlier in the day.

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I really like this idea. Plus, there is an event earlier that day at which both the contractor and the culprit are at, so this could work.

pdichellis said:

Good suggestions. And hotel doors often are designed to swing shut, so all suggestions are good alternatives to finding the door left open.

Common methods of hotel room burglaries include 'inside jobs' by employees (or accomplices who know or bribe an employee), and keycard hacking. Google: hotel room burglary (and/or: hotel room theft). Getting a replacement card from the front desk could work, though the one time I did that (traveling, not burglarizing) I had to show ID.

Good luck!

Peter DiChellis

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Thanks for pointing that out about hotel door design. I was also considering the bribing idea. Thanks for the suggestions.

M. Frebronze said:

I don't know if it will help, but sometimes I will drop the slide-lock between the door and the jamb if I'm not going to be gone for very long (i.e. running to the vending machines for chips or whatever). Just a thought.

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Haha, I like this idea too. Especially since the contractor is in a bit of a hurry as he goes after the wife to stop her. So this could work too.

cbenoi1 said:

> How does the culprit sneak into the hotel room?

Unless this is done in the POV of the bad guy, there is no need to explain.

R.U.E. -- Resist the Urge to Explain.

-cb

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Haha, thank you! A very good point. I like that.


Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and thoughts! I think I have enough to go from now to start brainstorming various scenarios. Thank you again, I really appreciate it!

Jamesaritchie said:

In a crime story, readers will want to know how it was done, and someone had better come up with a good answer, or that story is not going to sell. You have to explain in crime stories. It's part of the deal.

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That is so true. A very good point. I am such a perfectionist that I will probably have to include everything. But to be honest, my story doesn't revolve around the crime as much as it does another point: the marriage between the astronomer and his wife. I do want to get everything right, though.

Writers Choice said:

What floor is he in? If the first, maybe he accidentally left the window or the sliding glass door opened or the housekeeper didn't lock it and someone snuck in that way. I've stayed at many hotels and always check the windows/sliding glass doors as I like to stay on the first floor and on two separate occasions, I found it wasn't locked when I first go in.

Don't know who the bad guys are but if not on the first floor, perhaps one of the maids or the desk clerk is in cahoots (or paid off) to give key. It might add a good twist to the interrogation phase for some underpaid/overworked person (I know that's been done before, but what hasn't).

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Ooh, good point and suggestion about the sliding glass door and the first floor. I like it.

cbenoi1 said:

The overall plot, yes. I completely agree. Here I question the need for a high level of detail of that one scene, given that the OP stated that "It's such a little detail but I want to try to make it seem fairly plausible or realistic". For example, the contractor could come back to his room and find the door wide open and the documents gone. No need to tell how it's done. Like a magician, the Bad Guy uses sleight of hand, deception and diversion. It's what makes him a very bad villain...

-cb

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I agree with both points. I kind of want to include how the culprit is able to sneak in, though. Even though my story doesn't wholly revolve around the crime, I am hesitating about skipping over that detail, even though it is such a small one. But I suppose that question-to include or not to include-would be an entirely different post.

Thanks again, everyone, for your input! All good and interesting points.