Hi everyone! New here so I might've missed it if someone brought it up...Are there maybe offices or something near Penn Station that the man who called Melissa's little sister could have been at? If the calls were early in the evening most people go home around that time so it would be more private than actually calling from Penn Station/Times Sq. If he was somewhere private like an office or an apartment above that area so the phone would've been able to be traced there but away from anyone who could've heard and out of sight of any cameras. I haven't finished reading this whole thread yet so maybe it was already brought up.
The Hotel Pennsylvania is directly across from Penn Station on 7th Ave. and it's extremely affordable. It's not a luxury place but it's good if you want a decent place to sleep without housekeeping stealing your stuff. My kid and I have stayed there for a week each Christmas for the past decade and I pay between 700-950 dollars total for the room. Sometimes, you can book as same day for $99.00.
There are plenty of hotels in that immediate area with prices ranging from the Penn's budget cost to high end rooms. 8th and 30th on the other side of Penn Station are more residential, especially the further south you go. Broadway and 30th are Koreatown with hotels and shops. 30th to 23rd is mostly storefronts with more residential places the closer you get to Madison Square Park and the Flatiron.
There are a lot of office spaces in the Penn Station area, too; Penn Plaza is across from the Garden and there's a high rise at Penn Station/MSG as well.
Penn Station, though, that's an interesting animal. It's ridiculous during rush hours but I've also seen it empty and quiet in the evenings. Security is tight with lots of police, drug dogs, and National Guard.
Still, there are ways to make a short, quiet call there. PNC and a few other banks have storefront ATMs accessible only by their cardholders (same with the PNC next to the Hotel Penn and the Bank of America and Chase near Modell's and Penn Plaza from 7th to 8th on 33rd).
LISK probably doesn't work in the city, he just he thinks it'd be hard to pinpoint a cellphone call from Manhattan's busiest spots: Times Square and Penn Station. He could take the LIRR or subway into the city, do his dirty work, and leave with millions of other faceless commuters.