(sobbing)
KNOX: Are you sure you want to do this now?
WOLFE: Yes.
KNOX: We can stop at any time you want. Just let me know. But I need you to focus on my questions. Do you understand?
WOLFE: Yes.
KNOX: You’re very brave, but you’re not doing yourself or anyone else any favors if you cannot answer my questions completely and accurately. Do you understand?
WOLFE: Yes. I understand.
KNOX: OK, then. This is Detective Allan Knox. It is August 17th at 2:05 A.M. . . that would make it August 18th. The case number is 2000-08-18-002. The subject is the homicide investigation of a Raychel Taurus-
WOLFE: Vanderhoff.
KNOX: Excuse me?
WOLFE: Her real name was Raychel Vanderhoff. Taurus was just a stage name.
KNOX: Fake name? All right that changes things. Probably why there wasn’t a record. Reminder: Look for a record on Raychel Vanderhoff. V-A-N-D-E-R-H-O-F-F?
WOLFE: Yes. R-A-Y-C-H-E-L.
KNOX: Y? Okay. Thanks. Where were we? The homicide investigation of Raychel Vanderhoff. This is the first interview of the investigation. For the record: Your name, please?
WOLFE: Sharon Wolfe.
KNOX: Your address?
WOLFE: (CENSORED)
KNOX: Same as the scene of the crime?
WOLFE: Yes. I live with Raychel and Kyle.
KNOX: Kyle McAllister?
WOLFE: Yes.
KNOX: He was the one who called the police?
WOLFE: He was the one who did it!
KNOX: Ms. Wolfe. . .
WOLFE: That son of a bitch!
KNOX: Ms. Wolfe. . .
WOLFE: He waited until he got her alone and he (EXPLETIVE DELETED) did it!
KNOX: Ms. Wolfe! Please stop! I need you to calm down!
WOLFE: Calm down? He (EXPLETIVE DELETED) killed her!
KNOX: I said calm down! I want to help. I want to listen to you. I want to take your statement. But I need you to be calm and I need you to answer my questions -- and only my questions -- as completely as possible. You're not going to be helpful if you keep swearing at me and drawing your own conclusions. Let me do my job. Help me do my job, okay? Please, just answer my questions without going onto other subjects. Okay?
WOLFE: Yes. I'm sorry.
KNOX: No need to apologize. I understand you've gone through a lot very quickly. Now proceeding . . . What was your relationship with the deceased?
WOLFE: I was Raychel's bodyguard.
KNOX: Pardon?
WOLFE: I am a bodyguard. I was hired to protect her.
(pause)
KNOX: What kind of trouble was she in?
WOLFE: Excuse me?
KNOX: You were her bodyguard. I saw that apartment. I don't believe that someone who lived in a place like that would pay for a bodyguard unless she was in some serious trouble. Now what was she into? Drugs?
WOLFE: It's more complicated than that.
KNOX: I'm listening.
WOLFE: She didn't pay me for my services. I was paid by a third party.
KNOX: Who?
WOLFE: I don't know. It was confidential.
KNOX: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
WOLFE: No, it's true. I've been hired by third parties before who don't want to be revealed.
KNOX: Maybe so, but your client is dead. How long have you been working as her bodyguard?
WOLFE: Since Christmas.
KNOX: How are you paid?
WOLFE: I received monthly checks.
KNOX: Will you provide us with access to your bank accounts to follow that up, or do we have to get a subpoena?
WOLFE: I'll cooperate.
KNOX: Thank you. How did you confirm you were doing your job?
WOLFE: I didn't.
KNOX: Nothing? No reporting structure? If no one asked you for reports, then that person had to already be close to Raychel. They already knew if you were doing your job. That's why they didn't have to ask. So who do you think it was? You have to have some guess.
WOLFE: No one that I could prove.
KNOX: I didn't ask you for proof. I asked you to guess.
WOLFE: Then I'd have to guess it was Laura Douglass.
KNOX: Could you repeat that name please?
WOLFE: Laura Douglass. D-O-U-G-L-A-S-S.
KNOX: Why do you think she would be the one who paid for you?
WOLFE: Because she has money. And she always watched out for Raychel.
KNOX: Did Raychel need watching?
WOLFE: Yes.
KNOX: Why?
WOLFE: Because Raychel didn't always do what was good for her and she knew it.
KNOX: Example.
WOLFE: Kyle McAllister used to beat the crap out of her. When he wasn't doing that, he was calling all the shots during recording sessions.
KNOX: Recording sessions?
WOLFE: Raychel and Kyle were recording an album.
KNOX: Should I have heard of these two?
WOLFE: No, it's a small label. They were working on her first album.
KNOX: Okay, continue.
WOLFE: Anyway, Kyle was controlling everything in the studio, even though he wasn't the one in charge.
KNOX: Who was in charge?
WOLFE: Geoffrey MacIntyre. He works at Terror Trax.
KNOX: Terror Trax?
WOLFE: The label.
KNOX: Geoffrey MacIntyre you say?
WOLFE: Yes, do you know him?
KNOX: No, nothing. Go ahead.
WOLFE: Anyway, Kyle didn't like what was going on in the studio and he took it home with him and he beat the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of Raychel.
KNOX: And where were you at the time?
WOLFE: He locked me out of the apartment.
KNOX: Why didn't you call the police if you knew what was going on?
WOLFE: I don't know. I just kept trying to get into the apartment. By the time I got in, it was all over. He'd beaten her to a pulp. I took her to Laura's.
KNOX: Why didn't you go to the hospital?
WOLFE: It was what she wanted.
KNOX: But you knew better?
WOLFE: Yes, but-
KNOX: But you thought better to take her to your boss instead?
WOLFE: No! I didn't know she was my boss.
KNOX: You suspected it.
WOLFE: I didn't know and I still don't know that. I can't prove it. It's not important.
KNOX: What is?
WOLFE: Six weeks later Raychel and Kyle got back together. Even after everything he did to her, she couldn't keep away from him. That's what I mean about her not doing what was good for her. She did things like that all the time.
KNOX: Must have made your job tough.
WOLFE: Kyle was the tough one. Ask the other officers if they've ever been to the apartment before. I remember a few faces you had out there and a few of them remembered me. They know this case is open and shut.
KNOX: I didn't have to ask. They told me as soon as I arrived.
WOLFE: So why are you wasting time with me?
KNOX: This is my investigation, not yours. I'm not getting hit with a rush to judgment, okay? I need to exhaust all possibilities, understand?
WOLFE: I understand.
KNOX: All right, then. If you don't mind my asking, where were you between the hours of 11 PM and 1 AM?
WOLFE: I was at a bar, Safehaven.
KNOX: Have you been drinking?
WOLFE: I had a couple of drinks.
KNOX: Let me be more direct. Are you currently under the influence?
WOLFE: No. I wasn't there for myself. I was there with a friend.
KNOX: So your alibi can be verified?
WOLFE: Yes.
KNOX: Who was the friend?
WOLFE: Geoffrey MacIntyre.
KNOX: The same one from . . . Terror Trax?
WOLFE: Yes.
KNOX: Was this part of your usual duties as a bodyguard for Raychel? Taking her co-workers to bars?
WOLFE: Raychel and I agreed that he needed a babysitter tonight.
KNOX: A babysitter is one thing, but why a bodyguard?
WOLFE: Because Geoffrey and I have been seeing each other recently.
KNOX: Another part of your dedication to Raychel?
WOLFE: Raychel asked me to date him.
KNOX: Why?
WOLFE: She didn't trust him. She was afraid of him.
KNOX: Did she say that to you?
WOLFE: Several times. And tonight we agreed that I should watch after him.
KNOX: Why?
WOLFE: There was a fight at Terror Trax tonight. Well, not a fight exactly. An argument between Geoffrey and Kyle. After that Raychel and I agreed that we should do whatever we could to be sure that they didn't get into another fight tonight. So I took Geoffrey out to Safehaven and she went home with Kyle. I never should have let her go home alone. The (EXPLETIVE DELETED) was so mad . . . and he knew I wasn't going to be back for a while. . . It was the same as when he beat her before. . .
KNOX: Take your time.
WOLFE: He waited until they were alone and then he killed her! (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
KNOX: Let's take a minute. Do you want a coffee?
(BREAK)
KNOX: Just a few more things and we can wrap this up if you don't mind. Apart from Kyle McAllister, who else would you consider to be Raychel's enemies?
WOLFE: Raychel didn't have enemies. She had less useful friends.
KNOX: Who else do you think would be dangerous to her?
WOLFE: No one really. . . she used everyone she knew. She could make you feel so important one moment, then . . . you know? Just turn on you. Wait! Yeah, I know one person. He's a writer . . .
KNOX: Newspaper writer?
WOLFE: No. Just a hack. She used to live with him a while ago, then she left him to live with Kyle. He used to follow her sometimes. Maybe he still does. I had to fight him off Raychel once. His name's Lance Wagner.
KNOX: Do you know where I can find him?
WOLFE: He's usually at Safehaven on Saturday nights.
KNOX: The same Safehaven you took Geoffrey MacIntyre to?
WOLFE: Yeah. You could also ask Laura Douglass. She'd know how to reach him. They ran together in The Bleeders.
KNOX: The what? Bleeders?
WOLFE: It's the name of this group of artists that meet at Safehaven on Saturday nights. That's how Raychel met Laura and Lance. They run The Bleeders. Well, really Laura runs The Bleeders. It's her bar.
KNOX: I'll be sure to do that. By the way, while I was out in the hall I just met someone you know.
WOLFE: Who?
KNOX: Geoffrey MacIntyre. He's giving his own statement in another room right now. You took him out for an alcohol bath a few hours ago and now he's here. Damn big surprise.
WOLFE: No surprise. I called him.
KNOX: When?
WOLFE: Before I came here. I called him to tell him that Kyle murdered Raychel.
KNOX: Did you tell him to come?
WOLFE: He said he was coming.
KNOX: Why?
WOLFE: I don't know. Maybe to support me.
KNOX: While he's in another room giving a statement?
WOLFE: Then ask him.
KNOX: Oh, we are. When did you arrive at the apartment?
WOLFE: A little after 1 AM.
KNOX: That was pretty quick after we arrived. Coincidence?
WOLFE: Yes.
KNOX: Okay. Could you do me a favor?
WOLFE: Sure. What?
KNOX: I might need to call you in again to talk about the case. Could you let me know before you intend to leave the county? I'd just like to know when you aren't going to be available. It would be a big help.
WOLFE: I understand. I will. If you need me, just call me.
KNOX: Do you have a place to stay?
WOLFE: I have a place I keep paying rent on. Don't get to spend much time there.
KNOX: Good. Just give me the address and your phone number before you go. Thank you.
(END)
