WAKEFIELD: This is the seventh interview in case number 2000-08-002, the homicide investigation of Raychel Vanderhoff. This is Detective Kevin Wakefield, and today's interview is Ken Kincaid.
KINCAID: Thanks for having me, Kevin. I have to say it's a real privilege to be on your show. Although I have to say your set could use some work. I'd also like to give a shout out to those of you watching in the studio audience. Sorry I can't see you right now.
WAKEFIELD: There's no one behind the glass.
KINCAID: That's what The Great and Powerful Oz said.
WAKEFIELD: Are you all right, Mr. Kincaid?
KINCAID: Never better. Well, I am a little hurt.
WAKEFIELD: Hurt?
KINCAID: That you didn't ask me to come sooner. Do you know how that makes me feel? I'm your seventh interview? I think I'm being slighted here. There were six people that you thought were more important than me when it comes to Raychel? I can understand your wanting to interview Kyle McAllister and Sharon Wolfe, but other than them, who was more important to Raychel than me? Come on, name them.
WAKEFIELD: I am not at liberty to discuss the activities of an ongoing investigation.
KINCAID: Humor me. I know you saw Geoffrey MacIntyre.
WAKEFIELD: Because you drove him here. Why didn't you talk to us then, if you think you're so important?
KINCAID: I wasn't important then. You had a crime scene and a suspect in custody. Who the Hell was I then? For that matter who was Geoffrey MacIntyre? He shouldn't have gone, either, but I could tell he wanted to do something. Laura Douglass? That's four. Okay, maybe I can accept that one. She knew Raychel longer than me. Lived with her. What about David Vanderhoff? He's her brother. Might be nice to talk to the family. Except she didn't like her family. . . or was that the point?
WAKEFIELD: I'm not going to help you, Mr. Kincaid.
KINCAID: You'll help me or I don't have to help you. Be a sport, Kevin. I just want to know. David, Kyle, Sharon, Laura, MacIntyre . . . five . . . five . . . five. . . wait! No! Wagner? You talked to Lance (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Wagner!
WAKEFIELD: Mr. Kincaid.
KINCAID: What am I, the last man on Earth?
WAKEFIELD: Mr. Kincaid.
KINCAID: Christ! Lance Wagner.
WAKEFIELD: Mr. Kincaid, Mr. Wagner was very helpful. I was hoping that you would also be helpful, too. But if you're more interested in rating the list of suspects, that's up to you.
KINCAID: Suspects? So it's true, you don't think Kyle McAllister did it?
WAKEFIELD: He was released for a reason. Not mine, but a reason.
KINCAID: But he isn't the prime suspect anymore. Who is?
WAKEFIELD: We do not have a prime suspect at this time-
KINCAID: Yeah, yeah. Fair enough, I understand. You don't want me to be influenced. Sure.
WAKEFIELD: I would appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Kincaid.
KINCAID: That's why I came. That and the show.
WAKEFIELD: The show?
KINCAID: Word gets around, Kevin. And word is your investigations are the best show in town right now.
WAKEFIELD: What do you mean?
KINCAID: Don't worry about it? So, what do you want to know?
WAKEFIELD: I want to know what you meant.
KINCAID: It's nothing. Nothing.
WAKEFIELD: Who have you been talking to?
KINCAID: I talk to dozens of people a day. Are you asking for a list? It's going to pretty tough. I don't keep a scheduler so I'll have to do it from memory.
WAKEFIELD: You know what I mean.
KINCAID: All right, I heard about it from Laura Douglass.
WAKEFIELD: I didn't talk to her.
KINCAID: Like I said, word gets around. So what did you want to know. After all, I want to be helpful, Kevin.
(PAUSE)
WAKEFIELD: For the record, where do you work?
KINCAID: I am the Chief Executive Officer at Terror Trax.
WAKEFIELD: The recording label that Raychel Vanderhoff worked at?
KINCAID: Correct.
WAKEFIELD: So you are the person who discovered her?
KINCAID: Discovered? No. I signed her, that's true, but I didn't really discover her. Laura Douglass discovered her. She was the person who called me and told me to see this new act at her bar.
WAKEFIELD: And you signed her and Kyle on the spot?
KINCAID: Close enough. The next day. I needed the next day to draw up the contract.
WAKEFIELD: They were that good?
KINCAID: They? No. They were not that good. She was that good.
WAKEFIELD: Then why did you sign both of them?
KINCAID: Raychel wouldn't have it any other way. Believe me, I tried, but she wouldn't sign unless I agreed to sign both of them to a three-year contract.
WAKEFIELD: Is that a long or short deal?
KINCAID: It's a standard contract for a developmental deal. That's usually all I can afford. I figured if I got a solid record or two out of her before she went supernova I did all right by myself. Still, after I heard all of McAllister's demands and knew she wouldn't leave him behind, I knew I could chalk the first album up to a learning experience.
WAKEFIELD: Did you know he was abusing her?
KINCAID: I didn't know.
WAKEFIELD: You suspected?
KINCAID: Yeah, I didn't know if he hit her or not, but I knew he was controlling her. That was obvious. So, yeah, I knew he was abusing her that way. But I didn't know if he hit her then.
WAKEFIELD: When did you know?
KINCAID: When McAllister went crazy and beat the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of her in June. That was a pretty good indicator.
WAKEFIELD: Did she ever say anything about it to you before?
KINCAID: She didn't even tell me after. I found out from Laura. That was who she went into hiding with. Raychel stayed with Laura because she knew Laura wouldn't take McAllister's crap. She'd call the police and you guys would have taken him away. End of story. I guess he didn't come, though. Raychel went back to him.
WAKEFIELD: Do you know why McAllister beat her that time?
KINCAID: McAllister found out about MacIntyre.
WAKEFIELD: Raychel was having an affair with Geoffrey MacIntyre?
KINCAID: Yeah, and McAllister found out about it.
WAKEFIELD: How did he find out about it? Who told?
KINCAID: Hell if I know. But after they got back together the only way to get Raychel back into the studio was by going around MacIntyre. So I accommodated them.
WAKEFIELD: Didn't you feel obligated to tell MacIntyre?
KINCAID: No. It was more important to have Raychel in the studio than worry about poor Geoffrey's feelings. Besides, why would I tell him?
WAKEFIELD: Well, he is your boss.
KINCAID: Excuse me?
WAKEFIELD: Geoffrey MacIntyre is your boss. That's what he told me.
KINCAID: He's the Chief Creative Officer. I am the Chief Executive Officer. That means I am above him on the chain of command. He doesn't believe that, and that's the problem. He's in charge of working with acts, but I am the one who needs to keep the company going. With Raychel, Geoffrey got too involved. Therefore, I took control of the situation. It wasn't betrayal. It was business. To keep anyone from getting too bent out of shape, I fixed it so that Geoffrey didn't have to know.
WAKEFIELD: But he did find out. That's why they had the fight the night Raychel died.
KINCAID: That was unfortunate. It was also my fault. I contradicted myself about the studio they were recording in and MacIntyre remembered what I said before. He called me on it and charged in on them. Then all Hell broke loose.
WAKEFIELD: Was Raychel in danger from Geoffrey MacIntyre?
KINCAID: No. Not with Kyle in the room.
WAKEFIELD: I mean in general. Not just that night. If they met alone on the street would Raychel be in danger from him.
KINCAID: Maybe.
WAKEFIELD: Explain.
KINCAID: It depends on what they talked about. If they would talk about the weather or music or whatever, no. But if Geoffrey confronted her about their personal life, I don't see Raychel just taking it. She wasn't much of a wallflower. She was a tough lady. So she'd push him around. Maybe not physically, but she'd shout him down. Geoffrey would start to lose his temper and she'd play him off harder, and that would be it. He'd snap. Just like he did the night she was murdered.
WAKEFIELD: Not a very flattering picture.
KINCAID: That's Geoffrey.
WAKEFIELD: But when he needed someone, he reached out for you. Other than when it comes to Raychel, how friendly are you two?
KINCAID: We used to be friends. Well acquaintances, really. You know I wanted to get him into the company before, when I owned it? He wouldn't accept. When I sold it, and I found out that Cain got him to sign on, I couldn't have been happier. He has great relationships with bands. When he asked to produce Raychel's sessions, I thought it was perfect. He had the studio experience she and Kyle didn't have. But when he (EXPLETIVE DELETED) her, he (EXPLETIVE DELETED) everything. It was just a matter of time. Raychel wasn't a sure thing, but she was as close to one as I could get for Terror Trax. And he (EXPLETIVE DELETED) it all up. No. We're not friends anymore.
WAKEFIELD: You cared for Raychel very deeply?
KINCAID: I loved her.
WAKEFIELD: Would you have protected her from danger?
(PAUSE)
KINCAID: You're asking me if I hired Sharon Wolfe, aren't you?
WAKEFIELD: You said that, not me.
KINCAID: I know what I said and I know what you mean. No, I didn't hire Sharon. I always thought Kyle hired her.
WAKEFIELD: Why would you think he hired her?
KINCAID: Christ, just look at it. When was Sharon out of service? When he beat her in June and on the night Raychel was murdered. I didn't think it took much more notice than that.
WAKEFIELD: He's a musician.
KINCAID: He's got money to pull it off. Raychel told me he had a farm or something out in Montana. Kyle may not look the part, but he could pull off something like that no problem. Look into it.
WAKEFIELD: I will. Could you answer something else for me, Ken? Where were you the night Raychel was murdered?
KINCAID: Truth? I know, yeah. Anyway, truth, I was out.
WAKEFIELD: But you were home when MacIntyre called you.
KINCAID: Yeah, but I was out for a while before that. I usually am. Nature of the business. I see a lot of people. Some are musicians or singers. Others want to be. Do you understand what I'm saying?
WAKEFIELD: I do. So who were you with?
KINCAID: That was a week ago.
WAKEFIELD: Just a week.
KINCAID: Just? No, it was a week ago! Like I said, I don't keep a date book. Most of the people I meet, I don't remember their names. Maybe I remember a face, if it's important. But I go out all the time, and I see a lot of people. It helps the business, you know what I mean? I'm the face of the company. If I don't do something, it doesn't get done right?
WAKEFIELD: So, if I can interpret what you're saying, you sleep with a lot of people and you don't know who it was when you were home so you can't verify it?
KINCAID: I think you have it, yes.
WAKEFIELD: Were you alone when Geoffrey MacIntyre called you?
KINCAID: Yes. Quite alone by then.
WAKEFIELD: And you drove him to the station after first going to the crime scene?
KINCAID: Yes.
WAKEFIELD: Did you advise him against going in his state? He was a little over the edge.
KINCAID: You mean drunk? Yeah, he certainly acted that way, didn't he?
WAKEFIELD: Yes.
KINCAID: Did you happen to check his blood alcohol level?
WAKEFIELD: No.
KINCAID: That might have been a nice idea. You took his statement and everything, didn't you?
WAKEFIELD: I took it personally.
KINCAID: And you never asked him to submit to a breathalyzer or anything to see how drunk he might have been? Doesn't that sound like you missed something, or did you not care if he was or was not a reliable witness?
WAKEFIELD: Who's asking the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) questions around here?
KINCAID: Sorry, I just thought it might be useful.
WAKEFIELD: What I want to know is when was the last time you saw Raychel alive?
KINCAID: The last time I talked to her was the day she was murdered at Terror Trax.
WAKEFIELD: During the fight with Geoffrey and Kyle and Raychel?
KINCAID: No, after that.
WAKEFIELD: After?
KINCAID: Yeah, it was only for a minute, because she didn't have long. She was pretending to be in the bathroom so she could get away from Kyle for a minute.
WAKEFIELD: You saw her in your office?
KINCAID: Yes. She told me that she wanted to make a change.
WAKEFIELD: A change?
KINCAID: I had tried to bring it up to her a few times before, but she had blown me off about it. The last time I asked her about it was just before she came back to the studio with Kyle. Apparently, Geoffrey's outburst scared her enough that she made her decision to take me up on it.
WAKEFIELD: What was it?
KINCAID: She wanted to break her contract with Terror Trax.
WAKEFIELD: You were in favor of it?
KINCAID: Sure, she wasn't going anywhere.
WAKEFIELD: But she was breaking her contract.
KINCAID: It was a tactical maneuver. The real idea was to separate her from Kyle McAllister. It was the only way to get him away from her.
WAKEFIELD: You're saying that Raychel had agreed to leave Kyle McAllister just before she was murdered?
KINCAID: She saw the writing on the wall. Geoffrey was going to be a threat to her as long as she was stuck with Kyle McAllister at Terror Trax. I couldn't protect her from Geoffrey because I couldn't fire him. Part of my agreement with Cain. But there was a way I could protect her. So I signed her to a contract I had drawn up in June. I thought she would have signed it then, but she wasn't interested in anything about the business at the time. So I kept it sitting in my desk. She signed it and left.
WAKEFIELD: What was the contract?
KINCAID: A managerial contract between myself and Raychel.
WAKEFIELD: I don't get it.
KINCAID: There were two people to bypass: Kyle McAllister and Geoffrey MacIntyre. By signing the contract, Raychel agreed to give me managerial control of her career. Then Raychel was insulated if Geoffrey MacIntyre terminated her contract. In fact, it would be better if he did. That would cut Kyle McAllister completely away from Terror Trax, but since I had managerial control of Raychel, I could pitch a new contract for Raychel to Geoffrey. If he refused, I could always go over his head. It wouldn't take much to shame him into giving Raychel a new contract. Raychel would get what she wanted, a career independent of Kyle McAllister while Geoffrey MacIntyre was stuck agreeing to our request for a new contract.
WAKEFIELD: That's blackmail.
KINCAID: No, that's leverage. Look it up.
WAKEFIELD: Would Raychel have told Kyle about signing it after she left?
KINCAID: No. Especially not if she knew she was going to be alone with him. Kyle's temper was too hot for anything like that. Look, I don't mean to be a pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) but I'm late. Are we okay? Can I go now?
WAKEFIELD: Only if you'll promise that you'll come in if I call you again.
KINCAID: Deal. Later.
(END)
