Sunday, October 28 2007, 8:02 PM

The interview was conducted at the Yoknapatawpha Sheriff's Department and was recorded on a portable audio tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.

Det. Samantha Murphy
Det. Ted Armstrong
Lee Merryweather

Det. Murphy: Good day.

Lee Merryweather: Not such a good day for me. I’m still in shock.

Det. Murphy: Before we begin, please state your name and address for the record.

Lee Merryweather: I’m Lee Merryweather and I live at 200 Park drive, right down from Avent park .

Det. Murphy: What was your relationship with Victor Jennings?

Lee Merryweather: I was his personal assistant.

Det. Murphy: What did your job consist of?

Lee Merryweather: At the beginning, I just took care of his clothes, taking the suits to the cleaners and picking them up, seeing that his suits matching the rest of the outfits. I kept the calendar for his appointments and made sure he knew what was coming next. Things like that. But eventually, he started trusting me with the more personal details of his business. I would keep the files on his clients. Of course, everyone knew that he was under house arrest for trying to extort money from Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood. I knew he was trying to cheat some Hollywood people, but I never knew who they were until he was arrested and the names came out.

Det. Murphy: Tell us who Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood are, for the record.

Lee Merryweather: They were famous, even among the famous. Michael and Samantha Hawke! I’ll say one thing for Victor. He aimed high.

Det. Murphy: Thank you. Now tell us about what you discovered when you went to the house.

Lee Merryweather: It’s hard to talk about, you know? Even though Mr. Jennings’ wasn’t the most likeable person, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Det. Murphy: You mean his death?

Lee Merryweather: Yes, and the way he died.

Det. Murphy: How would you describe the scene, Miss Merryweather?

Lee Merryweather: It looked like he was getting the dishes and silverware out of the dishwasher and slipped and fell. There was a lot of blood.

Det. Murphy: Could you tell where the blood was coming from?

Lee Merryweather: Yes, it was coming from his chest somewhere. I could see something sticking out of the chest, but I couldn’t tell what it was.

Det. Armstrong: Why do you say Mr. Jennings wasn’t a very likeable person?

Lee Merryweather: I saw a lot of dirty work going on with him and his shady friend. Mr. Jennings knew a lot of wealthy people and because of that, he would scheme to make money from them. Not always in the most honest way.

Det. Armstrong: Explain what you mean by that.

Lee Merryweather: He didn’t confide in me about his business deals, but I heard a lot of discussions in his office and on the phone. He was trying to blackmail some people. He never mentioned their names. He always called them, "Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood."

Det. Armstrong: Tell us what you were doing there that night. Were you in the habit of going to his home in the evenings?

Lee Merryweather: Sometimes, it was required of me.

Det. Armstrong: You still haven’t told us why you were at his house this time.

Lee Merryweather: Oh. Sorry. He called me earlier in the afternoon and asked me to pick up a couple of bottles of Jim Beam and bring them over. He couldn’t leave the house, you know. But, I was too busy to do it when he called. I finally managed to get the liquor and took it over that evening. I wish I had gotten there earlier now. Maybe things would have been different.

Det.Murphy: Maybe not. Did you meet any of Mr. Jennings’s family or friends?

Lee Merryweather: That was the strangest part of Mr. Jennings’s life. He never had many visitors. We flew out to California a couple times a year, but nobody came to him. Most of his business was done over the phone or the internet. I did meet the guy he had that did his dirty work, though. I was always a little leery of him and kept my distance as much as possible.

Det. Murphy: Who would that be?

Lee Merryweather: His name is Carl. He took care of people Mr. Jennings didn’t want around him. I’m feeling sick. I’d like to go now.

Det. Murphy: All right, you may go for now.

Lee Merryweather: Okay. Bye.

Interview ends: 8:23 PM