Cherie Atkinson interview #4

Tuesday, November 2, 2021 – 4:30 p.m.

Cherie Brophy Atkinson is a board member of the Yoknapatawpha Players Theatre Troupe.

Detectives Beckwith and Magee talked to her again at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants

• Detective P. Beckwith
• Detective J. Magee
• Cherie Atkinson

Detective Magee: You can sit here, Ms. Atkinson.

Cherie Atkinson: I thought we were done earlier when I told you all about how Janet plotted to ruin Kessler's show.

Detective Magee: We'll get to that again. First, let's get your name and address for the record.

Cherie Atkinson: Cherie Brophy Atkinson. 999 Muirfield Drive. If you're looking for more stuff on Janet, I really don't have anything else. She'll be fired, and we'll move on with a better actress.

Detective Beckwith: Are you sure Janet was alone in the sabotage?

Cherie Atkinson: Well, if she told y'all that someone was in on it with her, she would know.

Detective Magee: She says you were in on it with her.

Cherie Atkinson: That's a lie. I told you that before.

Detective Beckwith: What about Neal? Was he in on the sabotage?

Cherie Atkinson: Your guess is as good as mine.

Detective Beckwith: Janet claimed he wasn't.

Cherie Atkinson: He was in Janet's group most of the day, so who knows?

Detective Magee: What weapons were you using during the rehearsal that day?

Cherie Atkinson: None.

Detective Magee: Let me rephrase. What weapons were you carrying during the rehearsal that day?

Cherie Atkinson: Martin gave me a pair of cap guns early on. When he wasn't looking, I dropped them on the ground.

Detective Beckwith: What about Neal? What weapons did he have when he left the lab?

Cherie Atkinson: I don't think he had anything either. Yeah, that's weird because he seemed to be into the show and all.

Detective Beckwith: Did you see where Neal went when he left the lab?

Cherie Atkinson: He tore out of there like his hair was on fire. By the time I got out of the lab myself, he was long gone.

Detective Magee: So are you saying you didn't see where he was hiding?

Cherie Atkinson: I can't remember.

Detective Magee: Was he behind a fuel barrel? A Humvee?

Cherie Atkinson: I ran by both of those right away. He wasn't hiding behind them.

Detective Beckwith: What about Woody? Would he have had the ability to manipulate the set so it would fall at a certain time?

Cherie Atkinson: Sure. I would think so. He's always so nervous, like shaky nervous. He's probably got a ton of skeletons in his closet.

Detective Magee: Did you see Woody during the big zombie battle in the show?

Cherie Atkinson: No, I was trying to get out of that sh*t show as fast as I could.

Detective Beckwith: When was the first time you saw him?

Cherie Atkinson: When he came to get us at the evacuation point at the end of the show—to have us get help for Scott.

Detective Magee: Where was he when he alerted you?

Cherie Atkinson: At a door at the evacuation point that led directly backstage.

Detective Beckwith: Not too far from the place backstage where you tossed the 'shroom baggie, right?

Cherie Atkinson: Watch it, Beckwith, those were Heath's 'shrooms.

Detective Magee: The ones he shared with you. The ones that you admitted you had in your possession.

Cherie Atkinson: I didn't do nothing wrong.

Detective Magee: Why did you toss the baggie if you didn't do anything wrong?

Cherie Atkinson: I must be a masochist of the dipsh*t variety for doing another interview with you two jokers. Why are y'all out for me all the damn time?

Detective Magee: Listen, it's not our fault you decided to put your prints all over those drugs.

Detective Beckwith: And we sure weren't the ones that placed your husband's money into a discretionary trust that would remove you as the beneficiary if you possessed illegal drugs. I imagine there's more than a little irony that Erv Cyr is the trustee who decides whether or not you get to keep the rest of Glenn's millions.

Cherie Atkinson: Aw, you f****** a**hole!

Detective Magee: Sit down!

Detective Beckwith: You don't want to tack on a charge of assaulting an officer to your drug possession charge.

Cherie Atkinson: No, no, no! You can't do this. They weren't my drugs!

Detective Beckwith: In the eyes of the law, they were.

Cherie Atkinson: Okay, what do you want? The 'shrooms don't have dick to do with Scott's death. You don't have to say anything about them. I'll stop being a bitch. What do you want to know?

Detective Magee: Did you come up with the plan to sabotage the rehearsal?

Cherie Atkinson: Yes.

Detective Magee: And convinced Janet to go along with the plan at the Vine and Swine?

Cherie Atkinson: Yes.

Detective Beckwith: So what was the plan?

Cherie Atkinson:  That Janet would lock Heath into quarantine room. I didn't know he'd be taking 'shrooms. I figured that when Janet locked him in, he'd just be stuck there until the end of the show.

Detective Beckwith: What else was part of the plan?

Cherie Atkinson: That Janet would mess up blocking so that people would be in the wrong places, that sort of thing.

Detective Magee: Was switching Erv out of the medical group with Neal part of the sabotage? 

Cherie Atkinson: Hell, no! I didn't want to be in that rehearsal as it was, let alone spend the whole day with Erv!

Detective Beckwith: So after the show was sabotaged, what was your plan in the aftermath?

Cherie Atkinson: I was going to badmouth the show until the next board meeting. Then, at that meeting, I was going to move to fire Kessler and Goodman. If Janet had turned on me, I would blame her for all the things that went wrong in the rehearsal and have her fired too.

Detective Magee: Pretty cold.

Cherie Atkinson: It's what it takes to stay on top.

Detective Beckwith: Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore.

Cherie Atkinson: What do you mean?

Detective Beckwith: Glenn's will also removes drug possessors like you from the theater's Board of Directors.

Cherie Atkinson: But, no … wait, we had a deal. I would tell you the truth, and you wouldn't run me in for the 'shrooms.

Detective Beckwith: Jo, do you remember me making any deal?

Detective Magee: Can't say that I do.

Cherie Atkinson: A**hole!

Detective Magee: No! Stop!

Detective Beckwith: Don't… Don't—

Detective Magee: Give me your arm!

Detective Beckwith: Montoya, some help in here!

Detective Magee: Give me your arm!

Cherie Atkinson: Get off me!

Lieutenant Montoya: Hold on, hold on.

Detective Beckwith: I'm okay… get her cuffed.

Lieutenant Montoya: Stop resisting. Stop resisting, or you will be tased.

Detective Magee: That was sure stupid. Get up. Lieutenant, you got someone who can take her to booking?

Lieutenant Montoya: Sure thing. Come with me, ma'am. You seem like you know the way.

Interview ended – 5:01 p.m.