Wednesday, February 28, 2001, 10:00 a.m.

The witness, Pam Thompson, is identified as the private investigator Maureen Kirby hired to follow her husband, Steve Kirby. In response to the detectives' request, Ms. Thompson came in to the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department for an interview. The interview was recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.

TA = Detective T. Armstrong

SM =Detective S. Murphy

PT = Pam Thompson

TA: Hello again, Pam. Thanks for coming down. Would you state your name and address for the record, please?

PT: Pamela Thompson, 209 Price Street, Oxford.

TA: And your occupation?

PT: I own a private investigations firm.

TA: And what type of investigations do you do?

PT: Extra-marital affairs, research for divorce cases, background checks for employers, insurance fraud. That sort of thing.

TA: Okay, you know the way this goes. Here. As I mentioned on the phone, that's the subpoena that instructs you to hand over and discuss any materials you have regarding your investigation of Steve Kirby. This, of course, legally requires you to discuss all the details, so your client cannot hold you responsible.

PT: Right. The usual.

TA: Okay. So. You're on, Pam.

PT: On Monday, January 15, I was hired by Maureen Kirby to keep tabs on her husband. She said he had been out an awful lot and she was hearing rumors that he might be seeing Missy Hammond. We started the surveillance on the 16th.

SM: Who did she hear the rumors from?

PT: She wouldn't say. To be honest, I got the feeling she hadn't necessarily heard anything. She just had a suspicion.

SM: Based on what?

PT: I couldn't say. All she would tell me is she was hearing rumors around town.

TA: Go on. What did she want you to do exactly?

PT: She wanted me to see where he was going most evenings. Sometimes she would go home from work and he'd stay there, and then he'd come in hours later. Sometimes he would drop her off at home and then go out. As you'll see in the reports, he was in a weekly bowling league at Kiamie's Bowling Center, and sometimes he was really at work. But I did manage to find out that he was still in contact with Missy Hammond.

SM: What was your general impression of the relationship?

PT: Steve and Missy? They were very friendly. I couldn't pin down whether or not they were actually having sex, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

SM: But you think there's a possibility that they were just friends?

PT: Sure. It's a coin flip, really.

SM: I'm skimming through your files here, and you mention you saw them holding hands.

PT: Holding hands is a long way from having sex.

SM: But that doesn't strike you as romantic?

PT: It could. But in my experience, when a couple is holding hands, they'll usually sort of stroke one another's knuckles with their fingertips, or give gentle squeezes every few seconds. This was just a steady, non-moving sort of hand-holding.

SM: You've got three reports here. When did you give these to Maureen?

PT: I gave her the first one on the morning of January 20th, and the second on the 27th. The third one is just a summary that I provide at the end of the investigation.

SM: So she had definite knowledge that her husband had seen Missy prior to her death.

PT: Yes.

TA: Did you know she went to Southern Beauty on the 20th?

PT: No, I wasn't aware of that.

TA: She made quite a scene. Did she seem upset when she got the report?

PT: Maureen Kirby always seemed upset. I mean, based on rumors and her husband's odd hours, she hired a private investigator. I really didn't think she had the money to do that.

SM: And yet you took the case.

PT: Only after carefully explaining to her what was involved and how much it would cost. She insisted. Who am I to turn away a job?

SM: When and where did you meet with Maureen Kirby?

PT: The 20th and the 27th were both Saturdays. I met her at the Huddle House for coffee, and that's when I gave her the files. It was 8:00 in the morning both times.

SM: How long were you there?

PT: Twenty minutes tops.

SM: Was someone else keeping an eye on Kirby during that time?

PT: Yes, one of my associates was on him while I was meeting with the client.

SM: You mention here that Kirby was inside Missy's house on January 22nd.

PT: Yes.

SM: And there was a neighbor outside at the time?

PT: Yes; I couldn't get any photographs of Steve inside the house without drawing a lot of attention to myself.

SM: What did this neighbor look like?

PT: Male, Caucasian. About 5' 8" or 5' 9". Short, dark hair. I was too far away to see his eyes. Young, mid-twenties.

SM: This guy?

PT: Well, that looks like him.

SM: I would like to state for the record that Ms. Thompson has tentatively identified Kevin Travers from a photograph.

TA: What was Mr. Travers doing?

PT: Not a whole hell of a lot. He was just kind of leaning against his car, drinking a Coke.

TA: For an hour and a half?

PT: Yep. I thought he'd get cold and go inside, so I could get some photos, but he just stayed out there.

SM: And what kind of car was that he was leaning on?

PT: I didn't have a real good view of the car. I was trying to keep out of sight myself, y'know. But I'd be willing to guess it was a Chevy. Blue.

SM: On the night of the 26th, you say Steve Kirby worked until 7:00 and then drove home with his wife. Did you continue to watch him after that?

PT: Until about 10:00 p.m.

SM: Where was Maureen during that time?

PT: I don't know. She wasn't paying me to keep track of herself.

SM: Was she at home?

PT: I think so. Both cars were there and we didn't see anyone come by to pick her up. It's possible she walked somewhere, but I don't think so.

TA: Was Maureen at work most times when you were watching Steve?

PT: As far as I know, yes. Like I said, though, I really wasn't trying to watch her comings and goings - just his.

SM: Did you ever see Steve or Maureen wearing a dark, hooded jacket?

PT: No.

SM: Anything that might have been dark and hooded?

PT: No, nothing that I saw.

TA: What about Kevin Travers? What was he wearing when you saw him?

PT: He was in a heavy flannel shirt with another shirt under it and jeans.

TA: How about you? You own anything like that?

PT: Own, yes. I have a navy blue hooded sweatshirt. But I wasn't wearing it.

TA: You sure? At no time during the investigation were you wearing anything like that? It seems like you'd want to keep yourself as invisible as possible, and that would help.

PT: I wore dark clothing, yes. But no hoods. I did have a ball cap one night and a winter hat another night. It got cold out there.

SM: Okay. One last thing. Where did you park when you were watching Steve at work?

PT: I'd usually park across the street. There are some bushes I could sort of hide behind.

SM: That you could hide behind, or your car?

PT: My car.

SM: And you could see the doorway from there?

PT: The front door, yes. There's also a side door. There was no way for me to watch both doors at once.

SM: Did Steve ever come out the side door?

PT: Sometimes.

SM: How did you know?

PT: I always parked so I could see the parking lot exit and I watched for the cars, either the Mustang or the Honda, depending on whether they'd come in together or not. Maureen told me at the start that she hardly ever drives the Mustang and she said she wouldn't drive it while I was investigating for her. So if they came separately and the Mustang came out, I knew it was Steve. When they came together, I just kept an eye out to see who was driving it. If I could tell it was Maureen, I stayed put. If I could tell it was Steve, I followed. If I couldn't tell, I'd start following and put in a call to the office on my cell phone and ask for Maureen. If she was there, I'd keep following. If not, I'd go back.

TA: Okay, I think that's all for now. We may have to call you back down if something else comes up.

PT: Of course.

End interview 10:44 a.m.