Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 10:00 a.m.

Ms. Pomeroy's attorney, Jefferson D. Young, IV, contacted the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department to set up another interview with Dana Pomeroy. That interview was originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, 2000, but had to be postponed as Mr. Young was called into court unexpectedly on an unrelated matter. The interview was then rescheduled for Thursday, May 11, 2000 and was conducted at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Office.

SM = Det. S. Murphy
TA = Det. T. Armstrong
DP = Dana Pomeroy
JY = Jefferson D. Young, IV

TA: Good morning. Please state your name and address for the record.

DP: Dana Pomeroy, Taylor, Mississippi.

TA: When we left off last time, we were discussing your involvement in the incident that got Corinna Morgan fired from Cupid's Couples. Are you ready to tell us now how those client files got into her briefcase?

JY: Perhaps you can tell us, Detective, what this has to do with your investigation into the death of Trudi Rose, which is presumably why we are here?

SM: We're curious to know what lengths Ms. Pomeroy will go to for a job.

JY: While that might very well be a fascinating conversation, I still fail to see the connection.

TA: Sure you do, Counselor. If she was willing to plant client files in a co-worker's briefcase and then tell the boss they were there, all to get that person fired so she could be promoted to her job, she might also be willing to poison another co-worker to take over her job.

JY: That's quite a leap, one that a jury would find very difficult to believe.

SM: Ms. Pomeroy, you were interested in advancing at Cupid's Couples, weren't you?

JY: Ambition is not a crime, Detective Murphy.

SM: Mr. Young, we're not going to make much progress with this interview if you answer all our questions instead of allowing your client to respond. Now please, we're not particularly interested in spending all day running around in circles with the two of you, but we're willing to do it if that's what it takes to get some answers.

DP: Look, lots of people want to get promoted, wherever they work. That's not really unusual. Of course I wanted to get promoted, but that doesn't mean I put client files in Corinna's briefcase to make it happen.

TA: What other reason would you have for doing it?

DP: What? What do you mean?

TA: Listen, Dana. I can't speak for Detective Murphy, but I believe you did put those files in Corinna's briefcase. If you didn't do it so you could take over her job, why did you do it?

DP: I... I didn't. I didn't do that.

TA: Convince me.

JY: She doesn't have to convince you, Detective. You have to prove she did what you allege. And even if someone other than Ms. Morgan had put those files in her briefcase, that would not have been an illegal act. My client's position is that she did not put any Cupid's Couples client files into Ms. Morgan's briefcase. Now let's move on.

SM: Ms. Pomeroy, why did you and Mark Silver break up in December of 1998?

DP: What? What does that have to do with anything?

SM: Mr. Silver had given you his fraternity pin not long before your breakup. I understand that typically indicates a serious relationship and can sometimes be a precursor to an engagement. Why then did you break up so soon after you accepted his pin?

DP: How do you know all this? How do you even know about Mark?

SM: Just answer the question, please.

DP: Whatever. I broke up with him because I caught him making out with another girl at a Christmas party. So what?

SM: It wasn't because you had met someone else?

DP: No.

TA: What is your relationship with Bobby Joe Rose?

DP: He's married to my boss. Or my former boss, I guess. My late boss. Whatever.

TA: And that's the full extent of your relationship? You're not involved with him on a more... intimate level?

DP: What are you saying? You think I'm dating him or something? That's crazy. He's old! Besides, I have a boyfriend.

TA: Do you? What's his name?

DP: Grant Jernigan.

TA: Who else are you dating?

DP: No one else. Just Grant.

TA: And how long have you been dating him?

DP: What difference does all this make?

TA: How long?

DP: About a year.

SM: You started working at Cupid's Couples right after your breakup with Mr. Silver. Were those two events related in any way?

DP: Not really. Well, sort of I guess. After Mark and I broke up, I had a lot more time on my hands and my parents had been pushing me to get a job, so it just seemed like the right time.

SM: And how did you end up at Cupid's Couples?

DP: Through the Career Center on campus. I went over there to see if they had any good job listings and they set me up with Cupid's Couples. I guess Trudi and Kelly have been using interns from Ole Miss for a long time.

SM: When did you decide you wanted to continue working at Cupid's Couples after graduation?

DP: I don't remember exactly. I just liked the job and, since I didn't have anything else lined up, I figured I might as well stay where I was.

SM: At what point did you decide you wanted Corinna Morgan's job?

DP: I never... I didn't. It just worked out that way.

SM: You did believe you could do that job better than she could, didn't you?

DP: Well, yes. But that doesn't mean anything.

TA: It means you had a reason to want to get her fired.

JY: We've already covered that ground, Detective. There's no need to go over it again.

SM: How would you characterize your relationship with Trudi Rose? You told us before that the two of you were not friends.

DP: You don't have to say it like that. I just meant that we... you know, didn't really have a relationship outside of work. We didn't hang out after hours or anything like that. I liked Trudi. A lot. It's not the same at work without her.

SM: Who has taken over Mrs. Rose's responsibilities since her death?

DP: Um... well, I have.

SM: I see. And how's that going?

DP: It's okay. I'm still getting the hang of it.

SM: I understand your father is a pathologist.

DP: Yes.

SM: Do you know much about his work?

DP: Not really.

SM: Have you ever read any of his medical books?

DP: No. Why would I? Most of that medical stuff is too gross for me.

SM: So you've never looked through any of his reference materials to find out about poisons?

DP: No! Of course not. No!

SM: Do you know anything about poisons?

DP: I know they're poisonous.

SM: Anything else? Anything about arsenic specifically?

DP: Not really. I know it can kill you, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that.

SM: No, it certainly doesn't. We found arsenic in the powdered sugar from the Cupid's Couples office. Did you know that?

DP: I might have heard something about that.

SM: Do you have any idea how the arsenic got there?

DP: No.

SM: Seems like someone was trying to poison everyone in your office. It killed Mrs. Rose. It made Ms. Clinton sick. It even made a couple of the interns sick. Have you been sick at all since, oh say, the end of February?

DP: I don't remember.

SM: Have you missed work at all during that time?

DP: No, I don't think so. Except for when I went to the doctor the day...

TA: The day Trudi died? Yes, that was quite a coincidence. How was it that you just happened to be out of the office on the very same day Trudi got a fatal dose of arsenic?

DP: I don't know. It just happened that way.

TA: Did you see Trudi at all that day before you got to work? Maybe in the morning, before you went to your doctor's appointment?

DP: No.

TA: See, here's the interesting thing. We know that when Trudi left home that day, she didn't have any brownies with her. But when she got to the office, she had a batch of them that had a huge dose of arsenic in them. Now where do you suppose she got those brownies?

DP: I have no idea.

TA: You didn't run into her anywhere that morning? Maybe at the Bottletree or at the Chevron or some place like that?

DP: No! I told you, I didn't see her.

TA: Do you know where Trudi kept her spare car key?

DP: No. At home somewhere? I have no idea.

TA: So you didn't use that spare car key to leave the brownies in her car, for instance?

DP: Hello? I told you, I don't know where she kept her spare key.

TA: Where do you think those brownies came from then?

DP: How should I know?

TA: And how did you manage to avoid getting sick when so many other people in your office were?

DP: I don't know.

TA: Maybe you didn't get sick because you knew where the arsenic was and you made sure you didn't have any.

DP: No, that's not true!

TA: Who at Cupid's Couples was responsible for making sure you always had powdered sugar and for keeping the containers filled up?

DP: The interns.

TA: Really? The interns? That's who Trudi or Kelly would complain to if something ran out? The interns?

DP: No, they'd complain to me. But then I'd get the interns to take care of it.

TA: Uh-huh. And are the interns there all the time? When you get to work in the morning, an intern is already there? And when you leave at night, an intern is still there?

DP: Of course not. They're only around 9:00 to 5:00, as I'm sure you already know. And they don't come in on Mondays at all.

TA: Another interesting coincidence. Trudi just happened to be all alone at the office the day she got the killer brownies. That worked out pretty conveniently for someone, wouldn't you say?

DP: I wouldn't know.

SM: Ms. Pomeroy, do you know Oscar Bulloch?

DP: Yes.

SM: How do you know him?

DP: He's a Cupid's Couples client.

SM: And do you also know him from his association with Good Graces? He is a... what was the term he used? A sponsor at Good Graces, isn't he?

DP: He could be. I don't know.

SM: You know, for some reason, I just don't quite believe you. I think you do know that he's a sponsor and I suspect you know who the other sponsors are as well.

JY: My client has already stated she doesn't know.

SM: I heard her. Maybe you could tell us a little more about how this sponsorship program works at Good Graces, Ms. Pomeroy.

DP: I don't really know. You should ask Natasha.

SM: You're still working at Good Graces, aren't you? Helping with the administrative tasks?

DP: Yes.

SM: And yet you don't know how the sponsorship program works? Isn't that program essential to keep Good Graces open?

DP: I don't know. I told you, you should ask Natasha about that.

SM: We will. I'm interested in finding out what you know about it.

JY: Detective, Ms. Pomeroy has already said more than once that she doesn't know about this sponsorship program. If you continue to ask her the same question, she can only repeat that she doesn't know. Let's move on. Do you have any other questions you'd like to ask?

TA: Since she's not really answering anything, I'd say we're done for now, Counselor. Let me just leave you with this thought, Dana. I think you're involved in this whole mess up to your eyeballs. You may not be the only one in on it, but there's not a doubt in my mind that you know more than you're saying. As soon as we have enough evidence, I'm gonna come knocking on your door to read you your rights. You follow me? So I suggest you go home and give this some serious thought. Talk it over with your attorney, if you want to. But I'm telling you right now, your best bet is to come clean with us about everything. You tell us everything you know and maybe the DA will go easy on you. But you keep stonewalling and Jake Hood is going to come down on you harder than you ever thought possible. You'll be looking at the death penalty for your part in Trudi's murder, I guarantee it. Now you get on out of here and think about this. When you're ready to talk, you give us a call. I hope that'll be before we come to arrest you.

JY: That is enough, Detective! You will not threaten my client.

TA: I'm not threatening her. I'm just telling her the way it is. And Dana? Don't try to run. You'll only make things worse if you do.

JY: This interview is over! My client and I are leaving now. If you have any more questions, you can contact my office. Good day.

End interview: 10:38 a.m.