Ervin Cyr interview #3

Saturday, October 30, 2021 – 11:30 a.m.

Ervin Cyr is a member of the Yoknapatawpha Players board.

Detectives Magee and Beckwith spoke with him again at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective P. Beckwith
• Detective J. Magee
• Ervin Cyr

Ervin Cyr: So we meet again, detectives.

Detective Magee: Hello, doctor. Hope you're well?

Ervin Cyr: I am. And you?

Detective Magee: Fine. We'll need your full name and address again before we start.

Ervin Cyr: Sure. Ervin Cyr. I live at 601 Troon Road in Oxford.

Detective Magee: Okay, Erv, we'd like you to think back as well as you can to the time of the climactic battle scene during the zombie play.

Ervin Cyr: All right.

Detective Magee: Describe step by step how that part of the play occurred.

Ervin Cyr: Okay, so the zombie characters rushed the lab, forcing us out into a wide-open section of the play's military camp. The camp took about two-thirds of the warehouse from north to south, so it's a good-sized space. It was darkened, and there were various places to hide, like behind vehicles or barrels and crates, that sort of thing.

Detective Beckwith: Who ran out of the lab with you, if anyone?

Ervin Cyr: Neal was just in front of me, and Cherie was just behind me. Martin was screaming at us from behind, telling us to go find something to hide behind.

Detective Beckwith: Did y'all hide?

Ervin Cyr: Yeah. I saw Neal hide behind a fuel barrel at first. I ran farther into the field and hid behind some crates. Cherie, who wasn't playing along at any part in this play, just ran past me. I assumed she just had enough and was trying to bail out on the whole thing.

Detective Magee: You weren't with Cherie for the battle?

Ervin Cyr: Nope, she ran past me and was gone. Next time I saw her, she was at the evacuation point at the end of the play.

Detective Beckwith: Neal said you and Cherie were together during the battle.

Ervin Cyr: Well, I don't know how he would know that since he ran backstage.

Detective Beckwith: Come again?

Ervin Cyr: Yeah, he first hid behind a barrel, and then, when I hid behind the crates and looked back, he ran backstage.

Detective Magee: Are you sure it was him?

Ervin Cyr: Well, I only saw a glimpse of him, his backside and a leg, but I'm pretty sure it was him because he wasn't behind that barrel anymore.

Detective Beckwith: When was the next time you saw Neal?

Ervin Cyr: At the evacuation point.

Detective Magee: Before the rehearsal, did you have any discussions with anyone to be teamed up with Cherie during the show?

Ervin Cyr: Are you asking if I purposely set up our pairing at the outset of the play?

Detective Magee: If you want to be blunt, yes.

Ervin Cyr: You've got to be kidding.

Detective Magee: How so?

Ervin Cyr: I can't stand the woman. Most people can't. Everyone who comes into contact with her is worse off for it.

Detective Beckwith: Are you sure, Erv? The way Cherie tells it, you came to see her a fair number of times when she was working at the Rebel Yell.

Ervin Cyr: Just what have y'all been investigating? Scott's dead, and y'all are looking for clues in an old strip club? Please tell me you have something better than that.

Detective Beckwith: We follow the leads we have, and one of them connects you and Cherie.

Ervin Cyr: Yeah, well, you'll have to get better leads, Detective Beckwith, because this dog won't hunt. Oh, I know where this is going. You found out about her surgery, didn't you?

Detective Magee: Surgery?

Ervin Cyr: Okay, listen, I am one of the best cosmetic surgeons in America. I have done thousands of breast augmentations in my life. Cherie's wasn't special. She and Glenn wanted it done, so I did it, and I charged them the same price I charge everyone else. I wished they had asked someone else.

Detective Magee: Why?

Ervin Cyr: Because I knew Cherie was manipulating Glenn for his money. And even though she knew I hated her guts, I had to do the surgery because I couldn't tell Glenn "no." She manipulated us both.

Detective Beckwith: And Glenn didn't see through that?

Ervin Cyr: Glenn saw what he wanted to see. Once, early on, I told him that I thought Cherie was only interested in him for his money, and instantly he was on his feet, loaded for bear. Neal was there and grabbed him from behind. Otherwise, it would've been a fistfight that I would've lost. After that, I didn't say anything negative about the woman in front of Glenn.

Detective Magee: What about in front of us?

Ervin Cyr: Cherie's nothing but a two-bit whore. Happy?

Detective Beckwith: We're not looking for a fight, just the truth.

Ervin Cyr: If you were looking for the truth, remember that I'm the board member that stands for everything opposite of what Cherie stands for. It seems like you think Cherie and someone are responsible for Scott's death.

Detective Beckwith: No one said that.

Ervin Cyr: You didn't have to. If you think Cherie had something to do with Scott's death—accident or not—you should be looking at her friends, not enemies.

Detective Beckwith: Who's that? Heath?

Ervin Cyr: Heath is a drug-addled nimrod.

Detective Beckwith: Who then?

Ervin Cyr: If I had to guess, I'd still say Martin. I told you before that he consistently sided with Cherie on board issues when he should have the actors' back instead. If he personally profited from something that could have potentially put a crew member in danger, I wouldn't be surprised that he'd do it anyway.

Detective Magee: Are you saying that Martin might have done something to hurt Scott?

Ervin Cyr: I said I wouldn't put it past him. He did go backstage during the big battle like Neal did. Martin, as an actor, would have absolutely understood where the backstage began and ended and also know how the play was going to progress. I have no idea what he was doing back there.

Detective Magee: You didn't know anything about the play before the day of the rehearsal?

Ervin Cyr: Other than it was going to be immersive, I don't think any of the board knew anything about the play.

Detective Beckwith: Besides Martin, is there anyone else you can think of that has been doing things out of the ordinary at the theater?

Ervin Cyr: Now that you mention it, about a month back, I went down to the theater to see if Anna was there so I could answer a question she had about financing a rental vehicle. She wasn't there, but Woody was.

Detective Beckwith: Was Woody not supposed to be there?

Ervin Cyr: Woody has worked after hours before. That's not a problem. The weird thing, though, was that it looked like he was loading props into his van. When I said, "Hey, Wood, whatcha doing?" he about jumped out of his skin.

Detective Magee: Did you just startle him?

Ervin Cyr: Well, maybe, but he was all nervous and made some excuse like, "Scott wants me to take some of these props home to fix them up a bit."

Detective Beckwith: Did you believe him?

Ervin Cyr: I didn't have any reason to doubt him. Scott did make and repair props at his house, so I figured maybe Woody was just doing the same.

Detective Magee: Did he return the props you saw?

Ervin Cyr: I don't know. I would assume so. I didn't hear different. I wouldn't have brought it up, but he was so nervous, it did make me suspicious at the time.

Detective Beckwith: Any other unusual activity at the theater that you can recall?

Ervin Cyr: No, I can't think of anything else.

Detective Magee: Okay, Erv, we're going to look into some of the information you've given us.

Ervin Cyr: So you'll probably need me to come in again, right?

Detective Magee: That's right. Thanks for your time today.

Interview ended – 11:59 a.m.