Jimmy Carnes interview #2

Tuesday, January 12, 2021 – 3:20 p.m.

Jimmy Carnes was working as a clerk at the Kangaroo Express convenience store when he found the body of Katie Masters in the women's restroom.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy re-interviewed him at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective Ted Armstrong
• Detective Samantha Murphy
• Jimmy Carnes

Detective Murphy: Right this way, Jimmy. Take the same seat that you had the last time you were here.

Jimmy Carnes: Thanks.

Detective Murphy: Please state your full name and address for the record.

Jimmy Carnes: My name Jimmy Carnes, and I still live in my trailer on lot 66 at the Wheel Estates, on 913 South 18th St. I've lived with my grandparents most of my life, but I moved into town last year. Can't say I like it much.

Detective Armstrong: Are you sure that you never spoke with Katie Masters?

Jimmy Carnes: No, I didn't talk to her.

Detective Armstrong: Didn't she flirt quite openly with you?

Jimmy Carnes: Yes, she did flirt a lot. Her and another girl came to the station a lot. Sometimes, just to buy gas and sometimes to get chips. Anytime she got out of the car, she flirted with anyone around, not just me.

Detective Armstrong: You tried to get her to go out with you, didn't you?

Jimmy Carnes: No! I'm no fool. I knew she'd never go out with a farm boy like me. That by itself would've stopped her, but add to it the fact that I working at a gas station, and that would have been the clincher. She thought she was too good for the likes of me. I was tempted to tell her to stop flirting because I wasn't interested, but I didn't.

Detective Armstrong: Now, come on, Jimmy. You and I both know you couldn't resist asking her out.

Jimmy Carnes: I thought about asking her to go to church with me once, but I never did get up the nerve to do it. I didn't want to deal with being laughed at.

Detective Armstrong: Are you sure you never saw her wearing skates before the evening you found her in the restroom?

Jimmy Carnes: No, she never wore skates in the store before that night. I would have noticed.

Detective Armstrong: What about the missing restroom key? Are you telling us that you never missed the key until Rosalie Hansen brought it to your attention?

Jimmy Carnes: I never noticed the key being gone until then.

Detective Armstrong: So, did you put the Out of Order sign on the restroom door?

Jimmy Carnes: No, I didn't put that sign up. Do you know how much people complain when the restroom is closed?

Detective Armstrong: Did Katie make you mad enough to show her that you wouldn't take any more laughter from her?

Jimmy Carnes: What are you saying? I was never mad at her. Never! I thought she was beautiful. She acted trashy, but I knew she really wasn't.

Detective Armstrong: What did she say to you when she flirted?

Jimmy Carnes: Nothing. But her girlfriend didn't like it. I could hear them arguing about it one time. Her friend told her to stop teasing me, and Katie told her to shut up.

Detective Armstrong: Did she stop?

Jimmy Carnes: No, she still flirted every time she stopped for gas. They were still arguing when they got in the car one day, as they drove away.

Detective Murphy: Have you ever seen this man before? His name is John.

Jimmy Carnes: I don't know. Maybe? A lot of people come in the store.

Detective Murphy: What about this one? His name is Bobby.

Jimmy Carnes: No, I don't remember— wait, I think I have seen him. He's a friend of Katie's, right?

Detective Murphy: Is he?

Jimmy Carnes: I saw them arguing outside the store. I was keeping an eye on them in case I had to call the cops. Sometimes arguments can get out of hand, you know.

Detective Murphy: If they were arguing, what made you think they were friends.

Jimmy Carnes: I don't know. Just the way they were with each other, I guess.

Detective Murphy: When was that when you saw them arguing?

Jimmy Carnes: I don't know. It's been a little while. Maybe a couple, three weeks ago?

Detective Murphy: But you still remember it?

Jimmy Carnes: Yeah.

Detective Murphy: Okay. About the stranger you saw earlier in the evening on the day Katie was killed, have you remembered anything about him since we last spoke?

Jimmy Carnes: No, only that he was hurrying like he was in a rush. I've already told you everything I know. Can I go? I have to get to work or I'll lose my job.

Detective Murphy: All right. We may need to talk again. We'll be in touch.

Interview ended – 3:38 p.m.