Jack Swanson interview

Monday, May 25, 2020 - 10:30 a.m.

Jack Swanson is a part-time actor and had an intimate relationship with Zoe Chase.

Detective Armstrong stopped by Ms. Chase's residence and found Mr. Swanson there.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Jack Swanson

Detective Armstrong: Would you state your name and address, please?

Jack Swanson: Jack Swanson. I live out in Abbeville, 61 Lynch Drive.

Detective Armstrong: And your occupation?

Jack Swanson: Actor.

Detective Armstrong: Really? I don't run into too many actors around here. Everyone's a writer. Have you been in anything I might have seen?

Jack Swanson: I had a small part in a movie called Strange Weather. You might have seen me in that.

Detective Armstrong: Huh. Don't think I caught that one.

Jack Swanson: Holly Hunter? Carrie Coon?

Detective Armstrong: Sorry. Anything else?

Jack Swanson: A few little things here and there. Nothing major.

Detective Armstrong: Okay. And do you do anything else for a living?

Jack Swanson: Some odd jobs here and there. Sometimes I wash dishes at the Downtown Grill. I've got a few construction crews that I work with when the weather is good. Just doing punch-out work and stuff.

Detective Armstrong: And what was your relationship with Zoe Chase?

Jack Swanson: My god, we're sitting here in her living room. What do you think?

Detective Armstrong: I still have to ask the questions. For the record.

Jack Swanson: We were dating. Boyfriend and girlfriend.

Detective Armstrong: Just out of curiosity, what are you doing here?

Jack Swanson: What do you mean?

Detective Armstrong: I mean, I came by here expecting to see her parents, not you. What are you doing here?

Jack Swanson: Oh. I figured her parents would be here by now, so I came by to pay my respects. I met them a few months ago when they were here. They're real nice people.

Detective Armstrong: But they're not here.

Jack Swanson: They were here when I got here. They had to go out and asked me if I could stay here in case anyone came by.

Detective Armstrong: Uh-huh. And you're just going to hang out here until they get back?

Jack Swanson: Look, this isn't easy for any of us. If there's something I can do to make it a little easier for them, I'm going to do it, okay?

Detective Armstrong: Well, I'm sorry to be putting you through this at such a time. Were you and Zoe very serious?

Jack Swanson: We were getting there. Yeah, I guess you could say that we were serious.

Detective Armstrong: So you two weren't dating anyone else.

Jack Swanson: No.

Detective Armstrong: Well, I don't want to seem rude here, but my information suggests otherwise.

Jack Swanson: And just what is your information?

Detective Armstrong: I've been told that Zoe was quite a popular girl. She evidently had several male friends.

Jack Swanson: That's just rumors. Small town gossip.

Detective Armstrong: I've got this on pretty good authority.

Jack Swanson: Well, what do you expect? I mean, you don't just get married first thing. Of course, we dated around, but we had gotten fairly serious lately. We'd even talked a bit about marriage.

Detective Armstrong: Oh, I see. I must be mistaken.

Jack Swanson: Sometimes it takes even the small-town gossips a little while to catch the latest news. But we had, in fact, become really serious over the last few weeks and months.

Detective Armstrong: Okay. Can you think of anyone who might want to do Zoe any harm?

Jack Swanson: No, not at all. She only had friends.

Detective Armstrong: Can you tell me about some of these friends? Who did she hang out with?

Jack Swanson: Dani Bonner has been her friend for years. They met when they were freshmen at Ole Miss. A couple of jokers, those two.

Detective Armstrong: Okay. Who else?

Jack Swanson: Then there's Mallory Benson. She met her at that Oxford Writers Circle thing. They hang out quite a bit. That writers' group is run by a guy named Steven Atwater, so she saw a lot of him. He was always pestering her about helping him get his book published.

Detective Armstrong: Anyone else?

Jack Swanson: She had lots of friends. Those were the main ones. There's this woman named Peggy who typed for her. I can't remember her last name, but she works at Copy Time and does a lot of typing for some of the local writers. They met at the writing group too.

Detective Armstrong: Any other friends? How about men?

Jack Swanson: I don't know any male friends other than that Atwater guy. Maybe she had some, maybe not. I can't say that I kept up with all her escapades.

Detective Armstrong: Escapades? That's a pretty strong word. I thought you guys were all serious, talking about marriage, and yet she's having escapades.

Jack Swanson: I'm just talking. I didn't mean anything.

Detective Armstrong: I bet. Just for the record, where were you on Saturday night?

Jack Swanson: You think I killed her? That's crazy! Why would I do something like that? I just told you we were talking about getting married.

Detective Armstrong: I'm not saying you killed her, Jack, but I do need to know where you were.

Jack Swanson: Fine. Zoe had her writers' group meeting that night, so I went out drinking with a couple buddies.

Detective Armstrong: Who were these buddies?

Jack Swanson: Just some guys I know from around town.

Detective Armstrong: Names, Jack. I need names.

Jack Swanson: Henry Butler and Russell Templeton, okay?

Detective Armstrong: Where did you go?

Jack Swanson: Several places. We were sort of bar hopping, as much as you can in a town this size.

Detective Armstrong: Which bars did you hop to?

Jack Swanson: The usual ones. Duffy's. Proud Larry's. The Roadhouse.

Detective Armstrong: What time was it when you called it a night?

Jack Swanson: Closing time. About midnight.

Detective Armstrong: And where did you go then?

Jack Swanson: What do you mean?

Detective Armstrong: Did you go home? Did you come here? Where did you go?

Jack Swanson: Well… okay, I'm not proud of this, but I slept in my car. It was late, and I was… tired, so I just sacked out in the car. I woke up around 7:00 a.m. and drove home.

Detective Armstrong: To Abbeville?

Jack Swanson: Yes.

Detective Armstrong: Where was your car when you were sleeping in it?

Jack Swanson: It was parked at the Beacon Restaurant.

Detective Armstrong: What happened to your buddies? Where did they go?

Jack Swanson: I don't know. Home, I guess.

Detective Armstrong: Well, is there anything else you think might help me?

Jack Swanson: No, that's about it.

Detective Armstrong: Thanks for your time. We'll be in touch.

Interview ended – 10:51 a.m.