Michael Robbins interview #2

Friday, April 29, 2022 – 10:47 a.m.

Michael Robbins is a local property developer and an acquaintance of Wendy Holloway.

Detective Murphy re-interviewed him at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective S. Murphy
• Michael Robbins

Detective Murphy: For the record, please state your name and address.

Michael Robbins: Michael Robbins, I live at 8 The Clovers, Oxford.

Detective Murphy: Thanks for coming in today, Mr. Robbins.

Michael Robbins: You're welcome, but honestly, I don't know what else I can tell you.

Detective Murphy: I'll get straight to the point. We have statements from witnesses that you did, in fact, know Ms. Holloway despite your claim to the contrary.

Michael Robbins: What's your question?

Detective Murphy: Why did you lie about knowing Ms. Holloway when we talked to you on the day her body was discovered on your property?

Michael Robbins: Firstly, the body was not found on my property. It was several yards beyond my property line.

Detective Murphy: And, secondly?

Michael Robbins: All right, I knew her. Why didn't I just say so in the first place? Well, I guess you could say I was in shock. Or you could say I was worried about the bad publicity. Or you could say—

Detective Murphy: What do you say, Mr. Robbins? You could have saved this department a lot of trouble and time if you'd just identified her the day we found her body.

Michael Robbins: I panicked. That's the truth. I just panicked.

Detective Murphy: About what?

Michael Robbins: Seeing her dead. I just flipped out about it.

Detective Murphy: Because of your involvement with her?

Michael Robbins: My involvement? You're kidding, right?

Detective Murphy: You knew her?

Michael Robbins: Yes, I knew her. She was a potential buyer for one of my units. I brought her to the site before we started construction. Her and that geeky brother of hers.

Detective Murphy: Her brother went with you and Ms. Holloway to the site?

Michael Robbins: Yes, what of it?

Detective Murphy: When was that?

Michael Robbins: I don't know, the end of last year sometime? I guess she thought he might want to buy a condo too.

Detective Murphy: Did they show any interest?

Michael Robbins: Wendy showed some, but not the brother.

Detective Murphy: Did he say why he wasn't interested?

Michael Robbins: Mumbled something about it being too rich for his blood, but you know that type. They think everything should be free or something as if you have a lot of nerve asking them to pay for it.

Detective Murphy: How long was this meeting?

Michael Robbins: I don't know. Maybe an hour or so.

Detective Murphy: Didn't you spend considerable time with Ms. Holloway before and after that meeting?

Michael Robbins: I met her when she first came to town.

Detective Murphy: Under what circumstances?

Michael Robbins: I believe it was at The Downtown Grill.

Detective Murphy: Rumor has it, you had a thing for her.

Michael Robbins: Thing? What sort of thing?

Detective Murphy: You tell me.

Michael Robbins: I was attracted to her, sure. A pretty woman always catches my eye. But she wasn't interested. I admit, I thought at first she was playing hard to get, but then I saw she just wasn't interested.

Detective Murphy: Are you easily discouraged when women don't seem interested?

Michael Robbins: What's that supposed to mean? Easily discouraged? Look, she was attractive. I tried for a while. I struck out. I didn't try to force myself on her if that's what you mean.

Detective Murphy: So you didn't follow her? Stalk her?

Michael Robbins: Oh, for God's sake. Follow her? Look, detective, I have a business that takes up most of my time. I don't have time to stalk anyone. Besides, plenty of women find me attractive and aren't averse to sharing a steak dinner and some adult recreation with me. I wasn't desperate for her. Or any woman for that matter.

Detective Murphy: Where were you on the night of April 15th?

Michael Robbins: Rhett Boland had a big bash for me to celebrate the progress on Kelly Green. Pretty swell of him, don't you think?

Detective Murphy: Yeah. Swell. Mr. Boland told us you left his house between 11:30 and midnight. Where did you go after that?

Michael Robbins: I went home.

Detective Murphy: Directly home, without making any stops?

Michael Robbins: Well, no. I did make one stop.

Detective Murphy: Where was that?

Michael Robbins: I called my friend, Bambi, while I was driving home to see if she'd like to join me for a nightcap. She did, so I swung by and picked her up. Then we went to my place for that nightcap.

Detective Murphy: Bambi? Like the Disney movie?

Michael Robbins: Her real name is Norma Jean Johnson, but what can I say? She wants me to call her Bambi.

Detective Murphy: I see. And when did you and Bambi part company?

Michael Robbins: The next afternoon around noon or a little after. I was on my way back home when Earl called me.

Detective Murphy: So you're saying she can corroborate your alibi for that night after you left Mr. Boland's home?

Michael Robbins: Yes.

Detective Murphy: Why did Earl call you before the police after Ms. Holloway's body was found?

Michael Robbins: It's company policy that anything unusual gets reported to me right away. Of course, one doesn't expect a dead body to be found on the site, so the policy doesn't have any special instructions like "call the police first." I guess he just panicked for a second himself. I told him to call y'all, and he did. Does that make either of us guilty of anything?

Detective Murphy: Poor judgment at a minimum.

Michael Robbins: Okay, so we have poor judgment. That's not a crime. And just so we're clear, I came out to the site to calm down my crew and obviously to keep the press away if possible. Which, as it turns out, wasn't possible.

Detective Murphy: Do you have any idea who might have killed Ms. Holloway?

Michael Robbins: No. I really was shocked. I can't think of anybody who would have that kind of hostility towards Wendy. She was a nice woman, as far as I could tell.

Detective Murphy: Did you ever see anyone bothering Ms. Holloway? Or did she ever complain about anything like that?

Michael Robbins: Not to me. I never saw anything that would have given me a clue.

Detective Murphy: All right, Mr. Robbins, thanks for your cooperation.

Michael Robbins: Sure.

Detective Murphy: If we have any further questions, my office will contact you. In the meantime, please notify the sheriff's department if you have to leave town.

Michael Robbins: I'm not going anywhere. Good afternoon, detective.

End interview – 11:08 a.m.