Pam Thompson interview

Friday, April 29, 2022 – 3:00 p.m.

Pam Thompson is a private investigator in Yoknapatawpha County.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy asked her to come into the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department to discuss one of her recent clients.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Pam Thompson

Detective Armstrong: Good to see you again, Pam. Thanks for coming in today. For the record, would you state your name and address, please?

Pam Thompson: Pamela Thompson, 209 Price Street, Oxford.

Detective Armstrong: And your occupation?

Pam Thompson: I own a private investigations firm.

Detective Armstrong: What type of investigations do you typically conduct?

Pam Thompson: The usual stuff—extramarital affairs, insurance fraud, research for divorce cases, some professional investigations. Oh, and background checks for employers.

Detective Armstrong: I understand that your business requires a certain amount of client confidentiality. So as we discussed on the phone, here's a subpoena that instructs you to hand over and discuss any materials you have regarding your investigation of Blake Stillwater. As I'm sure you're aware, this subpoena legally requires you to discuss all details of your investigation with us, so your client can't blame you.

Pam Thompson: That's very kind of you to provide me with an excuse, detective.

Detective Armstrong: Well, you know we try to help around here, Pam. So, you know the drill. Spill it.

Pam Thompson: I was hired by Eugenia Stillwater. She wanted me to check around and see if her husband was cheating on her.

Detective Armstrong: Hell, any waitress in town could have told her that.

Pam Thompson: I'm sure that Blake has quite a reputation, but she wanted more details than just gossip from the Square.

Detective Armstrong: And what did you find out?

Pam Thompson: He was sleeping with Wendy Holloway.

Detective Armstrong: That simple?

Pam Thompson: Yeah, there's not much more to it than that. It seems she was helping him research his new book—

Detective Armstrong: I'm sure she was.

Pam Thompson: No, really. She was providing technical details and editorial services for his new novel. Apparently, the new opus deals with the internet or technology or something, and she was helping out. He paid her for her services, and I believe that she legitimately was providing professional advice.

Detective Armstrong: So where did the affair come in?

Pam Thompson: I'm not sure. I don't know if they got personally involved after they started working together or if the affair started, and then he hired her. I never could find out.

Detective Armstrong: What kind of dirt did you dig up?

Pam Thompson: Well, I just gave you copies of my files so you can read the details for yourself. But they usually worked a bit, talked about computer stuff, and then had sex. That was pretty par for the course. He would go over, they would talk a while, eventually end up groping each other, go to bed, and then he would shower and drive home to his wife.

Detective Armstrong: Any chance that you're mistaken? Maybe it was all professional?

Pam Thompson: No way. Look at the pictures. That ain't professional.

Detective Armstrong: Yeah, I figured that. Just wanted to hear your take on it. So how did the wife take it?

Pam Thompson: It's weird. She seemed so cool throughout the process. I gave her weekly reports, and she always seemed very calm. I think she knew all along, so what I found wasn't a shock. It was only confirming what she already knew.

Detective Armstrong: Did that change?

Pam Thompson: Yeah, when I gave her the final report, and she saw the pictures, you could see her blood boiling. She seemed like she was going to explode. One second, she would be crying and all sad, then the next, she'd be mad as hell. A couple of times, I felt like I should hug her, but then I was afraid she would hit me or something.

Detective Armstrong: Did you get the sense that she might get violent over this?

Pam Thompson: No. Well … I don't know. Going by most of the times I met with her, I wouldn't think so, but she was all over the place emotionally that day she saw the photos. I don't know what she might've done in that state.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know how long it was before Wendy Holloway was killed that you gave Eugenia Stillwater the photos?

Pam Thompson: When was she killed?

Detective Armstrong: The night of April 15th or early the next morning.

Pam Thompson: Then it would've been a couple of days before that.

Detective Armstrong: You met Wendy Holloway in person?

Pam Thompson: Just briefly.

Detective Armstrong: What was your impression of her?

Pam Thompson: We didn't spend much time together, so I can't give you a good picture. From what I saw, she was smart, self-confident, not particularly trusting—she didn't want to let us in the house at first, she gathered up her papers so we couldn't get a good look, things like that. More than that, I couldn't say.

Detective Armstrong: Did you ever meet the son, Philip Stillwater? Was he ever there when you met with Eugenia Stillwater?

Pam Thompson: No, I never met him. She always came to my office to get the reports, and she was always alone. I never went to their house, and she'd asked me not to call her there unless it was urgent.

Detective Armstrong: Did anything urgent ever come up?

Pam Thompson: Are you kidding? What could be urgent in this kind of case? "Hello, Mrs. Stillwater? Your husband is having sex with the other woman right now. Hurry on over if you want to see it"? I don't think so.

Detective Armstrong: Everyone in town says Blake's had a ton of affairs. Do you know if she hired anyone to investigate any of the others?

Pam Thompson: No, I don't, although I doubt it. I'm not really sure what was different this time. I can't really tell you why, but I just had this feeling like this one might have been more serious. Maybe it had gone on for a longer amount of time. I don't know why I feel that way, but I just got the impression that she thought this woman might be more of a threat. Like it wasn't just a fling with some bimbo.

Detective Armstrong: I see. Well, look, Pam, I appreciate you coming in, and I don't want to take up any more of your time. We'll look through your files, and if we need anything, we'll call you.

Pam Thompson: Okay. Good luck with the investigation.

Interview ended – 3:19 p.m.