Henrietta Jones interview

Thursday, March 9, 2023 – 3:15 p.m.

Henrietta Jones is a nurse supervisor at Baptist Memorial Hospital.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy interviewed her in her office at the hospital.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Henrietta Jones

Detective Murphy: For the record, could you please state your name and address?

Henrietta Jones: My name is Henrietta Jones. My address is 210 Pegues Road.

Detective Murphy: Have you worked here long?

Henrietta Jones: It will be 20 years next fall.

Detective Murphy: Congratulations. What can you tell us about Delilah Garret?

Henrietta Jones: If you're asking me as her supervisor, I'm not sure I can say much more than she works here and her approximate salary.

Detective Murphy: I'm just asking you as a person.

Henrietta Jones: That gives me more leeway. Delilah is delightful, if you'll excuse the alliteration.

Detective Murphy: Delightful in what way?

Henrietta Jones: Effervescent springs to mind. She gets along with everyone: patients, their families, doctors, nurses, staff, everyone.

Detective Murphy: Does she ever get frustrated or angry at work?

Henrietta Jones: I'm sure she does, but she never lets it show. She's a real trouper, that one.

Detective Armstrong: Thank you for letting us use your office the night her husband died.

Henrietta Jones: Such a tragedy. They might not have had the perfect marriage, but who does? Delilah was happy. Whenever there was a gripe session, she just smiled and listened politely. She'd never risk alienating the others.

Detective Armstrong: Why do you say her marriage wasn't perfect?

Henrietta Jones: I just know someone who lived in Whitehall and happened to go to the meetings. Imagine my surprise when I realized the arrogant man my friend complained about was Delilah's husband. Delilah is the antithesis of pompous.

Detective Armstrong: Spouses often appear to be opposites of each other, but that doesn't necessarily mean there's trouble under the hood. With Delilah and Ambrose, did you hear the engine knocking?

Henrietta Jones: After a while, a supervisor develops a second sense. Being asked to work extra shifts is a fact of life in a hospital. Each person, depending on what's happening in their life, reacts differently to the request.

Detective Armstrong: How did Delilah react?

Henrietta Jones: Lately, with a sense of relief.

Detective Armstrong: How did you interpret that?

Henrietta Jones: That she was glad for an excuse not to go home. Of course, I could have been reading more into her reaction than existed, but that's the sense I gathered.

Detective Armstrong: Did she ever ask to work more?

Henrietta Jones: Not in so many words. She was simply quick to volunteer.

Detective Armstrong: You say this was lately she'd had this sense of relief?

Henrietta Jones: That's right.

Detective Armstrong: Any idea what caused the change in her attitude?

Henrietta Jones: No. I assumed she just wanted a break from her husband, but I don't know. I never asked, and she never said.

Detective Armstrong: So you thought their marriage was in trouble?

Henrietta Jones: No, nothing like that. Sometimes people just need a break from each other. Delilah doesn't have any children, so there's no buffer between them, if that makes sense. It's just the two of them—all the time. Sometimes people just need a little space.

Detective Armstrong: So she wasn't having any problems with her husband?

Henrietta Jones: I really don't know. I don't think so, but I don't know that for sure.

Detective Murphy: If Mrs. Garrett needed to talk, unburden herself, who do you think she might approach on the staff?

Henrietta Jones: Patrick Tyler over in Records. I've seen them eating together in the cafeteria sometimes. I find it hard to picture Delilah airing her dirty laundry among the people in this department. Too uncomfortable.

Detective Armstrong: Delilah worked a double shift on March 5th. Would she have had an opportunity to leave the hospital grounds during those hours?

Henrietta Jones: Smokers are required to take their breaks off the property. Delilah doesn't smoke, but what I'm saying is that the nurses cover each other. If Delilah needed to run to the store or do some other quick errand—and she wouldn't even think of going anywhere unless things were under control—she probably would've had no difficulty finding someone more than happy to help.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know if that happened on the 5th?

Henrietta Jones: As long as the department is running smoothly, I try to step back and not interfere. If Delilah did run to the store, there's no question in my mind that the trip was both necessary and appropriately timed.

Detective Armstrong: If Delilah went to the store, how long would it be before someone noticed?

Henrietta Jones: It really depends on the patient mix. Whether Delilah was requested by name. Whether there was an emergency. She might very well have gone to the store that day, and it never came to my attention.

Detective Armstrong: Who would know whether she went out to the store or anywhere else that day?

Henrietta Jones: The people who were on shift with her. They would've had to cover for her while she was gone, so they would know.

Detective Armstrong: Working a double shift like that, she must have needed to eat sometime. Do you know when she took a break for dinner?

Henrietta Jones: Off the top of my head, I don't. Again, the nurses would know better. They take their breaks when the patient demands allow.

Detective Murphy: Did you ever meet Ambrose Garrett?

Henrietta Jones: Once at a Christmas party.

Detective Murphy: How did he strike you?

Henrietta Jones: If I remember correctly, he was pleasant enough.

Detective Murphy: He just came that one time? What about the other years?

Henrietta Jones: Our gathering is usually a bit on the impromptu side. Many of the staff attend without significant others.

Detective Armstrong: Would you be surprised if it turns out that Delilah is implicated as being involved in her husband's death?

Henrietta Jones: Certainly. Delilah is the least likely person I know to fit into that scenario.

Detective Murphy: Thank you for your time. If we have any further questions, we may need to contact you again.

Henrietta Jones: Don't hesitate. I'm happy to help.

Interview ended – 3:24 p.m.