WHO: Rhett Wyatt and Jacob Wolfe WHEN: Monday, July 9th, 2018. WHERE: Municipal Building? SUMMARY: It's a dia-log! This is the interview between Rhett and Jacob going over any information Rhett might have in regard to his relationship with Moira MacTeer. WARNINGS: Eh. Discussions of murder and use of drugs/being drugged.
“Have a seat, Mr. Wyatt. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?”
“I’m good, thank you. Perhaps my lawyer would like something? Hold on a moment, let us confer. …...What brand is your coffee?”
“It’s the kind of coffee made in a police station coffee machine. It’s got caffeine and it’s probably nothing fancy.”
“...Let me confer with my lawyer.”
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“No thank you. ...Now, you said you had additional questions? How can I help?”
“I’d like to go back over the events the night of the party. Can you walk me back through that night? Start with before the party. What did you do before it started?”
“I got ready. Dressed. Went over the toast I’d give. Had my assistant quiz me on names. Talked to my daughter. Nothing terribly exciting or relevant to Moira, I’m afraid. I didn’t see her before the party.”
“It seems as though Ms. MacTeer was very invested in her role as Cora March. Did Ms. MacTeer encourage you to play the part of Ed March outside of the set?”
“She absolutely was. Very committed to her role. And yes, she did.”
“Can you elaborate on that? Outside of production, was your relationship purely professional or were you also romantically involved?”
“We would arrange to meet up for character exercises together. And neither.”
“So you hadn’t been sleeping with Ms. MacTeer?”
“What does this line of questioning have to do with Moira’s murder?”
“We can move on. The night of the party, we have notes from the first time you spoke with us, you stated that you were feeling ill? Do you remember eating or drinking something that tasted off? And did you notice any uncomfortable interactions with Ms. MacTeer and other guests in the party?”
“Ah yes. The first time I was spoken too I was in shock about Moira’s death. I do not remember what I ate at the party. It was probably some combination of the food and all of the alcohol I consumed. Usually I have a very strong constitution, but that night I overindulged. Maybe the alcohol reacted poorly with the food? I do not know. I do remember the vomiting afterward. I was quite ill the next day. It was an incredibly unpleasant experience. I did not notice any uncomfortable interactions that I remember, but due to the illness and alcohol I have only the haziest recollection of the party at all.”
“Can you describe your illness with a little more detail? And please walk me through what little you do remember of the party starting from the beginning when you arrived and up to the point where you left.”
“Like I said, I don’t really remember. Because of what happened to Moira, I’ve been trying to but it’s very hazy. I remember feeling nauseous. It was like being trapped in a dream. There was this intense young woman with dark hair that I danced with. Another young woman with dark hair approaching. Eliza. I think I danced with her mother. Cora- I mean Moira - She’s surrounded by people and she’s laughing. She’s drunk. Then I’m outside and Jess Schnitzler is leading me to my room. She looks like an angel.”
“Mr. Wyatt, did this begin with your first drink?”
“I don't know.”
“I know it’s hard to remember, but can you recall how many alcoholic drinks you had that night?”
“I cannot recall. So many. Too many. I wasn't in the best spirits and sharing a drink with someone is an excellent way to make someone feel welcome and I wanted to do my part and help all of the guests have a good time. (Broken laugh) I'd say I paid the price.”
“You say you weren’t in the best spirits. Can you elaborate? Did someone say something to upset you? We have your report on the letter you received in the mail—was there one prior to that?”
“No letter like that, no. But there were quite a few incidents. Things left in my room. Animals where they weren’t supposed to be. Ghostly women disappearing in windows. My nephew, who was a police detective at the time, assured me that it was either fans playing jokes or my imagination, things like that. I hadn’t been sleeping well. I was pleased with my performance, but I had issues with the script. I’d been thinking about quitting the production. I’d been reassured, but I was still on edge before the party. I know I definitely went into it intending to drink.”
“When these things were happening, the animals, women in your windows—were you drinking at the time, too?”
“No.”
“Do you take any prescription drugs? Or do you take anything recreationally that might have interacted with the number of drinks you had that night? We know that Ms. MacTeer had hydrocodone in her system from the toxicology reports. Did you and Ms. MacTeer drink together often? Did you take drugs together, prescription or otherwise?”
“I do not take drugs recreationally. I’m very fastidious when it comes to my performance. I don’t like anything interfering with that. I am not currently on any prescription drugs either. I do take some natural supplements. Melatonin. A couple others suggested by my health specialist and nutritionist. I don’t think hydrocodone is one of them, but I’ll admit I have no idea what that is. They could vouch that I do not take drugs recreationally. Moira and I did not drink together very often. Maybe once or twice. I certainly never took any drugs with her. Cecelia has a very strict anti drug rule. I’m surprised to learn that Moira was on them.”
“With Ms. Reyes’ policy against drugs, how was that enforced? And have you ever felt any concerning effects from the natural supplements you’re taking? Did you take them before you started drinking the night of the party?”
“If you were caught on drugs or taking drugs, you would be fired. And no. The melatonin makes me sleep deeper when I do sleep. I did not. I tend to take them before bed.”
“Okay. Earlier we were discussing your relationship with Ms. MacTeer. You stated that you would do character exercises together. Can you elaborate more on what that entailed?”
“We would roleplay the characters together in different scenarios. Like the two of them having dinner at a restaurant for example. Or a stroll through the park. We’d text or call each other as the characters. Things like that.”
“Based on the testimonies that we have from other witnesses, Ms. MacTeer took her role very seriously. Did she break character often or was she fully committed to her role as Cora March?”
“Fully committed. Definitely.”
“But you weren’t, correct?”
“...What do you mean?”
“I mean that we do not have the same type of reports about your behavior as we do about Ms. MacTeer. You still actively participated in most activities as yourself.”
“You can be fully committed to a role without causing those kinds of public scenes. And it isn’t a fair comparison, because even if I were to act as the character, it would bother people less and be less ‘reportworthy’ as you put it, because my character is based on a person that is alive and well. Moira’s character was based on a person who died a very tragic death.”
“How long have you known Moira? According to my notes, you have a romantic history with her. How did that end? And how did you feel about reuniting with her for this movie?”
“We met on a film about twenty-six years ago. We got together and did a few films. It was very serious for awhile, but things got rocky. She could be difficult. Inconsiderate. Self-absorbed. While we were together, I fell in love with another woman who eventually became my third wife. When I learned I would be reuniting with her for this movie, I was apprehensive at first, and was not sure that it would work out. But it had been many years. We’d had many relationships since each other. We were really on the same page this time in ways that we weren’t the last.”
“You say that things were rocky. When you were brought together again, did she seem open or receptive to working with you again? Was she also apprehensive? Was she initially upset or was it all water-under-the-bridge from the get-go?”
“We’re both actors who subscribe to the same school. There’s an automatic kinship in that. Moira understood my process better than non-method actors. I understood hers. It was… very nice to have something like that. Especially since I was apprehensive about the source material. I wouldn’t say it was all water-under-the-bridge, but we were both professional enough that we could move forward and focus on the things that we did well, having already learned what we didn’t. I felt very out-of-my-element when I wasn’t in character. When she wasn’t being so difficult that it got lost or fixating on the ghosts, I really appreciated the familiarity. It was a little like coming home, in a sense.”
“What made you feel out-of-your-element when you weren’t in character?”
“I don’t spend time in small towns and I do not typically take films in this genre.”
“Just out of curiosity, what made you take this role?”
“My manager talked me into it. Thought it would fill a gap in my career.”
“Well, Mr. Wyatt, I greatly appreciate that you took time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. We’ll be in touch if we need anything further.”