Scene 11: Interrogating Trina, redux

[paladinsuitsyou]

Previously...

The last interview with Trina Echolls can't really be called a rousing success, Booth reflects as he waits for her to enter the interrogation room at the Neptune Sheriff's office. He's hoping this one, with slightly more specific questions in his arsenal, will be a little more helpful.

Still. It's Trina. There's just no telling.

Comments

[dead_hooker_2]

No, there's really not.

Trina enters the interrogation room the way she enters any other room -- shoulders back, best foot (her right) forward, smile that's as bright as it is practiced.

"Well, Agent Booth. How nice to see you again."

[paladinsuitsyou]

Booth's smile is also practiced. "Same to you, Ms. Echolls. Please. Have a seat. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Water?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"No, thank you."

He'll have to find some other way to get her DNA. But a nice try.

"What can I do for you?"

[paladinsuitsyou]

Aw, she's so paranoid! It'd be cute if it were less irritating.

"Just a few follow-up questions. You were supposed to star in a film, Princess of the Damned, just before your father's death, is that correct?"

The sooner he gets to the point, the sooner she goes away. Or confesses. Either one would be just fine with him.

[dead_hooker_2]

If she was surprised by the question, it doesn't show.

"Yes. But I understandably took a little time off acting after my father died."

[paladinsuitsyou]

"Absolutely understandable."

"What I don't understand, though, is how your stepmother ended up inside one of the sarcophaguses that was once slated to be used in your film. Seems the new director of this movie filming recently - which is a lot like the one you backed out of, funny enough - hired a lot of the same people to work on The Royal Mummy, and used a lot of the same props. You know anything about that?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"No," says Trina.

[paladinsuitsyou]

"Really? Because the director tells me he offered you the lead role, and you turned him down. Seems odd, for an actress, turning down a big part like that."

[dead_hooker_2]

"Agent Booth, I just can't be expected to remember every part I'm offered. If Scotty had offered me a part in a movie, I would have told him to call my agent. And if my agent didn't think it was worth passing on to me, I wouldn't have seen it."

[paladinsuitsyou]

"From what your agent tells me, you haven't been working much since your father's death," Booth says in a conversational tone. Or much before, really, but as implied from her screen credits and what the agent told him, she was at least being less choosy before then. "Why is that?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"I lost my father very suddenly and very violently, and it put a lot into perspective. It's not unusual, from what I understand, for something like that to cause a sort of reassessment of priorities. Since then, I've worked on what I've wanted to work on, and I've also had other things that I choose to spend my time on."

[paladinsuitsyou]

All very reasonable explanations. And yet missing one small bit: "And you could afford to be picky, right? I mean, your father's death left you a very wealthy young woman."

[dead_hooker_2]

"Exactly what are you implying?"

[paladinsuitsyou]

Booth shrugs, nonchalant. "I'm just saying that if your stepmother turned up alive, after your father's death, there would have been a pretty sizable legal battle over the will, right? And your share of the inheritance, while still substantial, would have been slightly less than what you've currently got. Is that a correct reading of the situation?"

[dead_hooker_2]

Actually, given that Lynn had been legally declared dead, and had committed fraud, not it's probably not a correct reading of the situation.

"You'd have to ask a lawyer, I think."

[paladinsuitsyou]

Well, whether or not the funds would have been split up, a lot of the money would go toward legal expenses and court costs, and no one would want that.

"I did," Booth says. "And while it's not likely that Lynn would wind up getting a dime of that money, she could tie things up in court for quite some time. That gets expensive. Lawyers, right?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"Again, you'd have to ask a lawyer," says Trina.

"I can recommend one, if you like. She's good. Expensive, but good."

Trina keeps her on retainer.

[paladinsuitsyou]

"I've got one, thanks," Booth says. "Can you think of anyone connected with both your film and the one Scotty is filming now who might have wanted your stepmother dead?"

He's fishing again, but he's got very little in the way of hard facts to work with, so it's all he can do.

[dead_hooker_2]

"I don't even know who Scotty's using on this one. If you've got a name and I've got my dayplanner, I can tell you if they worked on Princess. But that's about it."

[paladinsuitsyou]

Booth nods, glad to finally have some helpful information.

"I'll be in touch when I have some names," Booth says. "I'm going back up to the set to do some more work tomorrow."

He stands, extending a hand. "Thank you very much for your help, Ms. Echolls. I think that's all for today."

[dead_hooker_2]

Trina shakes his hand.

"Of course. Don't hesitate to call."

She does have that lawyer on retainer, after all.

[paladinsuitsyou]

"I won't," he says, and his smile is less polite this time, and slightly more predatory. "You have a nice day now."