Thursday - 11/4
SALEM P.D.
Johnny and Meadow had both been taken to the police station. They were now in separate rooms. Johnny was with Rafe, while Meadow was with Hope.
JOHNNY: Look, I get that you need to get our statement or whatever, and I’ll be as helpful as I can, but I already told Shawn and his partners everything I know.
RAFE: I’m sure you did. You’re not in trouble, kid, no one thinks you did this. But, you and your girlfriend were the ones who found the body, and we’ve gotta make this official for the report.
JOHNNY: Okay, great. Like I said, I’ll be as helpful as I can.
RAFE: Good. Let’s just go over the events of the evening. What were you doing before you got to the dorms?
JOHNNY: We were at the Halloween party at the hospital, just like pretty much everyone in Salem. The party ended, we were supposed to go to the DiMera Mansion to hang out with my cousin Peyton, but Meadow wanted to change out of her Halloween costume and check on Meadow Cole.
RAFE: Any particular reason Miss West wanted to check on Miss Cole?
JOHNNY: They’re best friends, and she was supposed to meet us at the party. She helped Meadow get her costume together.
RAFE: All right, just checking. Go on.
JOHNNY: So, we get back to the dorms. She wanted to check on her friend before changing, so we did.
RAFE: What happened then?
JOHNNY: We knocked on the door, but found that it was open, so we walked inside.
RAFE: Were there any signs of a break-in?
JOHNNY: Not that I could see.
RAFE: Continue.
JOHNNY: When we went inside of the dorm room, we saw that the bathroom light was on. Meadow went to investigate while I looked around the room. Then, I heard her scream, so I ran into the bathroom to see what was going on. That’s when I saw the body. Meadow Cole’s body, I mean. She was lying in the bathtub with blood coming out of her wrists. I checked for a pulse, but didn’t feel one, so I called 911. Then, I tried to stop the bleeding with some toilet paper. After a couple minutes, a bunch of cops and paramedics showed up.
RAFE: Had you seen Miss Cole earlier in the day?
JOHNNY: Only briefly, when I picked Meadow up for the party. She had helped her with her makeup. We said hi for a minute, then she and I left, with the other Meadow promising to meet us in a little bit.
HOPE: So, you and Miss Cole are close, then?
MEADOW: Very. We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember.
HOPE: In the last few days or weeks, have you noticed any unusual behaviors from her?
MEADOW: What do you mean?
HOPE: Did she seem overly happy or sad? Was she acting in a way that wasn’t like her?
MEADOW: She didn’t kill herself, if that’s what you’re trying to imply. I know Meadow! I know her better than anybody! She wouldn’t do that!
HOPE: And you’re sure about that?
MEADOW: Yes! She wasn’t depressed or anything, and if she was, I would know! We told each other everything!
HOPE: Miss West-
Hope’s desk phone rang.
HOPE: Please excuse me for a moment, I’m sorry.
She picked up the phone.
HOPE: Commissioner Brady. Great, what have you found so far? Really? Okay, well that changes things. That makes sense. Follow it up. Thanks.
Hope hung up.
HOPE: My apologies, that was one of my officers who are investigating the scene.
MEADOW: Her dorm room.
HOPE: Yes. It seems you’re correct, your friend didn’t kill herself.
MEADOW: Well, I tried to tell you that.
Meadow sighed.
MEADOW: I’m sorry, I don’t mean to snap…
HOPE: It’s okay, you’ve had a rough night. I just have a few more questions for you tonight and then we can be done, okay?
Meadow nodded. Hope handed her a tissue, which she used to wipe her face.
HOPE: Now that we have ruled out suicide, this is a murder investigation. I have to ask, is there anybody that you know of that may have wanted to cause Miss Cole harm?
MEADOW: No, I don’t think so.
HOPE: Did she have any enemies, to your knowledge?
MEADOW: Not that I’m aware of. Meadow got along well with pretty much everybody. Well, I say pretty much everybody, but…
HOPE: But what?
Meadow sighed.
MEADOW: There was one person who might consider her the enemy. If she did, it was completely one-sided.
HOPE: Who are we talking about here?
MEADOW: So...in high school, Meadow and I were two-thirds of a clique known as The Meadows. We called it that because we all had the same first name. There were only three of us, me, Meadow Cole and Meadow Shaw. Shaw was the de facto leader, since she was the most outspoken and intimidating of us. Cole and Shaw were kind of an item. At least, Cole wanted them to be. She’d been out for the longest time, and Shaw was out to us, but wasn’t ready to be out to everyone. So, they kind of dated, but kept it a secret. Cole understood that Shaw wasn’t ready, but she also didn’t want to keep hiding who she really was, so she broke up with her. A few days later, she and I confronted Shaw and told her that we were disbanding the Meadows at graduation. Shaw was furious, and told us that we hadn’t seen the last of her before storming off.
HOPE: Did either you or Miss Cole feel that Miss Shaw posed any threat to the two of you?
MEADOW: Not really. Shaw often threw a fit when she didn’t get everything her way, so this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. We figured she’d just go off and sulk.
HOPE: When you first mentioned her, you said that Miss Shaw could be intimidating.
MEADOW: Yeah, she could. But not, like, physically. She was like Regina George from Mean Girls, she could be really cruel when she was mad, but she wasn’t violent. I doubt that she had anything to do with this. Besides, she’s not even in this state anymore.
HOPE: I see. Well, that is all of the questions I have for tonight. However, I might have more in a few days.
MEADOW: I’ll be happy to answer any questions that you have.
HOPE: Excellent. Would you like me to call a ride for you?
MEADOW: I’d like to wait until Johnny’s done, if that’s okay.
HOPE: Of course. You can have a seat in the waiting room.
