Transcript of Police Interview with Olivia Reynolds:
“Olivia, can you please describe your interactions with Liam Cass?”
“We’re on the debate team together. We have been for the last two years.”
“Are you friends with him?”
“Yes. I mean, we’ve been on the team together a while. So we talk a lot. I mean, not just when we’re debating.”
“Would you describe your relationship with Liam as more than friendship?”
“Um. Well, no. Not exactly, but… look, I feel weird talking about this with, like, the police… it’s, like, embarrassing…”
“But you understand why this is important.”
“Yes. Of course. I mean, that’s why I called you. I thought… maybe if I told you what happened to me, it would help.”
“And we appreciate you contacting us.” “Yes…”
“So going back to the original question: did you have any sort of romantic relationship with Liam Cass?”
“Well, no. Not officially. But… I sort of…” “What?”
“I… I liked him. A lot. I thought he was cute. And he’s really good at debate, you know?”
“Did he express romantic intentions towards you?”
“Honestly? I mean, sometimes I thought he did. One time he walked me home, but nothing happened. Obviously he liked somebody else better.”
“And then what happened?” “…”
“Olivia, if you could tell us what you told me earlier about what happened next…”
“You mean about that guy?”
“Right. You said that a man approached you on the street.”
“Yeah. I was out walking my dog and this old guy—he was, like, maybe fifty—he came up to me and asked me if I was Olivia Reynolds. And it totally freaked me out because, you know, you hear all these stories about some girl going out to walk her dog and she never comes home. And he looked kind of creepy too.”
“How did he look creepy?”
“I don’t know. He smelled like cigarettes and his teeth were kind of yellow. Probably because of cigarettes, right? That’s why I am not going to smoke ever. Or vape. Vaping is even worse. My health teacher says you can get popcorn lung from vaping, where your lungs look like microwave popcorn.”
“Uh, right. So what happened next, Olivia?”
“So I didn’t really say anything. I just looked at the guy, but he seemed to know who I was. And then he asked me if I knew Liam, and that was really weird.”
“What did you say?” “I said yes.”
“And what did he say then?”
“Well, he started telling me all the stuff he knew about me. Like, bad stuff. I mean, not really bad. I haven’t done anything that bad. But, like, he had screenshots of all these text messages on my phone that I wouldn’t want my parents or my teachers to see. And some other stuff.”
“What sort of stuff?”
“Um, do I have to tell you that?” “We’d like to have all the information.” “It wasn’t illegal. I swear.”
“You’re not in trouble, Olivia. I promise. Just tell us the truth.” “Okay… well, I was dating this guy last year and I sent him some
pictures of myself that I shouldn’t have. It was really stupid. And I don’t know how that creepy guy ended up getting those photos. God, it’s so embarrassing…”
“So what happened next?”
“The guy said if I kept hanging around with Liam, he was going to show everyone.”
“So what did you say?”
“What do you think? I mean, I liked Liam, but not enough to get in trouble. So I said I wouldn’t hang out with him anymore.”
“And did you?”
“Yeah. But honestly, it didn’t really matter, because the next day… Well, you know.”
“Did you have any thoughts on why that man told you not to hang out with Liam?”
“No. I was just so freaked out about the whole thing. I thought… I don’t know. It was the weirdest thing ever, honestly.”
“Well, thank you, Olivia. This has been very helpful.” “Detective?”
“Yes?”
“Do you really think Liam did it?”
“I can’t share any details of our investigation with you, unfortunately.” “I just want to say… I don’t think he did. I’ve known him for over two years, and he’s a really nice guy. I’m not just saying that because he’s cute. He’s really serious about competing and he’s very smart and he just wouldn’t. I don’t think he could. I mean, what kind of person does
something like that? I just can’t imagine it.” “Then why did you contact us?”
“Because… I don’t know. I don’t think Liam did it. But I guess I’m not absolutely sure. You never know.”
